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C2 Thursday, July 27, 2023
Gene therapy eyedrops restored a boy’s sight; similar treatments could help millions By Laura Ungar & Freida Frisaro
sion.” Antonio comes to the eye institute for checkups almost weekly and gets the drops once a month. During visits, Antonio must wear protective clothing covering his arms, hands, legs and feet. Like other kids with the condition— who are sometimes called “butterfly children”—his skin is so fragile that even a touch can wound him.
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IAMI (AP)—Dr. Alfonso Sabater pulled up two photos of Antonio Vento Carvajal’s eyes. One showed cloudy scars covering both eyeballs. The other, taken after months of gene therapy given through eyedrops, revealed no scarring on either eye. Antonio, who’s been legally blind for much of his 14 years, can see again. The teen was born with dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, a rare genetic condition that causes blisters all over his body and in his eyes. But his skin improved when he joined a clinical trial to test the world’s first topical gene therapy. That gave Sabater an idea:
What if it could be adapted for Antonio’s eyes? This insight not only helped Antonio, it also opened the door to similar therapies that could potentially treat millions of people with other eye diseases, including common ones. Antonio’s mom, Yunielkys “Yuni” Carvajal, teared up thinking about what Sabater did for her son. “He’s been there through everything,” she said in Spanish during a visit to the University of Miami Health System’s Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. “He’s not only a good doctor but such a good human being and provided us with hope. He never gave up.”
Special visa The family came to the US from Cuba in 2012 on a special visa allowing Antonio to get treatment for his condition, which affects around 3,000 people worldwide. He had surgeries to remove scar tissue from his eyes, but it grew back. Antonio’s vision kept getting worse, eventu-
Skin gel Dr. Alfonso Sabater, checks Antonio Vento Carvajal’s eye under a blue light after applying a stain to check to see if more ulcers had developed, before a gene therapy treatment, Thursday, July 6, 2023, at University of Miami Health System’s Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami. Antonio was born with dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, a rare genetic condition that causes blisters all over his body and in his eyes. He was blind for much of his life but can see again after getting gene therapy eyedrops. AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee ally deteriorating so much that he didn’t feel safe walking around. Sabater had no answers then and tried to reassure the boy: “I’ll find a solution. I just need some time. I’m working on it.” “‘Yeah, I know you’re going to do it,’” Sabater recalled Antonio saying. “That gave me the energy to continue.” At one point, Carvajal told Sabater about the experimental gene therapy gel for Antonio’s skin lesions. He contacted drugmaker Krystal Biotech to see if it could be reformulated for the boy’s eyes. Suma Krishnan, co-founder and president of research and development for the Pittsburgh-based company, said the idea made sense and “it didn’t hurt to try it.” Antonio’s condition is caused by mutations in a gene that helps produce a protein called collagen 7, which holds together both skin and corneas. The treatment, called Vyjuvek, uses an inactivated herpes simplex virus to deliver working copies of that gene.
The eyedrops use the same liquid as the skin version, just without the added gel.
Compassionate use After two years, which included testing the drug in mice, the team got “compassionate use” approval from the US Food and Drug Administration and permission from university and hospital review boards. Last August, Antonio had surgery on his right eye, after which Sabater started treating him with the eyedrops. Krishnan said they were cautious, frequently watching to see that it was safe. Antonio’s eye recovered from the surgery, the scarring didn’t return and there was significant improvement each month, Sabater said. Doctors recently measured the vision in Antoni’s right eye at a near-perfect 20/25. This year, Sabater began treating Antonio’s left eye, which had even more scar tissue. That one is also steadily improving, measuring close to 20/50, which Sabater said “is pretty good vi-
How to use Love My Honey in your daily life
H
oney is one of the most versatile foods in the world. You can use it in many ways to enhance your health and wellness. But not all honey is created equal. Many varieties in the market today are processed, diluted, or contaminated with harmful substances, compromising their quality and health benefits. That’s why it’s important to choose Love My Honey—a 100 percent pure and natural premium honey proudly sourced and made in the Philippines.
