PULSE BUILDING SIGHT FOR THE BLIND.

Byline: Mariko Thompson

Pacemaker implants stimulate the heart. Hip implants restore mobility. But eye implants to reverse blindness? The day may not be far off.

As part of an early-stage clinical trial, USC researchers tested an electronic implant in three blind patients who suffered from degenerative eye diseases. When hooked up to a computer in the laboratory, the implant's electrodes stimulate the remaining retina cells. Patients have been able to perceive light and distinguish objects on a table.

``It's exciting to have somebody who has been blind for decades see anything,'' said Dr. Mark Humayun, professor of ophthalmology and biomedical engineering at the Doheny Eye Institute at USC.

Constance Schoeman, 76, of La Canada Flintridge had the 3 millimeter- by-5 millimeter implant surgically placed in her right eye. Schoeman was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa at age 29 and lost her sight completely about 20 years ago.

``There's a good chance that this will help somebody,'' Schoeman said. ``That's the reason I'm in it. Who knows? It might help me, too.''

Now that the first trial has established that the eye implant is safe, Humayun and his team will test a smaller, more powerful version in a larger study. The newer model should allow participants to distinguish and avoid objects in their path, which would help with mobility. Once this phase of the trial is complete, the second-generation model could become available on the market, he said.

The ultimate goal is to improve the implant to the point where patients could read and recognize faces, he said. That goal recently received a boost in the form of a $17 million grant from the National Science Foundation. The eye implant project is one of three that will benefit from USC's new Biomimetic MicroElectronic Systems Center, funded by the grant.

MYSTERY OF MEMORY: Why do we remember what we remember? And why do some memories fade with time? James McGaugh lays out what science has unlocked about ``Memory and Emotion'' (Columbia University Press; $24.50). McGaugh, director of the Center for Neurobiology of Learning and Memory at the University of California, Irvine, explains emotion's role in forging memories and why we're more likely to remember what we were doing on 9-11 than what we ate for breakfast three days ago. The book blends scientific research with personal anecdotes and even examples from literature for an absorbing read on the mysteries of memory.

FLOWER POWER: Buy the ``Bouquet for a Cure'' at Whole Foods Market through Nov. 2, and help support breast cancer research. The bouquets of pink roses, gerbera daisies and lilies cost $12.99, with $3 going toward the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The foundation funds breast cancer research, education, screening and treatment projects.

CELEBRITY TALK: Breastcancer.org and Lifetime Television have teamed up to create an online dictionary of breast cancer medical terms called the ``Celebrity Talking Dictionary.'' The dictionary contains more than 500 medical terms rendered in plain English. Forty celebrities, including Olivia Newton-John, Courteney Cox Arquette, Kelsey Grammer and Regis Philbin, pronounce the terms and explain the definitions. Some will ask, ``Do you really need to hear Celine Dion tell you what carcinoma in situ means when it's written right there on the screen?'' Celebrity window-dressing aside, the dictionary lives up to its promise of taking scary medical-ese and explaining the terms in everyday language. To access the dictionary, visit www.breastcancer.org or lifetimetv.com/reallife/bc.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) Blind for 20 years, Constance Schoeman, 76, of La Canada Flintridge can now see light and distinguish objects on a table with an eye implant created at USC.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer

(2) no caption (book: ``Memory and Emotion'')