Eye Health News and Research

Latest Eye Health News and Research

Biologists observe how microtubules branch in new directions in animal cells

Cell biologist Thomas Maresca and senior research fellow Vikash Verma at the University of Massachusetts Amherst say they have, for the first time, directly observed and recorded in animal cells a pathway called branching microtubule nucleation, a mechanism in cell division that had been imaged in cellular extracts and plant cells but not directly observed in animal cells.

16 Sep 2019

Drugs used to treat retinal diseases are excreted into human breast milk, study finds

Certain drugs used to treat retinal diseases are excreted into breast milk, raising possible safety concerns for developing infants, suggests a first-of-its-kind study led by St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto and published in Ophthalmology.

15 Sep 2019

Researchers identify changes in retinal layers of patients with mild Alzheimer's disease

Researchers at the Complutense University of Madrid have identified changes in retinal layer thickness, inflammation or thinning in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease, confirming that the retina is one of the most important biomarkers for early diagnosis of the disease.

13 Sep 2019

New optical nanoparticle sensor can detect very low glucose concentrations

The Optical Research Group of the Universitat Jaume I has developed an optical nanoparticle sensor capable of detecting very low glucose concentrations, such as those present in a person's tear, by means of fluorescent carbon quantum dots, applying synthesis of nanomaterials based on irradiation with ultra-short lasers, which is an alternative, sustainable and non-polluting method.

13 Sep 2019

CFSRE and Verogen join forces to accelerate implementation of new forensic NGS technology

The Center for Forensic Science Research & Education (CFSRE) and Verogen have entered into a collaborative agreement to establish CFSRE as a leader in the field of forensic Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), also known as Massively Parallel DNA Sequencing (MPS).

From Verogen, Inc. 13 Sep 2019

Mount Sinai awarded $1.7 million to study how bladder cancer affects 'natural killer' cells

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has been awarded nearly $1.7 million in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Defense to study how bladder cancer affects certain types of white blood cells called "natural killer" cells, or NK cells, which control and limit tumor growth.

12 Sep 2019

Medical students conduct psychiatric interviews in virtual space

Medical students at Ruhr-Universität Bochum will have the opportunity to conduct psychiatric interviews with avatars in future.

12 Sep 2019

LMRI scientists discover cause of debilitating eye disease

Scientists at the Lowy Medical Research Institute have discovered one cause of a progressive, debilitating eye disease called macular telangiectasia type 2 (MacTel).

11 Sep 2019

SDSU professors study the sensory impact of food and evolution of healthy eating

"We eat first with our eyes." This comment has been attributed to Marcus Gavius Apicius, a 1st Century Roman gourmand. Two thousand years later, academic research backs up Apicius' statement, as a team of marketing professors at the Fowler College of Business at San Diego State University have studied the sensory impact of food and the evolution of healthy eating.

11 Sep 2019

First genetic cause for a rare eye disease discovered

John A. Moran Eye Center physician-researcher Paul S. Bernstein, MD, PhD, and his patients at the University of Utah played a key role in the recent discovery of the first genetic cause for a rare eye disease.

11 Sep 2019

Pupil dilation provides clues to future Alzheimer’s risk

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects the quality of life of those affected by the disease. The most common form of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease negatively impacts thinking, memory, behavior. Currently, there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease but treatments can slow its progression.

11 Sep 2019

Eye-centring common in 'selfie' photos

Why bother whether one eye is nearer the center or not in an Instagram selfie? The question seems particularly unimportant. However, earlier research showed that in historic portraits, one eye is always nearer the center of the picture.

11 Sep 2019

Commonly prescribed antibiotics linked to two types of heart problems

Scientists have shown for the first time a link between two types of heart problems and one of the most commonly prescribed classes of antibiotics.

11 Sep 2019

Two uveitis drugs perform similarly in a head-to-head clinical trial

Methotrexate and the more expensive mycophenolate mofetil performed similarly in a head-to-head clinical trial that compared the two drugs for treating noninfectious uveitis, an eye disease that accounts for up to 15% of blindness in the U. S.

11 Sep 2019

Scientists find a link between brain’s emotion circuit and movement

The brain is a powerful organ that controls all the body processes, including movement. In some athletes, however, they usually experience a phenomenon called “choking,” wherein their performance rapidly declines when they’re under a lot of pressure.

11 Sep 2019

Nanocapsules packed with gene-editing tools could be promising platform for many gene therapies

New tools for editing genetic code offer hope for new treatments for inherited diseases, some cancers, and even stubborn viral infections. But the typical method for delivering gene therapies to specific tissues in the body can be complicated and may cause troubling side effects.

10 Sep 2019

Associations between sounds and shapes depend on early visual experiences

Data from individuals with different types of severe visual impairment suggest that the associations we make between sounds and shapes -- a "smooth" b or a "spiky" k -- may form during a sensitive period of visual development in early childhood.

10 Sep 2019

Study looks at effects of Ritalin on children with ADHD

When children with ADHD don't respond well to Methylphenidate (MPH, also known as Ritalin) doctors often increase the dose.

9 Sep 2019

Study offers hope for people suffering from chronic pain

When you experience severe pain, like breaking or shattering a bone, the pain isn't just felt at the sight of the injury.

9 Sep 2019

Chronic conductive hearing loss linked to speech recognition deficits

Chronic conductive hearing loss, which can result from middle-ear infections, has been linked to speech recognition deficits, according to the results of a new study, led by scientists at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and published September 6 in the journal Ear and Hearing.

7 Sep 2019