Leber congenital amaurosis

[Ms. Kathy]

Scientists discover missing enzyme linked to blindness
From Pharmaceutical Business Review: www.pharmaceutical-business-review.com/article_news.asp?guid=E4517F51-908B-4BA3-958F-1B355632B872

US scientists have identified a key enzyme linked to childhood blindness which could lead to a gene therapy cure for the disorder.


12 Aug 2005, 13:27 GMT - A recent study has shown that infants born with the blinding disease Leber congenital amaurosis are missing the gene known as RPE65. The importance of this well known gene was also finally realized as scientists demonstrated that the gene is also the retinoid isomerase enzyme key to the visual cycle.

It has taken nearly two decades for scientists to identify this enzyme and the function of the RPE65 protein. The researchers from the University of California in Loss Angeles (UCLA) hope the findings could lead to a cure for some forms of congenital blindness through gene therapy.

"We were amazed when we discovered the function for RPE65, and that RPE65 is the retinoid isomerase. It is a protein that all of us had known about for years," said Dr Gabriel Travis, professor of ophthalmology and biological chemistry at UCLA. "It's like searching the world for a treasure, then discovering it in your own back yard."

Leber congenital amaurosis is an inherited disease that is believed to cause up to 20% of all cases of childhood blindness. It is caused by mutations in several different genes including RPE65. An important characteristic of this disease is that the light sensitive rod and cone cells remain intact in the retinas of Leber patients for a long time.

The newly identified isomerase enzyme plays a crucial role in the regeneration of rhodopsin visual pigment in the retina after light exposure. Rhodopsin contains a light absorbing molecule called 11 cis retinaldehyde, related to vitamin A, which is converted upon light absorption to all trans retinaldehyde in a process called photo bleaching. This conversion is the first step in visual perception.

"This suggests that replacement of RPE65 by gene therapy should correct the blindness in these children, as was observed in mice and dogs with RPE65 mutations," Dr Travis said. "This is a major breakthrough in understanding the visual cycle. It has ramifications for several inherited blinding diseases caused by mutations in visual cycle genes."

Source: Datamonitor Newswire

[Ms. Kathy]

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Cure for LCA is Lee's goal in life
11/21/2006 12:18 PM ET
Source: mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061121&content_id=1744643&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
Print © 2006 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.

By Carrie Muskat / MLB.com

CHICAGO -- Since Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee first announced the launch of Project 3000 in late September, there has been great excitement and a flurry of activity among doctors and scientists who care for patients with Leber's Congenital Amaurosis (LCA).
And Lee's 3-year-old daughter, Jada, who lost her vision in one eye and prompted the effort, is still getting mail, prayers and support. Someday, they hope to find a cure.

Lee teamed up with Boston Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck to create Project 3000, a foundation to fight LCA, an inherited form of blindness. The goal is to provide state-of-the-art genetic testing for every man, woman and child who has LCA. People are urged to contact Project 3000 for more information.

"We have already had tremendous interest in this project from all over the world," said Dr. Edwin Stone, a professor of ophthalmology at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine and the scientific director of Project 3000. "In the first day alone, the Project 3000 Web site received thousands of hits, and Cubs fans and Celtics fans began sending in support."

For example, one fan, who lives in Japan, first met Lee more than 20 years ago when his father played baseball there. He put a Derrek Lee Cubs jersey up for auction and sent the proceeds to fund the research effort at the foundation.

"She's doing great," Lee said on Monday of his daughter. "You would never know."

Lee and his wife, Christina, are able to deal with their daughter's partial blindness better after meeting 9-year-old Alan Brint, who also has LCA.

"They wondered how children who are blind function," said David Brint, Alan's father and the director of the Foundation of Retinal Research. "When they got to meet my son, you could see the light in their eyes."

Young Alan is a talented pianist and has perfect pitch, said his father. The boy, who's also a Cubs fan, can play whatever he hears.

"[Alan] plays games, has a good sense of humor and he functions around the house," said Brint, who lives in the Chicago area. "I'm not saying it's easy -- it's a lot of work and it's scary. But I think it calmed [the Lees].

"You start entering a world and learning what you can do," Brint said. "You get enough help and say, 'OK, I can do this.' It takes a lot of therapy and help and love."

The Lees admitted meeting Alan helped ease some of their fears.