The honey that stands out from the crowd When you browse the shelves of a local supermarket, you will see a variety of honey products—most of them imported from the United States, Europe, and Australia. Among these selections stands Love My Honey, a 100 percent proudly Filipino-made honey product. What makes it different from other brands is that it is harvested from wild sunflowers in the remote areas of Talakag and Lantapan, situated along the majestic Mt. Kitanglad mountain range in Bukidnon. This location offers a unique advantage for bees to gather nectar from naturally organic and wild
Soda...
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Here’s a look at the announcement:
What is aspartame? A spar ta me is a low-calorie ar tif icial sweetener that is about 200 times sweeter than sugar. It is a white, odorless powder and the world’s most widely used artificial sweetener. Aspartame is authorized as a food additive in Europe and the US and is used in numerous foods, drinks such as Diet Coke, desserts, chewing gum, medications including cough drops and foods intended to help
sources, giving Love My Honey a distinct flavor and quality. Love My Honey is not your regular store-bought product. It is 100 percent raw and pure, meaning it is unheated, unfiltered, and unpasteurized. This preserves all the nutrients, enzymes, and medicinal compounds that honey is known for. Love My Honey is also meticulously blended and tested for the absence of the most well-known antibiotics, pesticides, and herbicides that can contaminate honey and harm your health. Love My Honey has a light color that ranges from extra white to extra light amber. The color indicates the minerals and some other components that significantly affect the quality, especially the taste. Light to transparent honey has a soft, delicate taste while darker honey usually has a stronger flavor. Love My Honey has a mild floral aroma and a smooth texture that melts in your mouth. Beyond its deliciousness, Love My Honey is also packed with essential nutrients, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and phytochemicals that offer numerous benefits for your body and mind. But how can you use Love My Honey in your daily life? Here
with weight loss. It’s in tabletop sweeteners sold as Equal, Sugar Twin and NutraSweet. Aspartame was approved in 1974 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration with an acceptable daily intake of 50 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. According to the FDA, a person weighing 132 pounds (60 kilograms) would need to consume about 75 aspartame packets to reach that level. UN experts evaluated the safety of aspartame in 1981 and set the safe daily limit slightly lower, at 40 milligrams of aspartame per kilogram. David Spiegelhalter, an emeritus statistics professor at Cambridge University, said the guidance means that “average people are safe to drink up to 14 cans of diet drink a day…and even this ‘acceptable daily limit’ has a large built-in safety factor.”
are some creative tips and ideas:
Natural Sweetener: Add Love My Honey to your coffee, tea, milk, juice, smoothies, or yogurt as a natural sweetener. Its subtle floral flavor will enhance the taste while providing a gentle energy boost. Delectable Spread: Elevate your breakfast by spreading Love My Honey on bread, toast, pancakes, waffles, or muffins. Not only will it make your morning meal more satisfying, but it will also infuse it with added nutrition. Flavorful Dressing: Use Love My Honey as a dressing for your salads, fruits, or cheese. This will enrich the taste and texture of your ingredients while providing valuable antioxidants and enzymes. Savory Marinade or Glaze: Experiment with Love My Honey as a marinade or glaze for your meat, fish, or vegetable dishes. It will impart a delightful sweet and savory flavor, tenderize your food, and make your dishes truly memorable. Baking and Cooking: Incorporate
What did the two groups say? WHO’s cancer agency, IARC, convened its expert group in June to assess the potential of aspartame to cause cancer. It based its conclusion that aspartame is “possibly carcinogenic” on studies in humans and animals that found “limited” evidence that the compound may be linked to liver cancer. In a separate evaluation, experts assembled by WHO and the food agency updated their risk assessment, including reviewing the acceptable daily intake. They concluded there was “no convincing evidence” at the currently consumed levels that aspartame is dangerous; their guidelines regarding acceptable levels of consumption were unchanged. The move comes weeks after the WHO said that non-sugar sweeteners don’t help with weight loss and could lead to increased
Antonio still uses the skin gel, which was approved by the FDA in May and can also be used off-label on eyes. It doesn’t modify DNA, so it’s not a one-time treatment like many gene therapies. Sabater, director of the Corneal Innovation Lab at the eye institute, said gene therapy eyedrops could potentially be used for other diseases by changing the gene delivered by the virus. For example, a different gene could be used to treat Fuchs’ dystrophy, which affects 18 million people in the US and accounts for about half the nation’s corneal transplants. The prospect of treating more conditions this way is “exciting,” said Dr. Aimee Payne, a dermatology professor at the University of Pennsylvania who isn’t involved in the research. The approach “delivers gene therapy that really addresses the root cause of disease.” With his vision restored, Antonio has enjoyed a typical teen pastime he’s wanted to do for quite a while: playing video games with his friends. And he finally feels safe walking around. Sabater said the two-year journey seeking government and hospital approvals “was worth it. Just for Antonio, it was worth it...but also because it opens the space to treat other patients in the future.”
