Blind 14 Year Old Boy Can Now See With The Help Of the Herpes Virus
A 14-year-old who has been blind most of his life can now see thanks to a very special kind of eye drop that was administered by a cutting-edge doctor out…
LONDON – FEBRUARY 03: In this photo illustration the myspace logo is reflected in the eye of a girl on February 3, 2008 in London, England. Financial experts continue to evaluate the recent Microsoft $44.6 billion (?22.4 billion) offer for Yahoo and the possible impact on Internet market currently dominated by Google. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
Getty Images/Chris JacksonA 14-year-old who has been blind most of his life can now see thanks to a very special kind of eye drop that was administered by a cutting-edge doctor out of Miami, Florida.
Imagine thinking you'd be blind your whole life and this doctor specializing in topical gene therapy tells you all your problems could melt away with a topical gel.
According to the Daily Mail, the patient, Antonio Vento Carvajal, was born with a gene that causes so much scarring on his eyes, that his vision has severely deteriorated over time. But now, Miami doctor Alfonso Sabater has taken a form of deactivated herpes virus that’s approved as a topical gel for skin lesions and reformulated it into eye drops.
With surgery and regularly scheduled eyedrop treatments, Carvajal’s scar tissue hasn’t grown back, and his vision is nearly perfect at 20/25. Though this scientific advancement is exciting, it’s also incredibly expensive, costing about $631,000 per patient. Yes, that is an "out-of-pocket" expense as insurance may not cover all or even some of the pricey medicine.
Hopefully as medicine advances so will the cost of this therapy. It is still exciting to know that it is possible no matter what the cost.
How Healthy Is The Charlotte Metro Area Compared To The Rest of North Carolina?
County Health Rankings & Roadmaps recently released their 2023 rankings. The goal of CHR&R is to "bring actionable data, evidence, guidance and stories to support community-led efforts to grow community power and improve health equity." It is created by The University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute (UWPHI). For 2023 the rankings focused on "the connection between civic health and thriving people and places." So how healthy is Charlotte and the surrounding area compared to the rest of the state?
First, we need to know exactly what we are looking at. On the County Health Rankings website, you can filter by a wide range of metrics. Right now we are looking at the rankings based on Health Outcomes. These rankings tell us how long people live on average within a community. As well as how much physical and mental health people experience in a community while they are alive. These rankings are out of the state, so for the counties in the Charlotte Metro Area that are in North Carolina you will see a number/100 for 100 counties. For South Carolina its /46. The only counties to make the top 5 in their respective states were Union and York. But Mecklenburg was right on the edge of that. Some of the surrounding counties didn't fare as well.
Keep reading to see how the Charlotte Metro Area counties ranked and which are the most healthy. Get more info and data here.
North Carolina
Mecklenburg
Ranking: 6/100
Alexander
Ranking: 38/100
Cabarrus
Ranking: 11/100
Cleveland
Ranking: 83/100
Davidson
Ranking: 44/100
Gaston
Ranking: 58/100
Iredell
Ranking: 16/100
Lincoln
Ranking: 24/100
Rowan County
Ranking: 64/100
Stanley
Ranking: 63/100
Union
Ranking: 3/100
South Carolina
Chester County
Ranking: 38/46
Chesterfield
Ranking: 30/46
Lancaster
Ranking: 14/46
York
Ranking: 2/46