"You see someone else going through it and they're fine," Lee said. "It's comforting to know it will be OK."

Their fight continues to find a cure.

Since Project 3000 was announced, Stone said that interest has been high among doctors who care for LCA patients. For example, Dr. John Kitchens, a retina specialist in Kentucky, has already organized his partners to help identify all of the patients in that state afflicted with LCA.

Similarly, Dr. Richard Weleber and his staff at the Casey Eye Institute in Portland, Ore., are helping to design a patient questionnaire that will help the team identify patients with LCA from among the tens of thousands of patients who, for a number of other reasons, first experienced severe vision loss during their childhood.

In the Carver Laboratory at the University of Iowa, several additional personnel have been hired and some new robotic instrumentation has been installed to help keep up with the increased number of genetic tests being ordered.

"Working together, sports fans, professional athletes, patients, parents, doctors and research scientists are already making terrific progress in our understanding of LCA," Stone said. "And with all this momentum, we are looking forward to even greater things in the coming year."

Lee is determined to do whatever he can, and may go with Brint to attend the Foundation for Fighting Blindness "Day of Science" event in Orlando, Fla., in January, when researchers gather to talk to constituents. There's strength in numbers, Brint said, and Project 3000 is a huge step in finding people affected with LCA and getting them tested.

"This project that [Lee's] doing will have an enormous impact," Brint said. "A lot of people had been misdiagnosed. There are eight, 10 different genes that can cause this. We want to find out people who have this diagnosis, and we want to do gene screening to find out which genes are involved.

"This is a project we've been trying to do in modest ways for half a dozen years. This will make it happen in short order and the information will be enormously valuable."


This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

[Ms. Kathy]

Winter leaves Lee optimistic
By ANDREW SELIGMAN
AP Sports Writer
Associated Press Sports
Updated: 2:16 p.m. CT Feb 20, 2007
MESA, Ariz. (AP) -Derrek Lee watched the Chicago Cubs make one big move after another this offseason and couldn't resist the urge to spend his days clicking away on the computer with the excitement of a kid tearing into his birthday presents.

This winter was like one big gift to him, especially after such a difficult season.

Lee broke his right wrist in 2006. The Cubs lost 96 games. And all that paled in comparison to the revelation in September that his daughter, Jada, has Leber's Congenital Amaurosis, a rare genetic disease that causes blindness in young children.

But the winter was a good one.

"I was going on the Internet every day to see what we were doing,'' Lee said Tuesday before the team's first full-squad workout.

The Cubs did plenty, of course.

Andy MacPhail resigned as president, and manager Dusty Baker was let go when his contract expired. Lou Piniella replaced Baker, and GM Jim Hendry spent about $300 million to retain and acquire free agents.

The Cubs re-signed third baseman Aramis Ramirez for $75 million over five years, then lured outfielder Alfonso Soriano with an eight-year, $136 million deal - and the spending spree continued. Pitchers Jason Marquis and Ted Lilly joined in, as did outfielder Cliff Floyd.

By the time it was over, the Cubs thought they had launched themselves into contention for a playoff spot. Then again, they thought they were contenders a year ago, only to crumble under the weight of injuries, sloppiness and lack of hustle.

Baker's status was the subject of speculation, and fans' frustration mounted, resulting in a rare sight at Wrigley Field: empty seats.

One target was Ramirez. Another was right fielder Jacque Jones.

Ramirez said the baseball and medical staffs told him to take it easy at times.

"Sometimes, it looks like you don't hustle. You're still out there, but if your knee's not 100 percent or you have a problem with your hamstring, nobody knows that,'' Ramirez said. "Sometimes they ask you to not run 100 percent - just give me what you can.''

Jones was nearly hit by a ball thrown by a fan in the bleachers.

"I'm not dwelling on it,'' he said.

As bad as last season was, the Cubs started reasonably well.

The 2005 NL batting champion, Lee agreed to a $65 million, five-year contract in early April. The Cubs were 9-5, and Lee was batting .318 with three home runs and 10 RBIs before he broke two bones in a collision with Rafael Furcal of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Chicago went into a free-fall without its first baseman, and Lee was never the same, batting just .286 with eight home runs and 30 RBIs in 50 games. He returned in late June, went back on the disabled list a month later and was activated on Aug. 28, but the worst news came a few weeks later.

