Retinopathy of Prematurity News and Research

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Transfused blood age does not impact outcomes in premature babies

Using fresh red blood cells for premature babies who need blood transfusions does not improve outcomes over use of standard blood bank donations, show study findings published in JAMA.

9 Oct 2012

Useful vision maintained long term after lens-sparing vitrectomy for ROP

Infants treated with lens-sparing vitrectomy for retinopathy of prematurity maintain a level of visual acuity necessary for useful vision into their eighth year of life, study results show.

31 Aug 2012

Cerebral damage risks vision in children born prematurely

Cerebral damage and retinopathy of prematurity are independently associated with the risk for visual impairment in 4-year-old children who were born prematurely, show Danish study results.

22 Jun 2012

Antioxidant rhSOD reduces risk of blindness in extremely low gestational age newborns

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is the second most common cause of childhood blindness in the United States, occurring in half of premature infants born earlier than or at 28 weeks gestational age. The condition is caused by abnormal blood vessel development in the retina of the eye. ROP risk increases with decreasing gestational age.

15 Jun 2012

Cerebral damage, ROP may increase risk of visual impairment in extremely preterm children

Cerebral damage and retinopathy of prematurity appear to be independently associated with visual impairment among preschool children who were born extremely premature, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Ophthalmology, a JAMA Network publication.

13 Jun 2012

RPB awards $220,000 to SUNY Downstate for eye research

Capping SUNY Downstate Medical Center's growth into a major center for eye research, Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) has awarded SUNY Downstate a four-year challenge grant of $220,000 to spur the development of advanced research into the causes, treatment, and prevention of blinding diseases. Douglas R. Lazzaro, MD, professor and chair of ophthalmology, is the principal investigator.

24 Jan 2012

NIH grants support SUNY's neuroscience, pediatric pharmacology and vision research

The State University of New York has received two grants totaling more than $4.3 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support neuroscience and pediatric pharmacology and vision research as part of SUNY REACH, a collaborative research network of SUNY's four academic health centers and the College of Optometry.

15 Oct 2011

DMEI dedicates new $46M research and clinical facility

Officials from the Dean McGee Eye Institute today announced the dedication of the Institute's new $46 million, five-story, 78,000-square-foot, world-class research and clinical facility.

1 Oct 2011

Queen's University scientists partner to treat premature baby blindness with stem cells

Scientists from the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences at Queen's University Belfast are teaming up to develop a cure to an illness that can lead to blindness in premature babies, thanks to funding from children's charity Action Medical Research.

18 May 2011

Inexpensive drug therapy shows promise in treating premature infants with childhood blindness

A readily available, inexpensive drug therapy showed a significant benefit in treating premature infants with the worst and historically most difficult-to-treat cases of retinopathy of prematurity.

17 Feb 2011

12-HETE enzyme inhibition can prevent ischemic retinopathy: Study

The inhibition or removal of an enzyme may prevent or treat ischemic retinopathy by stalling growth of unwanted vessels in the retina, Medical College of Georgia researchers say.

14 Jan 2011

New study on Retinopathy of Prematurity

A new clinical trial at The Children's Hospital at OU Medical Center will focus on ways to catch a debilitating eye disease before it's too late.

18 Oct 2010

Childrens Hospital Los Angeles receives $1M NCI grant for eye port clinical trial to treat retinoblastoma in children

The Vision Center at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles has been awarded a $1 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to conduct a clinical trial on a new drug delivery system to treat young children diagnosed with retinoblastoma. The device is designed to deliver chemotherapy through a tiny silicone cup sealed to the outer surface (sclera) of the eye, which can more directly target cancer cells and greatly reduce the side effects caused by current chemotherapy treatments.

14 Oct 2010

Feeding infants before examination for retinopathy of prematurity reduces stress

Premature infants are often examined for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). This exam can be quite stressful for the neonate, causing changes in heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen saturation, and increased crying. In a recent study published in the Journal of AAPOS, the Official Publication of the American Association of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, researchers found that feeding infants one hour before the examination unexpectedly reduced stress but did not increase vomiting or gastric aspirates.

30 Sep 2010

Scientific paper explains impact of visual cycle modulation in neurovascular retinopathy

Acucela, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing new treatments for blinding eye diseases, announced today that a scientific paper co-authored by Ryo Kubota, M.D., Ph.D., chairman, president and chief executive officer of Acucela, has been published in Experimental Eye Research. The paper, "Visual Cycle Modulation in Neurovascular Retinopathy" was also co-authored by scientists from Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston and demonstrates for the first time the impact of treatment with a visual cycle modulator (VCM) on retinopathy in an immature eye.

10 Aug 2010

Benefits of childhood screening for vision disorders in preschool children

In his article in the current issue of Deutsches -rzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2010; 107[28-29]: 495-9), Wolf A. Lagr-ze examines whether or not childhood screening for vision disorders in preschool children is worthwhile.

5 Aug 2010

CPAP treatment may be a better option for preterm infants

A national study involving a UT Southwestern Medical Center neonatologist provides new insight into how much oxygen preterm infants should receive as well as the optimal way to deliver it to them.

3 Jun 2010

Early CPAP as effective for preemies as ventilator, with fewer complications: Study

Two findings from an NIH research network study provide new information on how much oxygen very preterm infants should receive starting on the first day of life and the most effective means to deliver it to them.

17 May 2010

Early treatment of ROP for high-risk premature babies can improve vision: ETROP study

Scientists have shown that through eye examinations, doctors can identify infants who are most likely to benefit from early treatment for a potentially blinding eye condition called retinopathy of prematurity, resulting in better vision for many children.

4 May 2010

Tools and applications of QI methodology in Neonatal-Perinatal practice

The March 2010 issue of Clinics in Perinatology, published by Elsevier, provides Neonatologists and Maternal-Fetal-Medicine specialists with the tools and concepts necessary to understand Quality Improvement (QI) methodology and to initiate QI projects within their own practices and neonatal intensive care units (NICUs).

17 Apr 2010