Eye Health News and Research

Latest Eye Health News and Research

Early alcohol, tobacco exposure may delay puberty in girls: Study

The list of possible health effects from an early introduction to alcohol and tobacco use has just gotten longer. A new study suggests that early drinking and smoking might delay onset of puberty in girls.

15 Sep 2010

Structural component inside neurons dances when connections are strengthened

Scientists at Emory University School of Medicine have uncovered how a structural component inside neurons performs two coordinated dance moves when the connections between neurons are strengthened.

14 Sep 2010

AGTC receives grant to evaluate Phase II Human Clinical Trial for LCA retinal disease

Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation, a privately-held, clinical stage biotechnology company developing novel systems to deliver human therapeutics, announces that it has received a grant of $1 million from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA Orphan Drugs Program). The grant will fund a Phase II Human Clinical Trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of a treatment for Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), a genetic retinal disease known to cause blindness at an early age.

14 Sep 2010

Myopia and Glaucoma genes identified

In global studies of more than 40,000 people from countries around the world, including Australia, researchers have found the genes responsible for two of the most common eye disorders - short-sightedness or myopia and glaucoma. The scientists believe this could open new diagnostic and management options.

13 Sep 2010

AstraZeneca, UCL collaborate to identify new therapeutic tools to modulate regenerative capacity of stem cells

AstraZeneca and UCL (University College London) today announced that they have entered into a collaboration to develop regenerative medicines for diabetic retinopathy (DR).

13 Sep 2010

Scientists discover gene associated with myopia

Myopia (nearsightedness) is the most common eye disorder in the world and becoming more common, yet little is known about its genetic underpinnings.Scientists at Duke University Medical Center, in conjunction with several other groups, have uncovered a gene associated with myopia in Caucasian people from several different regions, including Dutch, British and Australian subjects.

13 Sep 2010

Scientists discover SNP association with primary open-angle glaucoma risk

Scientists at deCODE genetics and academic colleagues from Iceland, China, Sweden, the UK and Australia today report the discovery of the most important single-letter variation (SNP) in the sequence of the human genome yet associated with risk of primary open-angle glaucoma. This is the most common form of glaucoma and a major cause of blindness worldwide.

13 Sep 2010

New neurological deficit behind amblyopia

Researchers at New York University's Center for Neural Science have identified a new neurological deficit behind amblyopia, or "lazy eye." Their findings, which appear in the most recent issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, shed additional light on how amblyopia results from disrupted links between the brain and normal visual processing.

10 Sep 2010

Dartmouth study says primary care not always a cure-all

A new study by Dartmouth Health Atlas researchers contends that making primary care more widely accessible -- one of the goals of the health overhaul -- won't necessarily improve the nation's health, Reuters reports. The researchers found wide variations in the quality of care that do not always match up with the level of access to physicians.

10 Sep 2010

Gates Foundation 2009 annual report released

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on Tuesday released its 2009 annual report (.pdf) highlighting some of the foundation's work over the last year, the Puget Sound Business Journal reports (Holtzman, 9/7).

10 Sep 2010

FDA approves Abreu BTT 700 System for temperature monitoring

Brain Tunnelgenix Technologies Corp. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted the company clearance to market its Abreu BTT 700 System for continuous temperature monitoring.

10 Sep 2010

Oxygen Biotherapeutics 2010 first quarter net loss increases to $3 million

Oxygen Biotherapeutics, Inc., a development stage biomedical company focused on developing oxygen-rich intravenous and topical products, today announced results for the fiscal year (FY) first quarter ended July 31, 2010.

10 Sep 2010

Scientists to develop test for Mad Cow Disease detection

The eyes may or may not be windows to the soul, as the old adage goes, but scientists are reporting evidence that a peek into the eyes of cattle may become the basis for a long sought test to detect infection with the agent that causes Mad Cow Disease. That test could help prevent the disease from spreading in the food supply. A study on using the tell-tale glow given off by eyes infected with the Mad Cow agent appears in ACS' semi-monthly journal Analytical Chemistry.

9 Sep 2010

NovaBay Pharmaceuticals to deliver new data on Aganocide compounds at ICAAC Conference

NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company developing first-in-class, anti-infective compounds for the treatment and prevention of antibiotic-resistant infections, will deliver four poster presentations on its compounds at the 50th Annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC).

9 Sep 2010

ReVision Optics completes enrollment, initial follow up in PresbyLens Phase I clinical trial for presbyopia

ReVision Optics, a leading company in the research, development and manufacture of implantable medical devices designed to assist patients that need reading glasses, announced today that it has completed enrollment and initial follow up in Phase I of its US clinical trial and has filed for expansion. The clinical trial is for the study of the PresbyLens, recently renamed Vue+, for the improvement of near vision in patients with presbyopia, the age-related loss of near vision.

9 Sep 2010

Severe eye problems at cattle show

After nearly fifty people complained of serious eye irritations, the dairy cow pavilion at the Royal Adelaide Show has been closed down. Organizers are blaming stagnant urine for the irritations. St John Ambulance volunteers were called to the Dairy Cattle pavilion after some people reported irritation to their eyes. 30 people required treatment at the site. 20 more people reported to the emergency department of the Royal Adelaide Hospital where their eyes were washed.

8 Sep 2010

Save the Children report finds neediest children in many developing countries are overlooked

The deaths of four million of the world's poorest children over 10 years could have been avoided if governments had not turned "a blind eye" to the neediest children, said a report from Save the Children, released on Tuesday, the U.K. Press Association reports (9/6).

8 Sep 2010

Study finds increase in emergency department usage among US patients

Only 45 percent of the 354 million annual visits for acute care in the United States are made to patients' personal physicians, as Americans increasingly make busy emergency departments, specialists or outpatient care departments their first point of contact for treatment of new health problems or a flare up of a chronic condition like asthma or diabetes.

8 Sep 2010

Can-Fite BioPharma opens IND with US-FDA for CF101 Phase 3 study in Dry Eye Syndrome

Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd, a biotechnology company traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, announced today that it has opened an Investigational New Drug application (IND) with the US-FDA for a Phase 3 study of its lead drug, CF101, in patients with moderate to severe Dry Eye Syndrome.

8 Sep 2010

Somaxon's Silenor now commercially available in U.S.

Somaxon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, today announced that Silenor® (doxepin) now is commercially available by prescription in the United States. Somaxon has implemented a wholesale and retail stocking program to disseminate Silenor 3 mg and 6 mg dosepacks to pharmacies across the United States. Silenor is indicated for the treatment of insomnia characterized by difficulty with sleep maintenance.

7 Sep 2010