He took a leave of absence Sept. 17 to tend to his ailing daughter, who had lost some vision in her right eye. Lee made one appearance as a pinch-hitter Sept. 30 against Colorado.

The wrist, he said, is no longer an issue. More importantly, his daughter is doing as well as can be expected. Her vision is the same as it was in September, and the longer it stays that way, the better.

The first indication that Jada was in trouble was when she became sensitive to flickering lights - a symptom of the degenerative disease, which about 3,000 people in the United States have. Lee's wife, Christina, had her checked out, and Jada was diagnosed with the condition in mid-September.

Her eye wanders at times, which is another symptom. But otherwise, it's difficult to tell there's something wrong.

"If you saw her, you wouldn't really know,'' Lee said. "She sees really well. You wouldn't know she has lost vision. Her spirit hasn't changed. Right now, she's great.''

Jada can see things "100 yards away.''

She has to go for exams every six months, but there's no treatment. Some patients can only see their fingers, according to the Foundation Fighting Blindness. Others are extremely farsighted, and only time will tell what happens to Jada.

Because the disease is rare, "You're not going to hear about it, and sometimes that can affect funding,'' Lee said.

Which is why he started "Project 3000'' with Boston Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck, whose son has the disease. The goal is to have everyone who's been diagnosed undergo genetic testing to aid research and help find the cure that Lee believes is coming.

"(Scientists) have made a lot of progress,'' he said. "The exciting part for them is they all feel like they will have a cure, and they all want to be the one that gets the cure. They're working hard at it.''


© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17245137/

[Ms. Kathy]

Printed from
The Times of India -Breaking news, timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Docs_perform_gene_therapy_surgery/articleshow/1994569.cms

Docs perform gene therapy operations
[3 May, 2007 l 0249 hrs ISTlREUTERS]

SMS NEWS to 8888 for latest updates

LONDON: A team of British doctors has carried out the world's first eye operations using gene therapy to try to cure a serious sight disorder, officials said on Tuesday.

The group from Moorfields Eye Hospital and University College London (UCL) has operated on a small number of young adults with Leber's congenital amaurosis, a type of inherited childhood blindness caused by a single abnormal gene.

The condition prevents the retina from detecting light properly, resulting in progressive deterioration and severely impaired eyesight. There is no effective treatment. The new experimental procedure involves inserting normal copies of the faulty RPE65 gene into cells of the retina the light-sensitive layer of cells at the back of the eye using a harmless virus or vector.

The British doctors are working alongside Seattle, Washington-based biotech firm Targeted Genetics Corp, which made the vector being used in the Phase I/II trial. It will be several months before the success of the procedure can be properly assessed but medics said there had been no complications so far.

The move into human testing follows 15 years of laboratory and animal experimentation, including tests on dogs whose vision was restored to the extent they could navigate a maze with ease.

"Testing it for the first time in patients is very important and exciting and represents a huge step towards establishing gene therapy for the treatment of many different eye conditions," Robin Ali, professor of human molecular genetics at UCL, said in a statement.

The clinical trial was given $2 million of funding by Britain's Department of Health, which said the pioneering research underlined the country's leading position in gene therapy in Europe. The idea of using gene therapy to fix diseases caused by genetic faults has long appealed to scientists, although getting the idea to work in practice has proved tricky.

Some gene therapy approaches have helped patients. But one 18-year-old volunteer died in a gene therapy experiment in 1999 and two French boys cured of a rare immune disease later developed leukemia. Over 70% of gene therapy trials to date have been for cancer, where the process is complicated by the need to reach multiple sites in the body.

The eye, by contrast, is relatively straightforward, said Andrew George of London's Imperial College. "The eye is good for gene therapy because it is a simple organ and it is easy to see what is going on. There is hope that once gene therapy is developed in the eye, scientists could move on to more complex organs," he said.

[Ms. Kathy]

Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Gene therapy aimed at restoring sight for 30,000 people with Leber's congenital amaurosis.

Gene therapy aimed at restoring sight for 30,000 people - Guardian

Extract:

"British scientists are to launch the world's first clinical trials of a controversial gene therapy to cure childhood blindness.

