A study has shown for the first time that starfish use primitive eyes at the tip of their arms to visually navigate their environment. Research headed by Dr. Anders Garm at the Marine Biological Section of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, showe…
Author: Medical News Today
AMA Opposes Fragmentation Of Care For Glaucoma Patients In Australia
The AMA has expressed disappointment that ophthalmologists have been forced to take legal action to help safeguard quality care for people suffering glaucoma…
Retina Implant AG’s Alpha IMS Wins CE Mark
Retina Implant AG, the leading developer of subretinal implants for patients blinded by retinitis pigmentosa (RP), today announced that its wireless subretinal implant technology, the Alpha IMS, has received CE Mark…
Two Studies Pave The Way To Better Computer Object Recognition And Future Therapies For Visual Disorders
How is it possible for a human eye to figure out letters that are twisted and looped in crazy directions, like those in the little security test internet users are often given on websites? It seems easy to us – the human brain just does it. But the app…
Scientist Working To Break Vicious Cycle Causing Vision Loss In Diabetes
It’s a vicious cycle that robs people with diabetes of their vision. The hallmark high glucose of the disease causes inflammation that produces free radicals that cause inflammation that produces more free radicals, explains Dr. Manuela Bartoli, visi…
A Telescope For The Eye: New Contacts May Improve Sight For Macular Degeneration Patients
Contact lenses correct many people’s eyesight but do nothing to improve the blurry vision of those suffering from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness among older adults in the western world. That’s because simply cor…
Vision-Related Diseases Costing $139 Billion Each Year
Vision-related diseases are costing insurance companies, the U.S. government and patients approximately $139 billion each year, according to researchers from the University of Chicago, the authors of a new report – “Cost of Vision Problems: The Economi…
Subtle Abnormalities Predict Which Older Adults Will Have Faster Decline In Visual Acuity
Sophisticated new optical quality metrics can identify older adults likely to have more rapid age-related declines in vision, suggests a study, “Factors Accounting for the 4-Year Change in Acuity in Patients Between 50 and 80 Years”, in the July issue …
New Low Cost Method Of Measuring Pleasure Response To Tasting Food
Scientists have developed a very simple tool that can measure the brain’s pleasure response to tasting food. The new low cost ophthalmological tool could be used for clinical applications in obesity prevention and addiction to foods. The study, publi…
Damaging Healthy Eye Cells: New Insights Into Diseases Causing The Loss Of Vision.
There are two major light receptor cells in the mammalian eye: rods and cones. New research by scientists from Duke University have shown that dying cone cells can trigger the demise of healthy rod cells, leading to the loss of vision…
Pilot Study Has Promising Results For Age-Related Macular Degeneration
There is no cure for age-related macular degeneration, an eye disease that is the leading cause of vision loss and blindness in older Americans…
Hope For Treatment Of Non-24 Hour Sleep-Wake Disorder In The Blind
An investigational new drug significantly improved a common and debilitating circadian rhythm sleep disorder that frequently affects people who are completely blind, a multicenter study finds. The results were presented at The Endocrine Society’s Annua…
Engineered Virus Will Improve Gene Therapy For Blinding Eye Diseases
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed an easier and more effective method for inserting genes into eye cells that could greatly expand gene therapy to help restore sight to patients with blinding diseases ranging from in…
Eyeball Licking (Oculolinctus) Can Be Dangerous, Doctors Warn
Eyeball-licking fetishism, also known as “oculolinctus” or “worming”, has become a popular way of expressing affection or inciting sexual arousal in Japan…
New Layer In Human Eye Discovered
A new layer in the front layer of the human eye has been discovered by researchers at The University of Nottingham. The findings, published in the journal Ophthalmology, could significantly help doctors carry out corneal grafts or transplants. The laye…
Age-Related Vision Loss May Be Related To Low Birth Weight
Medical researchers at the University of Alberta recently published their findings that rats with restricted growth in the womb, causing low birth weights when born, were most susceptible to developing age-related vision loss, compared to their normal …
New Array Measures Vibrations Across The Skin, May Help Engineers Design Optimal, Wearable Tactile Displays
In the near future, a buzz in your belt or a pulse from your jacket may give you instructions on how to navigate your surroundings. Think of it as tactile Morse code: vibrations from a wearable, GPS-linked device that tell you to turn right or left, o…
Rapid Diagnosis Followed By Immediate Treatment Of Giant Cell Arteritis Significantly Reduces Risk Of Blindness
A new study presented at EULAR 2013, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism, shows that rapid evaluation for Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA) by Color Doppler Ultrasound (CDUS) followed by immediate initiation of treatment (if required…
New Layer Of The Human Cornea Discovered
Scientists at The University of Nottingham have discovered a previously undetected layer in the cornea, the clear window at the front of the human eye. The breakthrough, announced in a study published in the academic journal Ophthalmology, could help s…
Researchers Find Diminished Balance In Those With Poor Vision
UC Davis Health System Eye Center research has found that visually impaired individuals and those with uncorrected refractive error – those who could benefit from glasses to achieve normal vision but don’t wear glasses – have a significantly greater ri…