Restoring vision might sometimes be as simple as turning out the lights. That’s according to a study reported in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, in which researchers examined kittens with a visual impairment known as amblyopia before and aft…
Author: Medical News Today
First Retinal Implant For Rare Eye Disease Approved By FDA
The first retinal implant, the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System, received approval to treat a rare genetic eye disease. The U.S. FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved the device to help adult patients with advanced retinitis pigmentosa (RP) reg…
No Link Found Between Genetic Risk Factors And 2 Top Wet AMD Treatments
New findings from a landmark clinical trial show that although certain gene variants may predict whether a person is likely to develop age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a potentially blinding eye disease that afflicts more than nine million Americans, these genes do not predict how patients will respond to Lucentis™ and Avastin™, the two medications most widel…
Queen’s Study Aims To Use Stem Cells To Help Save Sight Of Diabetes Sufferers
Scientists at Queen’s University Belfast are hoping to develop a novel approach that could save the sight of millions of diabetes sufferers using adult stem cells. Currently millions of diabetics worldwide are at risk of sight loss due to a condition …
Protein Uncovered That Prevents Light-Induced Retinal Degeneration
Research led by Minghao Jin, PhD, Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology and Neuroscience at the LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans Neuroscience Center of Excellence, has found a protein that protects retinal photoreceptor cells from degeneration cau…
Rats Given ‘Sixth Sense’ By Neuroprosthesis Implants Able To ‘See’ In Infrared
Researchers have given rats the ability to “touch” infrared light, normally invisible to them, by fitting them with an infrared detector wired to microscopic electrodes implanted in the part of the mammalian brain that processes tactile information…
Identification Of New Genes For Short-Sightedness
An international team of scientists led by King’s College London has discovered 24 new genes that cause refractive errors and myopia (short-sightedness). Myopia is a major cause of blindness and visual impairment worldwide, and currently there is no cu…
Association Between High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein Levels And Risk Of Macular Degeneration
Vinod P. Mitta, M.D., M.P.H., of the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, and colleagues investigated the relationship between high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and the future risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in U.S. men an…
Inflammatory Biomarker Levels May Be Associated With Increased Risk Of Macular Edema
Rajeev H. Muni, M.D., M.Sc., F.R.C.S.C., of the University of Toronto, Canada, and colleagues examined inflammatory biomarkers and the risk of diabetic retinopathy in the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial population (Online First)…
24 Genes Responsible For Short-Sightedness Identified
Researchers from King’s College London have identified 24 new genes that are responsible for causing myopia, a very common eye disorder also known as short-sightedness. The finding, published in Nature Genetics, finally reveals the genetic causes of t…
New Report Calls For Standardised Collection Of Quality Optical Data, UK
The College of Optometrists, the professional, scientific and examining body for optometry in the UK, has published a new report calling for a more efficient collection of good quality data relating to patients’ eye health, in a bid to improve local e…
High Rate Of Vision Problems After Traumatic Brain Injury Found In In Combat Vets And Others
Visual symptoms and abnormalities occur at high rates in people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) – including Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans with blast-related TBI, reports a study, “Abnormal Fixation in Individuals with AMD when Viewing an Image o…
In Mouse Model Of Usher Syndrome, Researchers Develop Rx For Deafness, Impaired Balance
Jennifer Lentz, PhD, Assistant Professor of Otorhinolaryngology & Biocommunications and a member of the Neuroscience Center of Excellence at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, is the lead author of a paper reporting that hearing and balance can be rescued by a new therapy in a mouse model of Usher syndrome (Usher) that contains the mutation responsible for type 1C Usher…
Evidence-Based Guidelines For Automated Preschool Vision Screening
The Vision Screening Committee of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, the professional organization for pediatric eye care, has revised its guidelines for automated preschool vision screening based on new evidence. The…
Unraveling The Brain’s Vision Secrets
A new study led by scientists at the Universities of York and Bradford has identified the two areas of the brain responsible for our perception of orientation and shape…
Patients Taking Insulin For Type 2 Diabetes May Be At Increased Risk Of Health Complications
Patients with type 2 diabetes treated with insulin could be exposed to a greater risk of health complications including heart attack, stroke, cancer and eye complications a new study has found…
Modifying Existing Cells In The Eye May One Day Restore Vision
Doctors may one day treat some forms of blindness by altering the genetic program of the light-sensing cells of the eye, according to scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Working in mice with retinitis pigmentosa, a dise…
The Complexity Of Gene Therapy For Congenital Blindness
Independent clinical trials, including one conducted at the Scheie Eye Institute at the Perelman School of Medicine, have reported safety and efficacy for Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), a congenital form of blindness caused by mutations in a gene (…
Understanding How Eye Cells Become Damaged Could Help Prevent Blindness
Light-sensing cells in the eye rely on their outer segment to convert light into neural signals that allow us to see. But because of its unique cylindrical shape, the outer segment is prone to breakage, which can cause blindness in humans…
An Essential Step In The Skin’s Response To UVA Light
Last year, a team of researchers at Brown University discovered that certain skin cells use a light-sensitive receptor found outside of the eye to sense ultraviolet light and quickly begin pumping out melanin to protect against DNA damage…