Researchers will test the treatment on volunteers with a rare inherited form of blindness, in which a single defective gene causes the retina to degenerate and eventually stop working as the child grows up.

The condition, called Leber's congenital amaurosis, affects one in 80,000 in Britain. Children born with the defective gene are often completely blind by their 20s. If the trials are a success, it could revolutionise the treatment of more than 100 inherited forms of blindness that affect up to 30,000 people in Britain.

Patients taking part in the trial will be injected with a virus modified to carry a correct version of the faulty gene.

Once inside the eye, the virus ferries the healthy gene into the cells that make up the retina, halting and even reversing the damage caused.

The phase 1 trials are designed to assess the safety and efficacy of the treatment in 12 patients and will be carried out by the Institute of Ophthalmology at University College London and nearby Moorfields Eye Hospital. The safety of the treatment will be under particular scrutiny, following a gene therapy trial four years ago in which two children being treated for a rare immune disorder called Scid (severe combined immunodeficiency) developed leukaemia. Their cancers arose when a virus used to deliver healthy genes accidentally led to tumour-promoting genes."


Source Link: Obesity and the Salt Connection: Gene therapy aimed at restoring sight for 30,000 people with Leber's congenital amaurosis.http://aboutsalt.blogspot.com/2007/05/gene-therapy-aimed-at-restoring-sight.html

[Ms. Kathy]

Free Republic

Gene cure for blindness [proved successful at restoring the sight of dogs]
theaustralian.news.com.au ^ | 05-02-2007 | David Rose

A BRITISH hospital has made the world's first attempt to treat blindness with a revolutionary gene therapy. Surgeons at the Moorfields Eye Hospital in London operated on Robert Johnson, who was born with a rare sight disorder known as Leber’s congenital amaurosis (LCA), which deteriorates with age.

Mr Johnson, 23, who had genes inserted into one eye, could see only outlines during the day and very little at night before having the procedure yesterday.

He is one of a dozen young patients selected for the first clinical trial to test the new therapy, which has already proved successful at restoring the sight of dogs in tests.


(Excerpt) Read more at theaustralian.news.com.au ...

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
Source Link:http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1827093/posts

[Ms. Kathy]

Date:03/05/2007 URL: www.thehindu.com/thehindu/seta/2007/05/03/stories/2007050300411600.htm
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Gene therapy aimed at curing blind children

IAN SAMPLE

BRITISH SCIENTISTS are to launch the world's first clinical trials of a controversial gene therapy to cure childhood blindness.

Researchers will test the treatment on volunteers with a rare inherited form of blindness, in which a single defective gene causes the retina to degenerate and eventually stop working as the child grows up.

The condition is called Leber's congenital amaurosis and children born with the defective gene are often completely blind by their 20s. If the trials are a success, it could revolutionise the treatment of more than 100 inherited forms of blindness.

Patients taking part in the trial will be injected with a virus modified to carry a correct version of the faulty gene.

Once inside the eye, the virus ferries the healthy gene into the cells that make up the retina, halting and even reversing the damage caused.

Phase 1 trials
The phase 1 trials are designed to assess the safety and efficacy of the treatment in 12 patients and will be carried out by the Institute of Ophthalmology at University College London (UCL) and nearby Moorfields Eye Hospital.

The safety of the treatment will be under particular scrutiny, following a gene therapy trial four years ago in which two children being treated for a rare immune disorder called Scid (severe combined immunodeficiency) developed leukaemia.

Trials of the latest gene therapy in dogs have proved the treatment can improve and preserve vision enough for nearly blind animals to negotiate mazes.

The researchers will know whether the treatment has worked in a few months.

"It will be many months before we have the full picture. We anticipate the best outcome in younger patients, as we will be treating the disease in the early stages of its development," said Tony Moore, a leading retinal specialist on the team.


Source Link: The Hindu: India's National Online Newspaper: www.hindu.com/seta/2007/05/03/stories/2007050300411600.htm

[Ms. Kathy]

Durham family keeps eyes on vision
The Times, May 10, 2007
Source Link: The Times: Tigard, Tualatin, Sherwood--Portland Oregon www.tigardtimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=117883861308207000

TUALATIN – The Johansen family of Durham still has a vision. Family members want to see 4-year-old Clara grow up just like any child who has perfect vision.

