Active clinical trials for "Blindness"

Visual acuity (VA) is the most common measure of visual function globally. In clinical settings and during screening events, VA is an important measure to quantify changes in vision over time. Additionally, in the context of epidemiological studies and population-based surveys, VA is a critical measure to determine the presence and degree of vision impairment and to report on the indicators of effective eye care service coverage (i.e. refractive error and cataract surgery), that are currently considered by World Health Organization (WHO) for monitoring progress towards the Universal Health Coverage. There are numerous applications for assessing VA; however, the number of validated applications is limited. In this study, the investigators aim to evaluate the external validity, intra- and inter-observer reliability, and feasibility of two applications ("Easy Vision" and "Peek Acuity") for testing the visual acuity.

The purpose of the study is to assess the safety and efficacy of the active substance rAAV-2/4.hRPE65 in patients with Leber Congenital Amaurosis or Congenital severe early-onset retinal degeneration associated with RPE65 mutation.

Clinical evidence for effects of plant anthocyanins on vision, and particularly night vision is controversial. Two clinical trials were conducted to investigate whether blueberry juice consumption affected visual dark adaptation, functional night vision, and recovery after photo-bleaching of the retina. One trial (S2) employed a 3 week intervention and washout period, and two doses of blueberries plus a placebo. The other trial (L1) employed a 12 week intervention plus an 8 week washout and tested one blueberry juice dose against a juice placebo.

This is a feasibility study involving a small number of blind subject to evaluate the effectiveness of using a software and associated hardware components to assist the blind in identifying and locating objects of interests and to assist in way finding tasks. After the system has been successfully tested by the blindfolded engineers, it will be evaluated in a small number of blind subjects.

Purpose: To assess the feasibility of a surgical technique and present the preliminary safety results of a new glaucoma device devoid of a tube in painful blind eyes. Methods: Fifteen end-stage glaucomatous eyes without light perception vision were treated with a novel laminar drainage implant. Intraocular pressure was measured preoperatively and up to 24 months after surgery using a Goldmann applanation tonometer. A scale ranging from 0 to 10 was used to evaluate ocular pain. Conjunctival hyperemia, discharge, erosion or retraction, aqueous humor leakage, corneal edema, hyphema, anterior chamber cells and depth, dislocation of the implant, and filtering bleb height were assessed by slit-lamp biomicroscopy. Anterior segment optical coherence tomography was also assessed.

The purpose of this study is to assess the safety of the BrainPort vision device and to demonstrate improved object recognition and word identification and ambulation with use of the BrainPort vision device in subjects who are medically documented as blind, with acuity of 20/ 5000 or worse.

This is a two-year proof-of-concept study to evaluate a new Virtual Reality (VR) "holographic" sound system for use as an audiological Orientation and Mobility (O&M) training tool

This is a pilot study of workshops to help Veterans with both vision and hearing loss live a happier, fuller and less stressful life. The results will be used to guide the development of a large scale clinical trial.

Patients sometimes report subjective visual effects when taking sildenafil. Our study set out to measure these in a controlled setting. Subjects were asked to detect patterns presented on a monitor screen.

Postural control requires the integration of the vestibular, visual, and somatosensory systems. Vision, in particular, exerts a considerable influence on body sway during activities that require balance. The investigators aimed to analyze the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) combined with proprioceptive exercises on postural control in individuals between 18 and 55 years old, with congenital and acquired blindness. The intervention will occur in three phases: 1 - Determine differences in postural control and gait between individuals with congenital and acquired blindness with and without the use of a guide stick when wearing shoes and when barefoot; 2 - Will be a pilot study containing 10 subjects in each group (total of 40) where a sample size estimation will be analyzed based on a gait and balance parameters result from a ten consecutive days treatment protocol consisting of tDCS plus proprioceptive; 3 - A treatment protocol will be conducted in which the participants will be allocated to four groups: G1 - active tDCS + dynamic proprioceptive exercises; G2 - sham tDCS + dynamic proprioceptive exercises; G3 - active tDCS + static proprioceptive exercises; and G4 - sham tDCS + static proprioceptive exercises. Evaluations will involve a camera system for three-dimensional gait analysis, a force plate to measure the postural control, and electromyography to analyze the muscle activities. Dynamic stability will be determined using the Timed Up and Go test and static stability will be analyzed with the aid of the force plate. The viability of this study will allow the determination of differences in postural control between individuals with congenital and acquired blindness, the analysis of the effect of tDCS on postural control, and the establishment of a rehabilitation protocol.