Dr. Barlow and Erin Scala Interviewed on WIXT, Channel 9, March 31, 1999

An interview with Dr. Robert Barlow aired on WIXT, Channel 9 on Wednesday, 3/31/99. Channel 9's Carrie Lazarus discussed research that is ongoing in the University Center for Vision Care and Research focusing on retinitis pigmentosa and other eye diseases such as macular degeneration, gluacoma and diabetic retinopathy. John and Erin Scala were also interviewed regarding Erins' diagnosis of retinitis pigmentosa.

A complete transcript of the interview follows.
Or listen to audio clips below or the entire audio (1.5 MB) (.wav) or (.aiff), courtesy of WIXT Channel 9, Syracuse!

WIXT's Carrie Lazarus: Clip #1 (.wav) (.aiff)	Eye diseases rob the sight of millions of people each year. An organizaiton in Syracuse treats vision loss, but it's also researching the causes, finding new treatments and looking for cures. In tonights' Hometown Health, research is the only hope a young Baldwinsville girl has in avoiding eventual blindness.
Erin Scala: Clip #2 (.wav) (.aiff)	I can't see in the dark. It's really hard.
Carrie Lazarus:	Erin Scala was only four years old when she was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, an inherited eye disease which slowly destroys the retina, and eventually causes blindness. It's something she hopes doesn't happen, but she's not taking chances.
Erin Scala:	If I go blind someday, it's better to know before and not learn it while you're blind.
Carrie Lazarus:	She's learning Braille, somethingher father, John Scala, strongly hopes she'll never need to use.
John Scala: Clip #3 (.wav) (.aiff)	I'm confident that all the things that are going on in research, and many things that are going on here in Syracuse at the University Eye Center, that Erin is going to have some type of treatment at some point that will stop the progression of this disease.
Carrie Lazarus:	It's a good possiblity ...vision scientists, like Dr. Robert Barlow, have made important break throughs in the past year and a half.
Dr. Robert Barlow: Clip #4 (.wav) (.aiff)	We can actually track the degeneration in a living animal, which has never been possible to do before, gives us a window of opportunity to get at the mechanisms that actually lead to the degeneration of these important sensors of light in the retina. When we get at that the hope is we can begin to develop a cure.
John Scala: Clip #5 (.wav) (.aiff)	She realizes there are some things she can't do, but I would tell other parents - let them do whatever they can do and go from there.
Carrie Lazarus: Clip #6 (.wav) (.aiff)	The research focuses on more than retinitis pigmentosa. Vision scientists also hope to learn more about other eye diseases such as macular degeneration, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. To find out more about the latest treatments in eye diseases, call the Upstate Medical University Foundation/Vision Center at 464-5253. And, to suport the Vision 2000 Research Campaign, call 464-4416.
	Interview transcript courtesy of WIXT, Channel 9 Syracuse.