Clara was diagnosed at 8 months old with Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis, a degenerative retinal condition. Currently no treatment or surgery options exist for Clara’s condition, which will likely lead to blindness.

But for a third consecutive year, Mark and Laura Johansen have organized Walk with a Vision – a fund-raiser for the Foundation for Retinal Research.

The 5K family walk and fun event is set for Sunday, May 20, at Tualatin Community Park. Registration begins at 8 a.m. The walk starts at 8:30 a.m. The event is set to finish up by noon. Pets and strollers are welcome.

Participants can register on-line by visiting www.tfrr.org, clicking on the “Walk with a Vision” link and then choosing the Portland, Ore., race link. Individual registration is $25 and includes a T-shirt and water bottle. Family registration, which includes two adult T-shirts and water bottle, is $60. Team registration is $75 and includes a T-shirt and water bottle for each adult member.

Last year, the walk had about 200 participants and raised more than $15,000. The money was donated to the foundation, which works to find treatments and cures for retinal degenerative diseases and supports families affected by the disease.

[Ms. Kathy]

Vision quest
Vision quest
Source Link: Vision quest - MLB - Yahoo! Sports sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-lee051407&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

By Jeff Passan, Yahoo! Sports
May 14, 2007

CHICAGO – He feels strong again.

It's been a while. First Derrek Lee's wrist crippled him physically, then his daughter's loss of vision in one eye sapped him mentally. Never before had his fortitude so quickly evaporated: Derrek Lee, 6-foot-5, strapping, confident – the picture of strength – stifled by a sucker punch and felled by a haymaker.

"I never stayed down," Lee said. "I couldn't. Not for myself, and especially not for my daughter. So I'll tell you: It was a busy offseason."

Back and forth Lee went, his duty as 4-year-old Jada's daddy to help find a cure for the degenerative eye disease Leber's congenital amaurosis on priority, his obligation as first baseman and franchise linchpin for the Chicago Cubs to return to 2005 form when he might have been the best player in the National League.

The latter part? Well, that took work. Dry swings. Forearm curls. Those hand grips best used for stress relief. Lee sweat to rebuild his right wrist, broken in a freak collision at first base with Rafael Furcal on April 19, 2006.

The former? That takes hope. Tears. Prayers. Lee keeps trying to build the most comfortable life possible for Jada, whose vision is perfect in her good eye, and trying to build awareness via Project 3000, a foundation to help educate people about LCA and eventually eradicate it.

And the dual purposes in Lee's life left him in a better place, the kind in which he can step right back into the batter's box, like he never missed a day, and lead the major leagues in batting average.

He's hitting .390, and though a neck strain has slowed him recently, Lee has done so with authority: 27 percent of the balls he hits are line drives, fifth-best in the major leagues. Accordingly, when he puts the ball in play, Lee is hitting .469, an astonishing number that certainly will recede as the season continues but underlines his hit-'em-where-they-ain't tendency. And even though Lee has hit only two home runs, compared to the 46 he blasted in '05, he's got 17 doubles and figures a bit more lift on his swing will send plenty of balls onto Waveland Avenue.

"We could tell he was back in spring training," Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said. "He hit the ball everywhere, drove it the other way well, turned on some other pitches. You have to be 100 percent healthy to hit the ball that hard. He wasn't shying away from the plate like he was uncomfortable."

Like last summer.

After his injury, the Cubs fell faster than Wile E. Coyote's descent into the canyon, and Lee, wanting to play savior, rushed back. He could swing, he assured himself. He was fine.

In the month following his June 25 return, Lee hit .227 with one home run, four RBIs and 26 strikeouts in 75 at-bats. Cubs manager Dusty Baker kept writing him into the lineup card because Lee kept saying he felt fine, and in his mind, he was. Anyone who saw him knew better.

"He'd just gotten the (five-year, $65 million) extension, so I can understand why he pressed," Hendry said. "I was on the trip to Washington and sat in the stands, a Saturday-afternoon game. Derrek took some awful swings. From the side, you could see it.

"I told Dusty, 'That's enough.' "

Back on the disabled list Lee went for almost five weeks. He returned Aug. 28 and still wasn't the same. Jada's condition was worsening, and Lee's state of mind was engulfed by it. Finally, on Sept. 15, he left the Cubs to spend time with her, family before baseball always.

