[nfb-talk] {Disarmed} FW: A personal report from Chairman Gordon Gund

Gloria Whipple ladygloria at webband.com
Thu Apr 21 21:19:37 UTC 2011


What in the heck is wrong with being blind!


Gloria Whipple
Corresponding Secretary
Inland Empire chapter
nfb of WA


-----Original Message-----
From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of S Baker
Sent: Thursday, April 21, 2011 14:14
To: AMoLList
Subject: [nfb-talk] {Disarmed} FW: A personal report from Chairman Gordon
Gund





SRBaker


 



Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2011 16:00:24 -0500
From: GGund at FightBlindness.org
To: srbaker at charter.net
Subject: A personal report from Chairman Gordon Gund










 
Like you, Steven, I follow the work of the Foundation Fighting Blindness
closely. As a donor, I want to know that my donations make a difference. 

And believe me, they do.  When I reflect on the last year and listen to this
video, I am reminded that we have more clinical trials for sight-saving
treatments underway than ever before.  Clearly, hope and optimism are
running high.  Incredible strides have been made in the last few years, and
these remarkable advances would not have been made without your support of
the Foundation. They include:

Vision Restored.  We are continuing to build on remarkable gains in gene
therapy.  As you may recall, in a Foundation-funded trial, 9-year-old Corey
Haas and 19 others received a gene therapy treatment and can now see.  And
as the trial has expanded, participants have shown sustained improvement in
vision.  Building on this success, similar gene therapy treatments are
moving into clinical trials for choroideremia, Stargardt disease and Usher
syndrome.

Innovative Technology.  The high-tech industry has a treatment I'm
incredibly excited about-- the world's first commercially available
artificial or "bionic" eye. Early funding from the Foundation was key to
getting this engineered retina off the ground.  Building on the studies we
funded, the light-sensing, implantable "chip" has been tested in a clinical
trial in Europe with great results. In the study, people who were profoundly
blind experienced improved vision that could help them to be more
independent.  In fact, many can now see shapes and recognize large letters.

Groundbreaking Therapies.  A research team funded by the Foundation Fighting
Blindness developed an innovative technique for correcting the
disease-causing gene by using stem cells derived from a person's skin. While
more work is needed to ensure safety, this advancement suggests that doctors
may someday be able to treat a patient's retinal disease using their own
skin cells. 
These few accomplishments barely begin to tell the story of all the progress
that's being made.  And this is why words can never express my personal
gratitude for your passionate and committed support. 

I hope you will take a few minutes to watch the video and see the results of
your support and the hope it has generated. But most importantly, I hope you
will see that research is progressing at a terrific rate.  It's been a long
time coming, but we crossed a critical threshold when our researchers
actually restored sight. It launched us into a new era when more and more
people will have their sight saved or restored every year.  A lot of work
remains.  But we'll get there by continuing to work together.

The Foundation Fighting Blindness values the support you give us by
donating, talking to your friends, and advocating for increased research
funding.  As we continue our relentless pursuit to eradicate blindness, we
hope you will continue your steadfast support of our mission. Thanks for
envisioning a bright future for the millions affected by retinal
degenerative diseases.




Sincerely,

Gordon Gund

 








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