People who take aspirin regularly over the long-term have a higher risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the main cause of blindness among seniors, researchers from the University of Sydney, Australia, reported in JAMA Internal Med…
Author: Medical News Today
Scientists Discover Genes Responsible For Cornea Blindness
Scientists at Singapore Eye Research Institute and A*STAR’s Genome Institute of Singapore have succeeded in identifying genes for central corneal thickness that may cause potentially blinding eye conditions. These eye conditions include glaucoma, as w…
Exposure To Light While Pregnant Essential For Fetal Eye Development
The eye, which depends on light in order to see, also requires light to develop normally during pregnancy. The researchers believe these results provide a new basic comprehension of fetal eye progression and ocular conditions caused by vascular issues…
Possible Negative Side Effects Of VEGF Inhibition Therapy For Eye Disease
A new Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (IOVS) article reveals that increasingly aggressive therapies that block VEGF could cause damage in treating eye diseases. Scientists discovered inhibiting anti-VEGF might have a harmful effect on the tissue responsible for producing the fluid that bathes the eye, medically termed the ciliary body…
Delisting Routine Eye Exams From Health Plan Resulted In Fewer Necessary Eye Exams For Patients With Diabetes
The delisting of routine eye exams from the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) for healthy adults under age 65 has resulted in lower rates of recommended eye screening for people with diabetes, states a study published in CMAJ – even though eye exams…
Why Is Perceiving Faces Harder For Patients With Age-Related Macular Degeneration?
Researchers have recently identified why it is that adults with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) have trouble recognizing and identifying people’s faces, they believe that it could largely be due to abnormal eye movement patterns and fixations as…
Decrease In Government-Funded Eye Exams For Diabetics In Ontario
A new study has found that adults with diabetes in Ontario are getting significantly fewer government-funded eye exams than they were a decade ago, a key component of high-quality diabetes care essential to preventing diabetes-related eye complication…
Age-Related Macular Degeneration And Facial Recognition
Abnormalities of eye movement and fixation may contribute to difficulty in perceiving and recognizing faces among older adults with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), suggests a study “Abnormal Fixation in Individuals with AMD when Viewing an Ima…
Researchers Describe Protein Essential For Healthy Eyes
Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in collaboration with researchers at the Salk Institute in California, have found for the first time that a specific protein is essential not only for maintaining a healthy retina in the eye, but also…
Blind Mice Have Sight Restored
Completely blind mice had their sight restored after having developing cells transplanted into their eyes. The cells reformed the entire light-sensitive layer of the retina, rather like replacing the film in a camera. The researchers believe their c…
Researchers Identify An Early Predictor For Glaucoma
A new study finds that certain changes in blood vessels in the eye’s retina can be an early warning that a person is at increased risk for glaucoma, an eye disease that slowly robs people of their peripheral vision…
Identifying The Molecular Causes Of Vision Loss In Demyelinating Disease
Demyelinating diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), are frequently associated with the progressive loss of vision. The retinal nerve damage is thought to be caused by immune system-mediated inflammation; however, other demyelinating disorders, su…
Blinking Causes Brain To Go Off-Line
New research from Japan suggests that blinking does more than stop our eyes drying out: it is an active process that causes the brain to go off-line, into a more reflective mode, before giving renewed attention. Tamami Nakano of Osaka University and c…
2 Novel Treatments For Retinitis Pigmentosa Move Closer To Clinical Trials
Two recent experimental treatments – one involving skin-derived induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell grafts, the other gene therapy – have been shown to produce long-term improvement in visual function in mouse models of retinitis pigmentosa (RP), acco…
Scientists Construct First Map Of How The Brain Organizes Everything We See
Our eyes may be our window to the world, but how do we make sense of the thousands of images that flood our retinas each day? Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have found that the brain is wired to put in order all the categories o…
Organizing The Eye’s Neurons
Johns Hopkins researchers A. R. Tomas and M. R. Deans have identified a protein needed for neuron organization in the developing retina. The team says that the study helps reveal how the healthy retina – the part of the eye that detects light – is bui…
Eyes May Reveal Multiple Sclerosis Progression
Retina thinning may reveal how rapidly multiple sclerosis is progressing, researchers from Johns Hopkins MS Center reported in the journal Neurology. The scientists explained that they referred to the thinning of “a layer of the retina in the eyes”…
Insulin Plus Growth Factor Inhibitor Limits Vision Damage In Diabetic Mice
A new therapeutic approach to diabetes that combines insulin and an inhibitor of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) betacellulin could limit the progression of diabetic macular edema (DME), Cleveland Clinic researcher Bela Anand-Apte, MD, PhD, said at …
Elderly Aspirin Users More Likely To Develop Macular Degeneration
Regular aspirin use has been linked to a significantly increased risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to a recent study published in JAMA. Macular degeneration is a condition which largely affects the elderly and results in a progr…
Older Adults With Vision Problems May Suffer Social Isolation Due To Fear Of Falls
A new study published in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science found that between 40 to 50 percent of older adults with visually impairing eye disease limit their activities due to a fear of falling. Vision scientists warn that this protective s…