As the prognosis for Jada improved, so did Lee's yearning to start playing again. He's 31 now, square in the prime of his career. After so many years of doing the cha-cha around what he could be, Lee is fully aware of what he is

"When you begin to understand your swing," he said, "it makes it easier, mentally. I'm not saying it's easy to hit. But when you learn about yourself, you see the game in a completely different fashion.

"I'm dictating what I want to do. By no means is it easy. Well, it's easier when you're feeling good."

Good? Good doesn't begin to describe it. Cubs outfielder Cliff Floyd, a teammate of Lee's for five years with the Florida Marlins, says Lee "is right next to Barry (Bonds) and (Albert) Pujols" among the NL's best hitters. Cubs manager Lou Piniella, pressed to compare Lee to another hitter, chose Hall of Famer Dave Winfield, himself tall and powerful. And slowly, as Lee pieces his life back together, he's feeling more like himself, like the superlative hitter and father, like someone who can derive strength from one place and unleash it in another.

Good?

"I feel great," Lee said


Jeff Passan is a national baseball writer for Yahoo! Sports. Send Jeff a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.

[Ms. Kathy]

Source Link: Daily Press, Hampton Roads Virginia www.dailypress.com/news/local/dp-29067sy0may13,0,985142.story?coll=dp-news-local-final
CNU grad has hurdled her 'little obstacle'
Severely vision-impaired, Lauren Conner is headed to graduate school in education.

BY ANGELA FOREST
247-7863

May 13 2007

NEWPORT NEWS -- Lauren Conner isn't sure why some people are so excited that she's receiving a degree from Christopher Newport University today.

After all, it's not like the 22-year-old partied her way through college or spent time on academic probation.

A psychology major, Conner earned a 3.98 grade-point average and has received rave reviews from CNU faculty and teachers at Riverside Elementary School, where she did her student teaching.

She's been accepted into the graduate program in education at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg.

The way that Conner sees it, she just applied herself and worked hard.

But even she acknowledges that her inner drive to excel is partly because of what she's lacked since birth - the ability to see clearly.

"It's probably made me more determined than I would have been without a vision impairment," Conner said.

She was born with a disease called Leber congenital amaurosis, a genetic disorder that affects the retinas and causes extreme vision loss. Conner has very limited peripheral vision.

"I have a hard time distinguishing what's in front of me," she said.

"I recognize people by their voice most of the time."

But as a child growing up in south-central Virginia, her parents and her older brother never considered it a big deal.

Their attitude was "it's a little obstacle" that Conner would overcome, she said.

Last week at Riverside, Conner went over a reading assignment with three special education students, whom she referred to as her "babies."

As the students read passages from a book, Conner followed along, running her fingers over a portable Braille machine on her lap.

Similar to a laptop computer, the machine translates documents and books into Braille. Conner uses the machine to take notes during class lectures.

Other technology reads her e-mail and Internet documents and magnifies what appears on the computer screen in her dorm.

At Riverside, Conner asked students questions.

Her approach was casual, more like a big sister than a teacher.

At one point, she encouraged one student struggling with a word.

"Sound it out, babe," she said.

Students love and respect Conner, who needs only a magnifying glass and the portable Braille machine to do her job in the classroom, said Gloria Martin, a special education teacher who supervises Conner.

She embraces the kids, Martin said, but quickly becomes a disciplinarian when they get out of line.

Conner plans to use her master's degree from William and Mary to work as a school counselor.

"She's just an awesome young woman, very bright," Martin said. "And she has a real good ability to deal with people."

Working with special education students at Riverside this year, Conner has gotten a chance to motivate them, showing them firsthand that having a disability is no excuse for not doing their best.

Not being able to see as well as others isn't a negative to Conner. It's just life.

"I'd say never look at the vision impairment as a limitation," she said. "Because you know what? If you want to do something badly enough, you're going to do it."
Copyright © 2007, Daily Press

[Ms. Kathy]

Derrek Lee to Appear on ER in October
by Winnie McCarthy
In addition to doing his part to try to ensure that the Chicago Cubs have a place in the post-season, Chicago Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee is also trying his hand at acting.

The slugger filmed a cameo for the television show ER last Thursday in Chicago. He will play himself and reportedly appears on the camera for less than a minute as he signs an autograph for a fan.

