Eye Health News and Research

Latest Eye Health News and Research

Dendrimers offers a new way to treat age-related macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa

Hitching a ride into the retina on nanoparticles called dendrimers offers a new way to treat age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa. A study by investigators at Mayo Clinic, Wayne State University and Johns Hopkins Medicine shows that steroids attached to the dendrimers target the damage-causing cells associated with neuroinflammation, leaving the rest of the eye unaffected and preserving vision.

14 Dec 2011

Textile cushions with smart sensor systems for persons confined to bed or wheelchair

Anyone confined to a wheelchair or a bed has to deal with numerous complications. Frequently, they suffer from bedsores or decubitus ulcers as physicians call them. Bony prominences, such as the sacrum, coccyx and ischium, are especially endangered spots. Unrelieved pressure can lead to tissue necrosis. Damage can extend into the periosteum and, at the worst, into bones themselves.

14 Dec 2011

Potential nanoparticle treatment for macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa

Hitching a ride into the retina on nanoparticles called dendrimers offers a new way to treat age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa. A collaborative research study among investigators at Wayne State University, the Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins Medicine shows that steroids attached to the dendrimers targeted the damage-causing cells associated with neuroinflammation, leaving the rest of the eye unaffected and preserving vision.

14 Dec 2011

First Edition: December 14, 2011

In today's headlines, reports about progress -- or lack thereof -- as the House and Senate work to come to terms on the year's must-pass legislation.

14 Dec 2011

Viewpoints: The high cost of treating patients who may die; Young girls and Plan B

You've probably heard that we spend a lot of money on patients who die. It's true. ... But what about my patient? How could it be that we were prudent with health care dollars because he lived, but would have been described as wasteful had he died? Doctors in an emergency room cannot know which will occur. They do not have divining rods that direct them to patients they can save and away from those they can't. Rather, caring for the sick means caring for people who may die.

14 Dec 2011

Study reveals key role of melatonin receptor in sleep regulation

A team from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) and McGill University has made a major breakthrough by unraveling the inner workings of melatonin, also known as the "sleep hormone."

14 Dec 2011

JDRF initiates enrollment in metformin clinical study for type 1 diabetes

JDRF-funded researchers have begun enrolling adult patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) in the REMOVAL study, to test whether metformin-a drug commonly used to treat type 2 diabetes-could help prevent or reduce the risk of cardiovascular complications in people with T1D.

14 Dec 2011

People with myotonic muscular dystrophy more likely to develop cancer

People who have the most common type of adult muscular dystrophy also have a higher risk of getting cancer, according to a paper published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

14 Dec 2011

Scientists identify genetic alteration behind anophthalmia

Scientists at University College Dublin, Ireland, have identified a genetic alteration which causes a child to be born with no eyes - a condition called anophthalmia.

13 Dec 2011

IRIDEX announces data from MicroPulse laser therapy study on DME

IRIDEX Corporation today announced that data from a clinical study compiled over 10 years demonstrates the safety and efficacy of MicroPulse laser therapy for treating diabetic macular edema (DME) without the retina tissue damage associated with conventional laser therapy.

12 Dec 2011

Cortex plays a key role in fear learning

The study, initiated by the Swiss researchers and published in Nature, constitutes ground-breaking work in exploring emotions in the brain.

12 Dec 2011

Tips for parents to protect children from holiday dangers

The holidays are an exciting and busy time of year as parents race to finish the shopping, decorating and baking. As the number of days left in the calendar year winds down, be sure to allow plenty of time in that hectic schedule for playing with your child and sharing holiday traditions as a family. Nationwide Children's Hospital reminds parents to keep alert to various holiday dangers.

12 Dec 2011

Perry makes brief GOP health care caucus visit

In other campaign trail news, media outlets examine who is supporting and opposing GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich's run, and how health policies are playing into their decisions.

9 Dec 2011

Longer looks: Romney and abortion politics

The heart attacks never came. Four days later, Chris woke up. It was not the awakening of Hollywood movies in which the patient comes to, just as he was, speaking full sentences and completely mobile. Three years later, Chris still cannot talk. Although he breathes on his own, his lungs battle a steady barrage of infections; a feeding tube provides all his sustenance, and his muscles have contracted into short, twisted knots. He can move only the slightest bit. … Still, Wayne and Judy say that his cognition is improving.

9 Dec 2011

Mystery of unpleasant tough texture in vegetable oil-cooked hot dogs

In part of an effort to replace animal fat in hot dogs, sausages, hamburgers and other foods with healthier fat, scientists are reporting an advance in solving the mystery of why hot dogs develop an unpleasant tough texture when vegetable oils pinch hit for animal fat. A report on their study appears in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

8 Dec 2011

NSU's College of Dental Medicine to provide care for persons with special needs

Nova Southeastern University's (NSU) College of Dental Medicine recently received a two-year, $437, 616 grant from the DentaQuest Foundation to train practicing dentists in Florida to provide care for persons with special needs.

8 Dec 2011

Cedars-Sinai neurosurgeon seals off wide-neck aneurysm with new device

As Stephanie Weiss was coming to grips with the news she had two large and three small aneurysms in her brain, the Los Angeles independent travel consultant was told there was no minimally invasive way to treat at least one of the defects: a wide-neck aneurysm. She would have to undergo open-brain surgery.

8 Dec 2011