Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a group of inherited retinal degenerations leading to blindness due to photoreceptor loss. Retinitis pigmentosa is a rare disease, affecting only approximately 100 000 people in the United States. There is no cure and no approved medical therapy to slow or reverse RP. The purpose of this clinical trial was to evaluate the safety, reliability, and benefit of the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System (Second Sight Medical Products, Inc, Sylmar, CA) in restoring some visual function to subjects completely blind from RP.

A recombinant, replication-competent vesicular stomatitis virus-based vaccine expressing a surface glycoprotein of Zaire Ebolavirus (rVSV-ZEBOV) is a promising Ebola vaccine candidate. The researchers report the results of an interim analysis of a trial of rVSV-ZEBOV in Guinea, west Africa.

A candidate tetravalent dengue vaccine is being assessed in three clinical trials involving more than 35,000 children between the ages of 2 and 16 years in Asian–Pacific and Latin American countries. The researchers report the results of long-term follow-up interim analyses and integrated efficacy analyses.

The most advanced candidate vaccine against dengue viruses, called CYD-TDV, is progressing toward potential registration and review by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2016. CYDTDV is a formulation of four chimeric yellow fever 17D vaccine viruses, each one engineered to express the surface envelope and prM (membrane) proteins from one of the four serotypes of dengue virus. The surface envelope protein is a target of virus-neutralizing antibodies. (Editorial)

The human lens is comprised largely of crystallin proteins assembled into a highly ordered, interactive macro-structure essential for lens transparency and refractive index. Any disruption of intra- or inter-protein interactions will alter this delicate structure, exposing hydrophobic surfaces, with consequent protein aggregation and cataract formation. Cataracts are the most common cause of blindness worldwide, affecting tens of millions of people1, and currently the only treatment is surgical removal of cataractous lenses.