Eye Disease News and Research

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Eye diseases are widespread around the globe. According to the World Health Organization, the most important three eye diseases or conditions that are a potential threat to the global population are diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration. One more vital reason for visual harm is refractive errors. Some of the important reasons for vision loss or low vision are age, healthcare, gender, genetic problems and the prevalence of family history.

Research shows alcohol abuse drug inhibits ocular conjunctival scarring in mouse model

New research from University College London, Moorfields Eye Hospital and Duke University School of Medicine has identified a gene that drives scarring, together with a rapidly translatable therapy, for the UK's most common cause of blinding conjunctivitis.

4 Aug 2016

Second annual USC VR Hackathon for international coders, designers focuses on Medical Empathy Machine

Kicking off its second annual virtual reality (VR) Hackathon, the University of Southern California Center for Body Computing announced this year's focus of the competition is "Medical Empathy Machine," showcasing the potential of VR to change medicine and patient experience through emotion, compassion and empathy.

30 Jul 2016

Researchers find potential way for delivering gene therapy to treat eye diseases

Eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration are among the leading causes of irreversible vision loss and blindness worldwide. Currently, gene therapy can be administered to treat these conditions -- but this requires an injection.

27 Jul 2016

Are your sunglasses safe? An interview with Omar Hassan

All sunglasses that carry the CE mark block all UV rays, particularly if they're marked with the UV 400 label.

From Vision Express 19 Jul 2016

Optical sensor can precisely measure ultra-small magnetic fields from the human body

The human body is controlled by electrical impulses in, for example, the brain, the heart and nervous system.

15 Jul 2016

New, minimally invasive procedure may be effective for patients with FED

A new, minimally invasive procedure appears to be effective for many patients with Fuchs endothelial dystrophy (FED), a common eye disease, without the potential side effects and cost of the current standard of care, a cornea transplant.

13 Jul 2016

New eye test could help detect glaucoma earlier than current techniques

UNSW Australia scientists have developed a testing protocol that identifies the blinding eye disease glaucoma four years earlier than current techniques.

12 Jul 2016

Shire’s Xiidra receives FDA approval for treating dry eye disease in adult patients

Shire plc announces that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Xiidra (lifitegrast ophthalmic solution) 5%, a twice-daily eye drop solution indicated for the treatment of the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease in adult patients.

12 Jul 2016

Thousands of volunteers join clinical trial to help transform early detection of diabetic eye disease

More than 4,500 people from Liverpool with diabetes have volunteered to join a clinical trial funded by the National Institute for Health Research to help transform early detection of diabetic eye disease.

11 Jul 2016

Researchers uncover role for Wars2 gene in angiogenesis process

In a study conducted by Duke-NUS Medical School and the National Heart Centre Singapore, researchers discovered a new gene that controls blood vessel formation.

8 Jul 2016

Buck researchers find new way for possible treatment of AMD

Buck researchers boosted the potency of a broccoli-related compound by ten times and identified it as a possible treatment for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of vision loss affecting more than 10 million older Americans.

7 Jul 2016

Routine eye examinations lead to change in vision prescription or care in asymptomatic patients

Do you really need to get your eyes checked—even if you haven't noticed any vision problems or eye-related symptoms? More than half of routine eye examinations in asymptomatic patients lead to a change in vision prescription or other changes in care, according to a study in the June issue of Optometry and Vision Science, official journal of the American Academy of Optometry.

4 Jul 2016

Study estimates real-world prevalence of myopic choroidal neovascularization in the U.S.

A new study estimates that 9.6 million adults in the United States are highly myopic, or severely nearsighted. Of those, nearly 820,000 have a degenerative form of the disease and more than 41,000 suffer a complication called myopic choroidal neovascularization that could cause long-term vision loss, with women at higher risk.

22 Jun 2016

Scientists identify gene linked to severe glaucoma in children

Northwestern Medicine and University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists have identified a gene that causes severe glaucoma in children.

13 Jun 2016

NIH-funded study finds visual impairment, blindness may double by 2050

With the youngest of the baby boomers hitting 65 by 2029, the number of people with visual impairment or blindness in the United States is expected to double to more than 8 million by 2050, according to projections based on the most recent census data and from studies funded by the National Eye Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health.

23 May 2016

Lack of UV protection in car windows may contribute to increased cancer rates

A recent analysis of the glass in car windows has shown that front windshields consistently provide a high level of ultraviolet (UV) protection whereas the UV protection afforded by side windows was much lower and more variable. Drivers who frequently make long journeys may thus be unwittingly exposing themselves to damaging UV rays.

13 May 2016

Scientists clarify molecular mechanism of Visomitin drug

An international team of scientists led by researchers from the Lomonosov Moscow State University succeeded to clarify the molecular mechanism of a drug created in Russia and designed to prevent the damaging of cell mitochondria by reactive oxygen species. This work is published in the journal Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity.

12 May 2016

Blueberry component PS may protect against dry eye disease

Pterostilbene (PS), a component of blueberries, have been found to protect against dry eye disease according to a new study.

5 May 2016

LALES study analyzes risk, prevalence of early and late stage AMD among Latinos

The University of Southern California Roski Eye Institute researchers and clinicians published results of the largest population-based study of adult Latinos and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in the National Eye Institute-funded "Los Angeles Latino Eye Study." The study, published in JAMA Ophthalmology, is the first to analyze the risk and prevalence of early and late stage AMD and its impact on quality of life for older Latinos.

4 May 2016

NEI-funded study analyzes outcomes of anti-VEGF therapy for AMD

In a study of nearly 650 people with the eye disease age-related macular degeneration (AMD), half still had vision 20/40 or better, typically good enough to drive or to read standard print, after five years of treatment with anti-VEGF drugs that are injected into the eye. The authors of the study, funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI) at the National Institutes of Health, say those outcomes would have been unimaginable about 10 years ago, prior to the drugs' availability.

3 May 2016