The macula is the area of the eye primarily responsible for vision. Degeneration of this area is one of the leading causes of blindness as humans age, due to its damage to the retina. While some peripheral vision may remain, the field of vision is largely obscured and makes reading, recognizing faces or other visual feats nearly impossible. As it is a disease which increases with age, there is some hope of finding a cure for the condition. Many research facilities have devoted themselves to the pursuit of eradicating this life-changing disease.
The Stephen A Wynn Institute for Vision Research is one of several foundations supported by someone personally suffering of the eye condition known as retinitis pigmentosa. The institute devotes itself to the pursuit of eliminating forms of inheritable blindness in humans. Its main functions are attained through a combination of excellence in treatment techniques, public information and research. The foundation maintains an informative blog relating to its current projects and pursuits, which is meant to educate the public and raise awareness of the issues facing those with inheritable forms of blindness.
One such entry is devoted to relating that the eponymous donor supported the foundation with a generous $25 million dollar contribution in 2013. The gift allows the scientists at the institute to coordinate studies with other scientists around the world, working to share information and compare clinical studies. The ultimate goal is to cure these rare and degenerative diseases that rob the vision of hundreds of people every year.
Other posts relate to the institute’s findings, including a discovery that the implanted retinal cells used in the hopes of regenerating sight must be matched to the host or face the threat of an immune response from the body that results in rejecting them. Another finding suggests that some forms of blindness exhibit vascular loss in the early stages, which may allow researchers to detect genetic markers that indicate that cause age-related macular degeneration.
In 2010, scientists at the Institute isolated a gene they believe is responsible for adversely affecting the human retina. In light of their discovery, they have spearheaded a three-pronged approach they feel will be fundamental in eradicating this form of blindness. They intend to identify all patients in the United States with this genetic marker who are currently symptomatic, innovate a gene therapy to treat it in younger patients who still have functioning retinal cells and treat older patients who have already lost the majority of their vision with therapies derived from stem cell research.
Donation drives are an important aspect of fundraising. The Institute is helped by the efforts of Buddy’s Drive for the Cure, a project headed by Buddy Lazier, winner of the Indianapolis 500. He raced in 2014 with a tribute to the Institute painted on his race car, encouraging fans to donate to the foundation in hopes that their aid will speed the effort to find cures for inheritable blindness.
The clinical pursuits at the Institute require a steady influx of revenue from donors. The University was fortunate to receive a generous endowment from Howard Ruby, an entrepreneur who suffers from the same condition as the founder of the Wynn Institute. With a combination of their generous endowments and grants from other sources, the Institute hopes to pioneer a technique of grafting stem cells capable of regenerating the retinal cells lost due to degenerative diseases. There may also be advances in 3-D printing that allow for the development of new synthetic replacement cells. The future of curing inheritable forms of blindness is optimistic, thanks in large part to the contribution of philanthropists who are themselves suffering from these forms of blindness.