Contact lens discomfort (CLD) may be the leading cause of patient dissatisfaction with, and discontinuation of, contact lens wear throughout the world – but there is little agreement among vision researchers and eye care professionals about how to defi…
Author: Medical News Today
No evidence to support stem cell therapy for pediatric optic nerve hypoplasia
A study performed at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles found no evidence that stem cell therapy improves vision for children with optic nerve hypoplasia (ONH). Their results are reported in the Journal of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmol…
Software enables yoga for the blind
In a typical yoga class, students watch an instructor to learn how to properly hold a position. But for people who are blind or can’t see well, it can be frustrating to participate in these types of exercises…
Veterans with blast-induced traumatic brain injury report poorer vision quality
Veterans with blast-induced traumatic brain injury (TBI) reported poorer vision quality on questionnaires, according to a report by Sonne Lemke, Ph.D., of the VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Menlo Park, Calif., and colleagues. TBI is an important he…
Researchers take first step toward a macular dystrophy gene therapy
Vitelliform macular dystrophy, also known as Best disease, is one of a group of vision-robbing conditions called bestrophinopathies that affect children and young adults. Caused by inherited mutations in the BEST1 gene, these diseases cause severe decl…
Retinitis pigmentosa identified by simple blood or urine test
Research led by physician-scientists at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine has produced a breakthrough discovery in diagnosing retinitis pigmentosa, a blinding disease that affects about 1 in 4,000 people i…
Experiment explores innate visual behavior in mice
When you’re a tiny mouse in the wild, spotting aerial predators – like hawks and owls – is essential to your survival…
As baby boomers age, cataract surgeries rise
As baby boomers enter their retirement years, health care costs for complex and debilitating conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease are expected to soar. Not drawing as much attention is the likelihood of similarly rising expenses for common age-relate…
Clinical trial examines oral supplementation in age-related macular degeneration
A daily 15 mg dose of the oral medication pazopanib for patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD, a leading cause of blindness) resulted in improvements in vision and other measures related to the retina, according to a report of two clinica…
Retinitis pigmentosa test identifies mutation found in Ashkenazi Jewish population
You might not think to look to a urine test to diagnose an eye disease. But a new Duke University study says it can link what is in a patient’s urine to gene mutations that cause retinitis pigmentosa, or RP, an inherited, degenerative disease that resu…
New data on the toll technology takes on our health
LUMO BodyTech, the makers of the LUMOback smart posture and movement feedback system, has announced national survey results revealing a widespread phenomenon LUMO calls ‘Silicon Valley Syndrome’. The survey revealed that 60% of Americans report having …
Age-related macular degeneration may be due to loss of anti-aging gene
A team of researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) has found that loss of an anti-aging gene induces retinal degeneration in mice and might contribute to age-related macular degeneration, the major cause of blindness in the elderly…
Why diabetic retinopathy is difficult to treat
Damage to the retina due to diabetes can be ameliorated only partially, despite treatment with the standard drug metformin. Scientists of Helmholtz Zentrum München have discovered that metformin treatment normalizes the alterations induced by diabetes in only about half of the altered retinal proteins. The results of the study were published in the journal Diabetologia…
Six new Sjögren’s syndrome genes identified
With the completion of the first genome-wide association study for Sjögren’s syndrome, an international coalition of researchers led by scientists at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation has identified six new disease-related genes. Their work appears in the journal Nature Genetics…
Novel ‘human eye’ device could diagnose disease
Scientists have created a novel imaging device inspired by the human eye, which may help diagnose human diseases and monitor hazardous substances. This is according to a study published in the journal Optics Letters…
New clinical research supports treatment for post-menopausal dry eye
Study findings published in the October issue of Cornea show that daily dietary supplementation with a unique combination of omega fatty acids (GLA, EPA and DHA) for six months is effective in improving ocular irritation symptoms and halting the progre…
Scientists regenerate fully functional tear and saliva glands
Scientists from Japan have regenerated fully functioning bioengineered salivary and tear glands, according to two reviews published in the journal Nature Communications…
Castle Biosciences launches tissue repository for eye cancer patients
Castle Biosciences Inc. has announced the availability of a tumor tissue repository for patients whose tumors are being tested with the Company’s gene test for uveal, or ocular, melanoma. Patients will now have the option of storing an additional sampl…
Cracking AMD’s genetic code – rare gene identified
Scientists working on the genetics of age-related macular degeneration (AMD – the commonest cause of blindness in Europe and North America) have identified a new rare gene variant that predisposes people to the condition…
‘Optic flow’ is especially important for people with low vision
Blurred images that are unidentifiable as still pictures become understandable once the images are set in motion…