Eye Health News and Research

Latest Eye Health News and Research

Quit-smoking drug Chantix effective in cocaine and alcohol addiction

Varenicline is unique among anti-addiction medications in the way it affects the brain. Like nicotine, varenicline activates a specific receptor for a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine, but it does so less intensely than the active ingredient of cigarettes does. The net effect is that the drug seems to help by both cutting cravings and making the formerly desired drug less pleasant — without making non-drug pleasures less intense. Alcohol works on the same chemical receptors in the brain as nicotine, and it may enhance the pleasurable effects of smoking.

18 Feb 2012

Remote controlled microchip successfully delivers drug in early clinical trial

Researchers have developed a new microchip implant device that can deliver bone-building drugs to seven osteoporosis patients. The microchips worked inside patients as drug-delivering pacemakers, following a prescription plan sent by radio signal.

18 Feb 2012

Impact of maternal mental health and antidepressant exposure on mechanics of early language acquisition

While babies are born ready to learn any of the world's languages, the crucial developmental period when they attune to their native languages can change due to environmental influences such as maternal depression or a bilingual upbringing, according to new University of British Columbia research.

18 Feb 2012

Mobius selects The Apothecary Shops as distribution partner for Mitosol Kit for Ophthalmic Use

Apothecary Shop Wholesale, Inc., an affiliate of The Apothecary Shops Specialty Pharmacies, has received exclusive distribution rights from Mobius Therapeutics, LLC for its new drug Mitosol (mitomycin for solution) 0.2 mg/vial Kit for Ophthalmic Use.

18 Feb 2012

UH's Eye Institute receives $5M Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Foundation gift

The Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Foundation again has demonstrated its commitment to University Hospitals (UH) with a $5 million gift for the Eye Institute. The gift will honor the late Benjamin L. Millikin, MD, husband of Julia Severance and the grandfather of Prentiss Foundation trustee Elisabeth Alexander.

18 Feb 2012

BCBSF Foundation announces winners of 2012 Sapphire Award

Today, during the Sapphire Award Presentation, eight honorees were recognized for positively impacting the health of their fellow Floridians. The Sapphire Award is presented annually by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida (BCBSF) Foundation, the philanthropic affiliate of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida.

18 Feb 2012

New, under-recognized, much more potent variant of common bacterium

University at Buffalo researchers are expressing concern about a new, under-recognized, much more potent variant of a common bacterium that has surfaced in the U.S.

18 Feb 2012

UB researchers express concern about a new variant of Klebsiella pneumoniae

University at Buffalo researchers are expressing concern about a new, under-recognized, much more potent variant of a common bacterium that has surfaced in the U.S.

18 Feb 2012

Study reveals immune mechanism for surveillance over EBV infection

Some 90 percent of people are exposed to the Epstein Barr virus (EBV) at some point in their life. Even though it is quickly cleared from the body, the virus can linger silently for years in small numbers of infected B cells.

18 Feb 2012

NCQA tool doesn't adequately evaluate quality of diabetes care at health centers

On the health front, the poor often have at least two things going against them: a lack of insurance and chronic illnesses, of which diabetes is among the most common.

16 Feb 2012

WSU's novel gene-therapy for blindness receives $250,000 FFB grant

Technology to restore vision through the use of a component of green algae - developed by a Wayne State University professor and scientific director of the Ligon Research Center of Vision at the Kresge Eye Institute - has attracted additional funding for therapy development.

16 Feb 2012

FDA approves preservative-free drug for glaucoma

The U.S. Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has approved tafluprost ophthalmic solution (Zioptan, Merck) 0.0015%, the first preservative-free prostaglandin analog ophthalmic solution for glaucoma.

15 Feb 2012

Study to examine relationship between oral and silent reading in children

When a beginning reader reads aloud, her progress is apparent: Hunched over a book, little index finger blazing the way, she moves intently from sound to sound, word to word. I do not like green eggs and ham! I do not like them, Sam-I-am! But when that same child reads silently, it's much harder to measure how much she is reading -- or understanding. Yet as she advances through school, teachers will expect her to learn increasingly through silent rather than oral reading.

15 Feb 2012

HB-EGF plays a critical role during retina regeneration

University of Michigan Health System research into the mechanisms by which zebrafish are able to regenerate damaged retinas after injury suggests new strategies for one day being able to do the same in humans - potentially allowing doctors to slow or reverse conditions like macular degeneration and glaucoma.

15 Feb 2012

Aganirsen demonstrates significant activity in two models of wet AMD, ischemic retinopathy

Gene Signal, a company focused on developing innovative drugs to manage angiogenesis based conditions, today announced the publication of data demonstrating the significant activity of aganirsen (GS-101, eye drops) in two important models of retinal neovascular disease, wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and ischemic retinopathy.

15 Feb 2012

Third patient dosed in Phase 1/2 SMD trial using RPE cells derived from hESCs

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc., a leader in the field of regenerative medicine, announced today the dosing of third patient in its Phase 1/2 trial for Stargardt's macular dystrophy (SMD) using retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs).

13 Feb 2012

Merck's ZIOPTAN for reducing elevated IOP receives FDA approval

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved ZIOPTANTM (tafluprost ophthalmic solution) 0.0015%, the first preservative-free prostaglandin analog ophthalmic solution.

13 Feb 2012

Regeneron reports total revenues of $123.0M for fourth quarter 2011

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and full year 2011 and provided an update on development programs.

13 Feb 2012

Bexarotene appears to help clear out excess plaque in Alzheimer's

"In the last eight days, scientists have delivered a powerful one-two punch in the fight to defeat Alzheimer's disease," said Stacy Pagos Haller, President and CEO of the American Health Assistance Foundation (AHAF), a nonprofit that identifies and funds exceptionally high-impact research worldwide through its Alzheimer's Disease Research program.

13 Feb 2012

Genomics pioneer to present at ARVO 2012 meeting

The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology is pleased to welcome J. Craig Venter as the keynote speaker at the opening session of ARVO 2012 on Sunday, May 6 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Venter's presentation is entitled "From Reading to Writing the Genetic Code."

10 Feb 2012