The next SCKCB meeting is scheduled for August 5, 2018. We will be meeting at our regular location, the Neighborhood & Community Services Building. See our meetings page for more information.
On the morning of March 20, eye surgeon Jason Comander injected viruses carrying lab-grown genes into the eyes of a boy whose vision had been gradually disappearing.
If all goes as planned, the 13-year-old patient — who lives with an inherited genetic defect that causes blindness — will experience an improvement in eyesight in about a month.
After a series of tests, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved this gene-therapy treatment, called Luxturna, in December 2017.
Three months later, the procedure Comander performed at Massachusetts Eye and Ear served as the first time an FDA-approved gene therapy was used on a person living with an inherited, and incurable, genetic disease. There are no other effective treatments for this specific retinal disease.
The SCKCB will have our regular bi-monthly meeting on Sunday, June 3rd at 1:30 PM . The meeting will be held at the Neighborhood & Community Services Building, located at 707 E. Main Ave., Bowling Green. Just follow East Main to the top of what is commonly referred to as "Hospital Hill." There is a large parking lot on the left side of the building below the street level. The entrance to our meeting room is accessible from this lower parking lot level. Check out our meetings page for specific driving directions and Google Maps routing from your location.
The South Central Kentucky Council of the Blind (SCKCB), our parent organization, the American Council of the Blind, and its affiliates, strive to increase the independence, security, equality of opportunity and quality of life for all blind and visually impaired people.
For more information about the South Central Kentucky Council of the Blind or to join our organization, see our About Us page.