Love My Honey into your baking and cooking recipes. It adds moisture and sweetness to cakes, cookies, pies, muffins, granola bars, oatmeal, or porridge, making them even more delectable.
Natural Remedy: Harness the healing properties of Love My Honey by using it to soothe a sore throat, cough, cold, flu, allergy symptoms, or wounds. Its anti-inflammatory and infectionfighting properties can speed up the healing process. Beauty Applications: Embrace Love My Honey as a natural beauty product to enhance your skin, hair, and nails. It moisturizes, cleanses, exfoliates, and heals your skin; conditions, nourishes, and adds shine to your hair; and strengthens and protects your nails. Love My Honey is more than a honey brand—it’s a lifestyle choice that shows your love for yourself and others. Made by PHILUSA Corporation, a trusted company since 1957, and Miel De Oro, a local honey producer from Bukidnon, Love My Honey gives you a premium honey experience that you can enjoy every day. You can find Love My Honey in all Mercury drugstores nationwide and select supermarkets and grocery stores.
risk of diabetes, heart disease and early death in adults.
Should I be concerned about getting too much? Not as long as you don’t exceed the guidelines. The FDA said scientific evidence continues to support the agency’s conclusion that aspartame is “safe for the general population,” when used within limits. Almost any substance can be dangerous in excessive amounts, said David Klurfeld, a nutrition expert at the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington. “The dose makes the poison,” said Klurfeld, who previously served on an IARC panel. “Even essential nutrients like vitamin A, iron and water will kill you within hours if too much is consumed.” AP
Nestlé launches Family Wellness Festival in Quezon City to celebrate Nutrition Month By Roderick L. Abad Contributor
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A R K I NG t he Nut r ition Month this July, Nestlé Philippines Inc. debuted its Family Wellness Festival aimed at educating Filipino households about good nutrition to achieve a healthier, happier life. As a headstart, the food and beverage (F&B) giant partnered with the local government unit (LGU) of Quezon City for the festivity’s launch attended by around 4,000 local residents and those from nearby cities who pre-registered online at Barangaynestle.com.ph. “We at Nestlé Philippines believe that good nutrition starts at home. We are bringing the Family Wellness Festival closer to communities as we strive to provide citizens with the right information and tips that can help them improve their health and wellness,” Nestlé Philippines Senior Vice President and Head of Corporate Affairs Joey Uy III said during the kick off ceremony held at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City last July 15. This initiative complements the ongoing nutrition programs of Quezon City led by Mayor Joy Belmonte. “We strive to provide our QCitizens all the support they need to have a healthy mind and body to make them productive, free from ailments and able to live longer. It’s the right of every citizen to have a good health. But the local government cannot do it alone. We need the support of the private sector to augment our efforts,” she emphasized.
