BUS wants to draw your attention to a link to an article about a research paper recently published and written by researchers who are coincidentally members of our National Birdshot Research Network. The paper explains why extramacular scanning may be a helpful tool in diagnosing, and monitoring cases of Birdshot. Continue reading
Category Archives: Research
What are your Birdshot priorities?
Last year many of you very kindly completed the Sight Loss and Vision Priority Setting Partnership survey and following this we have now received a short list of a number of “uncertainties” to consider. We want to know which 10 “uncertainties” are most important to you. Please see below, ( or – Inflammatory FORM A_James Lind Alliance Sight Loss and Vision Priority Setting Partnership). This is your chance to influence the direction taken by eye researchers on our behalf. Continue reading
What Is Your Experience of Having Birdshot?
A major survey is being undertaken across the UK and US into the experiences of people like us with Rare Diseases. The findings of the research will guide future research and education, so if you can spare 10 minutes to complete the survey, please click on the link below or copy and paste it – once on the site, you will see the link for the survey: Continue reading
Reappraisal of birdshot retinochoroiditis
A paper entitled “Reappraisal of birdshot retinochoroiditis (BRC): a global approach.” has just been published by M Papdia and C P Herbort. Continue reading
Sirolimus
Some of you may know that there have been trials on the drug, Sirolimus, which is given intravitreally or subconjunctivally (i.e. into the eye).
The idea behind this medication is that it should allow us to decrease our use of steroids which have such horrible side-effects, and it tends not to give so many other side effects, and it is not taken systemically (i.e. into our bodies). Continue reading
Worms, Yet Again!
There has been an overwhelming number of papers being produced on helminthic therapy (worms) recently. This is exciting, as it means that it is a therapy that is being taken seriously, and therefore may well get to trial quite soon. Continue reading
Treating Birdshot With Infliximab
Stephen Foster and associates have published a paper on Treatment of Birdshot with Infliximab. You may be aware that Stephen Foster is hosting the 2013 Birdshot Day on 28 September 2013, in Boston, United States. He has a profound interest in Birdshot and was instrumental in helping us set up BUS. Continue reading
Resolving Inflammation
Birdshot is an inflammatory disease, and if we can find out why we produce this inflammatory response, we may be well along the way to finding a cure. Continue reading
News On Stem Cells
The Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences has published a paper on Mesenchymal stem Cells (MSCs). The Institute believes that MSCs are emerging as a promising therapeutic approach of a cell-based therapy for a wide range of auto-immune disorders and degenerative diseases. Continue reading
How Infection Can Trigger Autoimmune Diseases
We came across a fabulous article in the New Zealand Herald about work that Australian scientists, Tyani Chan and Robert Brink from Sydney’s Garvan Institute of Medical Research have undertaken. Continue reading