Eye Health News and Research

Latest Eye Health News and Research

aAetna announces pilot with MCNT to improve diabetes care

Aetna today announced a pilot with the Medical Clinic of North Texas aimed at improving the care of diabetic patients of Hispanic and African American descent.

23 Nov 2010

Stem cell trial for eye disease receives FDA approval

The second clinical trial involving stem cells from human embryonic cells has received the go-ahead. The news came from Advanced Cell Technology Inc. this Monday. The company announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared the way for its Phase I/II trial of retinal cells for patients with Stargardt’s macular dystrophy, a childhood version of macular degeneration.

22 Nov 2010

Supermarket steaks as good as butcher’s: Survey

A study from consumer group Choice has found that beef steaks from Australian supermarkets rate as highly as some expensive butcher cuts. Choice commissioned three butchers with a combined experience of 75 years to test steak from Aldi, Coles and Woolworths against beef from a premium and a budget butcher. They included cuts of rump, sirloin, T-bone, scotch fillets, blade and eye fillet and graded them according to colour, marbling and fat.

22 Nov 2010

FDA grants ACT clearance for Phase I/II clinical trial of hESC derived retinal cells in patients with SMD

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the Company's Investigational New Drug (IND) application to immediately initiate a Phase I/II multicenter clinical trial using retinal cells derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) to treat patients with Stargardt's Macular Dystrophy (SMD), one of the most common forms of juvenile macular degeneration in the world. The decision removes the clinical hold that the FDA had placed on the trial.

22 Nov 2010

Mimetogen initiates MIM-D3 Phase II clinical trial for dry eye disease

Mimetogen Pharmaceuticals Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing novel small molecule compounds that mimic the effects of neurotrophins, today announced that it has initiated the first human clinical trial evaluating MIM-D3, a mimetic of nerve growth factor (NGF), in a Phase II clinical trial in patients with moderate to severe dry eye disease. MIM-D3 is a small cyclic peptidomimetic of NGF, a naturally occurring protein in the eye that is responsible for the maintenance of corneal nerves and epithelium, mucin and tear production.

22 Nov 2010

Phase 3 study of VEGF Trap-Eye regimen meets primary endpoint in patients with wet AMD

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Bayer HealthCare announced that in two parallel Phase 3 studies in patients with the neovascular form of age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD), all regimens of VEGF Trap-Eye (aflibercept ophthalmic solution), including VEGF Trap-Eye dosed every two months, successfully met the primary endpoint compared to the current standard of care, ranibizumab dosed every month.

22 Nov 2010

German researchers use binocular rivalry to interpret mechanism of brain functions

Researchers around Andreas Bartels at the Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neurosciences (CIN) and the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, Germany used this phenomenon to decipher a key mechanism of the brain functions that contributes to conscious visual perception.

20 Nov 2010

People to get free vision rehabilitation surgeries with launch of 2010 China-Africa Brightness Action

The launching ceremony for the "2010 China-Africa Brightness Action" was held at Deer Jet's fix base operation (FBO), Beijing Capital International Airport on November 18.

20 Nov 2010

Removal of tobacco displays changes young people's attitude to smoking

Putting tobacco out of sight in shops not only changes young people's attitude to smoking but doesn't result in retailers losing money - according to new research published in Tobacco Control today (Friday).

20 Nov 2010

New multimode imaging could help detect blood stain at crime-scene investigations

Chemists at the University of South Carolina have developed a camera with the ability to see the invisible and more. The new technology, called multimode imaging in the thermal infrared, could eventually be used in crime-scene investigations, since it can capture blood stains that the human eye can't see.

20 Nov 2010

AAO to recognize UH optometry dean with Charles F. Prentice Medal Award

Earl L. Smith III, O.D., dean of the College of Optometry and Greeman-Petty Professor at the University of Houston, is the 2010 recipient of the Charles F. Prentice Medal Award from the American Academy of Optometry.

19 Nov 2010

Multinational team identifies novel retinal disease gene

A multinational team effort of Regensburg's Institute of Human Genetics, Washington University in St. Louis, other partners and Genomatix elucidated a transcriptional network in photoreceptors and thereby identified a novel retinal disease gene

19 Nov 2010

OXiGENE updates data on FALCON trial for non-small cell lung cancer

OXiGENE, Inc., a clinical-stage, biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics to treat cancer and eye diseases, announced today that it presented updated safety and clinical activity data from the FALCON trial, a randomized, controlled Phase 2 study of ZYBRESTAT(TM) (CA4P) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

19 Nov 2010

Call for more transparency and improvements to drug safety in Canada

A commissioned discussion paper released today by the Health Council of Canada, Keeping an Eye on Prescription Drugs, Keeping Canadians Safe, underscores the many limitations to how drug safety and effectiveness is monitored and reported in Canada. The report provides clear recommendations for changes to the current system to ensure Canadians are safe from undue pharmaceutical harm.

18 Nov 2010

OptiMedica's Catalys Precision Laser System improves precision in cataract surgery

Global ophthalmic device company OptiMedica Corp. has announced that results from a clinical study of its Catalys Precision Laser System were published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Translational Medicine.

18 Nov 2010

Researchers unveil novel oncogene associated with uveal melanoma

An international, multi-center study has revealed the discovery of a novel oncogene that is associated with uveal melanoma, the most common form of eye cancer.

18 Nov 2010

States consider options for funding Medicaid

The Billings Gazette: Montana lawmakers questioned the state's top health official "about plans to hire a private company to manage part of Medicaid, asking why the administration hasn't had a more public discussion on the proposal." The Legislative Finance Committee also listened to "health care providers and former officials who experienced the state's 1995 foray into private management of Medicaid for the mentally ill — and how it became a disaster for its low-income patients and their providers."

18 Nov 2010

FDA grants three years of marketing exclusivity to ISTA's BROMDAY

ISTA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted the Company three years of marketing exclusivity for BROMDAY (bromfenac ophthalmic solution) 0.09%, as provided under the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act, commonly known as the Hatch-Waxman Act.

18 Nov 2010

Krieger Eye Institute at Sinai Hospital opens new center for treatment of retinal diseases

The Krieger Eye Institute at Sinai Hospital opened a new center for the treatment of retinal diseases in November. The retina is the layer of tissue at the back of the eye that converts images to electrical impulses. These electrical signals are then perceived by the brain as sight.

18 Nov 2010

Asbestos problem in NSW needs government attention: Report

A report from the NSW Ombudsman says that the state government is failing to deal with the deadly issue of asbestos despite repeated warnings regarding “immense” amounts of the dangerous material still scattered across NSW.

17 Nov 2010