Half the world’s population (nearly 5 billion) will be short-sighted (myopic) by 2050, with up to one-fifth of them (1 billion) at a significantly increased risk of blindness if current trends…
Author: Medical News Today
New guide from AGS, NHTSA a green light to promoting safe driving for older adults
A newly updated guide from the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is putting healthcare professionals on the road to success for…
Scientists discover genetic changes linked to a major risk factor for blinding trachoma
Another clue to the workings of trachoma – the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness – has been revealed in a new study published in BMC Infectious Diseases.
Hydrogels can put stem cells to sleep
Unlike normal cells, stem cells are pluripotent — they can become any cell type, which makes them powerful potential treatments for diseases such as diabetes, leukemia and age-related blindness.
Researchers discover a genetic mutation that prevents diabetes complications
A number of complications are associated with diabetes, but they are more prevalent in some patients than in others.
Using the physics of your perfect pancake to help save sight
Understanding the textures and patterns of pancakes is helping UCL scientists improve surgical methods for treating glaucoma.
‘Smart’ lens could predict risk of glaucoma progression
A ‘smart’ contact lens that can monitor eye pressure in glaucoma patients 24 hours a day has proven effective for identifying which patients are at risk of disease progression.
Potential new approaches to treating eye diseases
Potential new approaches to treating eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are described in a new study, “IL-33 amplifies an innate immune response in the degenerating…
Mature drivers favor checks on over 70s, new study finds
The majority of older drivers are in favour of tighter rules on checking the health and suitability of over-70s to drive – even if those checks could take them off the road themselves – according…
Patients with macular degeneration show improvement with high-dose statin treatment
Researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School and the University of Crete have conducted a phase I/II clinical trial investigating the efficacy of statins (cholesterol-lowering…
Edited stem cells offer hope of precision therapy for blindness
Findings raise the possibility of treating blinding eye diseases using a patient’s own corrected cells as replacement tissue.
Farsighted kids’ reading skills fall behind before they start first grade
Kids with uncorrected farsightedness lose ground on reading skills before they ever start first grade, a new study has found.
S. aureus can spread from blood to eye, endangering vision
Nearly ten percent of cases of Staphylococcus aureus infections of the blood spread to the eyeball, according to a team of Korean clinical investigators.
Breakthrough discovery in the genetics of corneal dystrophies
Researchers at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital London, in collaboration with colleagues in the Czech Republic, have discovered a new genetic cause of corneal…
Study: sight loss patients with depression are “routinely overlooked”
A new study has revealed that nearly half of people attending NHS low vision clinics for help with sight loss suffer from symptoms of clinical depression – but they are not being diagnosed or given…
Dartmouth study helps fill in gaps in our visual perception
A Dartmouth College study sheds light on how the brain fills in the gaps of how we visually perceive the world around us.
Chickenpox, shingles vaccine may cause corneal inflammation in some patients
Primary care physicians should be aware of possible vision side effect for susceptible patients.
UK NSC recommendations include new bowel cancer screening test
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) has published a number of recommendations today (15 January 2015) following its meeting on 19 November 2015.
Drug ‘cocktail’ could restore vision in optic nerve injury
Research from Boston Children’s Hospital suggests the possibility of restoring at least some visual function in people blinded by optic nerve damage from glaucoma, estimated to affect more than 4…
Eating your greens might stave off glaucoma
Eating greens is indisputably beneficial for general health, and the latest research says that leafy vegetables might help save your sight, too.