Lee agreed to do the cameo after learning that ER will have an episode later this season which features a story about a young girl stricken with Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis, the rare eye disease Derrek’s daughter Jada also struggles with. The disease causes blindness and Jada is blind in one eye.

Derrek has founded Project 3000, an organization which helps to bring awareness to Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis and help find a cure.

The Derrek Lee episode of ER is scheduled to air on October 18th on NBC.
Source Link:Chicago Illinois www.about-chicagoil.com/derrek-lee-to-appear-on-er-in-october/

[Ms. Kathy]

Cubs fans can be in movie, aid charity
Donations for credits benefit Project 3000, Little Cubs Field
02/04/09
Source Link: chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/print.jsp?ymd=20090204&content_id=3797802&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc&affiliateId=CommentWidget

By Carrie Muskat / MLB.com

CHICAGO -- Want to be in the movies? It's not a starring role, but Cubs fans can show their support for their team and the city of Chicago as well as help others by adding their name to the closing credits of a soon to be released documentary.
Fans can have their name or that of a loved one included in the final credits of the upcoming documentary, "We Believe -- Chicago and its Cubs," to be released in spring 2009.

One half of all proceeds collected will go to two Cubs-related efforts. The money will benefit Project 3000, an organization which Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee helped create to find people affected with Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), a blinding eye disease. Money also will be donated to the non-profit Little Cubs Field, a replica of Wrigley Field scaled down to a kid-sized park located in Freeport, Ill.

This is believed to be the first time a film production has undertaken active viewer participation to support charities.

A limited number of spaces are available in the theatrical credits and they will be displayed alphabetically in the closing minutes of the documentary. The cost is $100 plus shipping and handling fees, and recipients will receive a certificate of authenticity as well as a "We Believe" T-shirt.

There also will be an opportunity to include names in the credits in the DVD version of the movie for $50 plus shipping and handling fees. People who want to be listed in the DVD credits also will receive a certificate and a T-shirt. The DVD will offer a director's cut, additional footage and stories, never before seen archival footage, and behind-the-scenes action.

The documentary follows the Cubs' 2008 season, which was the 100th anniversary of the last time the team won the World Series. Award-winning filmmaker John Scheinfeld is behind the project, and the goal was to show the passion and spirit fans have for the Cubs and Chicago. It's now 101 years since the Cubs last won the championship. Last season, they repeated as National League Central champs, but were swept for the second straight year in the first round of the playoffs.

"The disappointing closing of the Cubs' 2008 baseball season doesn't spoil the documentary project," said producer Chad Smith. "This is a love story about Chicago and its baseball team. With every love story, there is bound to be some heartbreak."

Lee, one of the Cubs players interviewed for the documentary, knows about heartbreak. His daughter, Jada, was initially misdiagnosed with LCA, and he and his wife Christina were told there was no cure. Jada now has been determined to not have LCA, an inherited form of blindness. The Lee family is still committed to helping identify the estimated 3,000 people who have LCA in order to offer genetic testing in an attempt to find treatment and a cure.

"I'm excited to be part of this project at every level -- as a participant and, even more important, as a parent who knows how much it will mean to other families who are struggling with this devastating disease," Lee said in a statement.

Edwin Stone, a professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences who heads the LCA research program at the University of Iowa, said the movie's efforts will benefit thousands.

"Private support makes all the difference when it comes to conditions like LCA, which affect a relatively small portion of the population -- but when it's your child or friend or family member suffering from this disease, the statistics don't matter," Stone said in a statement. "What matters is helping LCA patients regain their sight, and thanks to contributions from individuals and efforts like 'We Believe,' we're coming closer to that goal every day."

The documentary's crew was at Little Cubs Field on June 14, 2008, for the grand opening of the ballpark. Former Cubs third baseman and current WGN Radio analyst Ron Santo attended the ceremonies.

Fans interested in having their name added to the credits should go to the movie's website, webelievethemovie.com. There will be a Chicago premiere of the documentary this year.

Chicago area musicians and bands also are encouraged to submit original recordings of a song about the city to be included in the documentary. Fans will be able to cast a vote online for the favorite song on the movie's Web site. All entries must be received by Feb. 15. The documentary will include some original songs by Chicagoan Billy Corgan.

Carrie Muskat is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.