Nutrition status PIVOTAL to health and development, nutrition is the process of taking food of living organisms and converting it into energy and other important nutrients so as to grow, maintain themselves, and reproduce. Unfortunately in the Philippines, Filipinos have been constantly confronted by nutritional issues since time immemorial, according to experts who graced the event. They continue to carry the triple burden of malnutrition—undernutrition among kids, over-nutrition or obesity for adults, and micronutrient deficiency, Nestlé Philippines nutrition advocacy executive Edelwise “Iv y” Sicat told reporters on the sidelines of the event. Such conditions are shown in the typical Pinggang Pinoy. She said: “It’s our go, grow, glow platebased guide for Filipinos on the proper amounts and kinds of food we eat per meal.” Citing the study of the Department of Science and TechnologyFood and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI), she described the Pinggang Pinoy as half full of rice and the other half would have a little fish and some vegetables. “If you have so much rice, your meal is not balanced and if you continue with this diet for a long time, you will have a problem,” Sicat pointed out. “[Or when] you’re just eating a cup of rice, but your viand is very high in fat and you’re not eating any vegetable, that’s certainly not a good combination [too].” Apart from economic and inflationary pressures, what’s contributing to the nutritional deficiency of Filipinos today is the shortage of supply. “Food insecurity is a problem, Filipinos have no access to food,” underscored DOST-FNRI Senior Science Research Specialist Ruby
J. Frane. “[So] we use data from our research to draft policy recommendations. We’re focusing on the deficiencies in our diet, like there’s a high deficiency of vitamin A in infants, its natural sources coming mostly from yellow foods, vegetables, and milk.”
Healthy food for all TRUE to this year’s Nutrition Month theme, “Healthy diet gawing affordable for all,” Nestlé Philippines keeps its promise to make good nutrition accessible with nutrient-packed and budget-friendly F&B products that are enriched with essential vitamins and minerals for each family member. “Nestlé is working on that so we’ve fortified our products with the key nutrients that are deficient in the Filipino diet, such as vitamins A and C, zinc, calcium, iron. We’ve also reduced some of the sensitive ingredients, like sugar, fat, salt, in Nestlé products,” Sicat explained in reference to some of their well-loved brands such as Milo, Bear Brand, Maggi, Chuckie, Koko Krunch, Nescafe, Nestea and Boost. “We’re locally sourcing some of our ingredients to reduce the cost. We also have different SKUs [stock keeping units] to cater to different families’ buying capacities. But when we say affordable, it should also be sulit [value for money]. That means consumers are getting a product that’s affordable, nutritious and delicious, and contains all the nutrients they need,” she added.
Meaningful, fun-filled event THE initial staging of the Family Wellness Festival was both insightful and enjoyable for attendees. Invited experts shared health and wellness learnings and tips that they can apply and practice at home. For instance, the Department of Agriculture gave pointers on how to start a vegetable garden based on its Food Always in the Home or FAITH program. This was followed by a cooking demonstration to promote “sarapsustansya” meals for the family. Registered nutritionists-dietitians were available to give free personalized nutrition consultations to participants. Festivalgoers joined the fun games and exciting activities, courtesy of different Nestlé brands. Aside from promos and discounts, its products and special prizes were raffled off throughout the day. They also received freebies by exchanging empty sachets and tetra packs of products manufactured by the multinational. This is in line with the company’s 3Rs advocacy to engage more Filipinos to “Reuse, Reduce and Recycle” plastic wastes and become part of the movement for environmental sustainability. Making the event “greener”, a representative from nonprofit organization Pure Oceans gave a talk, together with a representative from GMA Sparkle, about environment protection and its positive impact in the wellness of the planet. As the Kasambuhay for Good and family wellness partner of Filipinos, Nestlé Philippines will bring the Family Wellness Festival to Makati City and Caloocan City in August. Pre-registration for the next events is now open via Barangaynestle.com.ph. “We’re ver y optimistic that 10 years from now, we will see a healthier Philippines,” Nestle Philippines Vice President for Corporate Communications Michelle Pador stressed.