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Cure for hepatitis C might be within reach, study shows
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Doctors and some patients say they're seeing amazing results after participating in a study of a new drug to treat hepatitis C. - photo by Bill Gephardt
Bill Gephardt
KSL
Published: Mar 19, 2015, 6:09 PM
A woman with the debilitating illness hepatitis C says she is hepatitis-free after participating in a study.

Nearly 4 million Americans are believed to have hepatitis C, a virus that attacks the liver.

Gina Palmer Douglas said she was diagnosed with the illness 15 years ago, but no medications proved effective in treating it.

"I tried a drug combination of interferon and Ribavirin before that, which is 48 weeks of being really sick with the flu," she said.

Dr. Michael Chartlon was part of an experimental drug study, and Douglas was accepted as a test subject.

"This is something which had nearly cost her her life, and it looked like it was threatening to do exactly that," he said. "She had severe hepatitis C injury to the liver. That was what this study was: Everyone in this clinical trial had severe liver disease from hepatitis C."

Douglas is thrilled with the results.

"To have nondetectable virus after that is pretty amazing," she said.

She was one of just over 300 patients across the country who received a new drug compound.

"We're very grateful for patients like Gina," Charlton said. "It's really a partnership. Any advance in medicine is a partnership with patients like Gina who are brave enough to take some risk of an unknown thing."

Doctors say the virus appears to be completely out of Douglas' system. Charlton said patients who have the virus go away during the therapy don't appear to relapse.
Its toxic: New study says blue light from tech devices can speed up blindness
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A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers. - photo by Herb Scribner
Herb Scribner
Deseret News
Published: Aug 13, 2018, 1:39 PM
It turns out checking Twitter or Facebook before bed is bad for your health.

A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers.

That process can lead to age-related macular degeneration, which is a leading cause of blindness in the United States, according to the researchs extract.

Blue light is a common issue for many modern Americans. Blue light is emitted from screens, most notably at night, causing sleep loss, eye strain and a number of other issues.

Dr. Ajith Karunarathne, assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, said our constant exposure to blue light cant be blocked by the lens or cornea.

"It's no secret that blue light harms our vision by damaging the eye's retina. Our experiments explain how this happens, and we hope this leads to therapies that slow macular degeneration, such as a new kind of eye drop, he said.

Macular degeneration is an incurable eye disease that often affects those in their 50s or 60s. It occurs after the death of photoreceptor cells in the retina. Those cells need retinal to sense light and help signal the brain.

The research team found blue light exposure created poisonous chemical molecules that killed photoreceptor cells

"It's toxic. If you shine blue light on retinal, the retinal kills photoreceptor cells as the signaling molecule on the membrane dissolves," said Kasun Ratnayake, a Ph.D. student researcher working in Karunarathne's cellular photo chemistry group. "Photoreceptor cells do not regenerate in the eye. When they're dead, they're dead for good."

However, the researchers found a molecule called alpha-tocopherol, which comes from Vitamin E, can help prevent cell death, according to Futurism.

The researchers plan to review how light from TVs, cellphones and tablet screens affect the eyes as well.

"If you look at the amount of light coming out of your cellphone, it's not great but it seems tolerable," said Dr. John Payton, visiting assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. "Some cellphone companies are adding blue-light filters to the screens, and I think that is a good idea."

Indeed, Apple released a Night Shift mode two years ago to help quell blue lights strain on the eyes, according to The Verge. The screen will dim into a warmer, orange light that will cause less stress on the eyes.