Eye Health News and Research

Latest Eye Health News and Research

InSite Vision to advance new development candidate ISV-303

InSite Vision Incorporated, a company developing ophthalmic products for unmet eye care needs, today announced plans to advance new development candidate ISV-303, a topical anti-inflammatory product intended to reduce the pain and swelling associated with ocular surgery.

16 Dec 2009

Can-Fite BioPharma to commence Glaucoma Phase II clinical study in Israel

Can-Fite BioPharma, a biotechnology company traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, announced on December 13 the initiation of the regulatory process for a Glaucoma Phase II clinical study in Israel. Leading Medical Centers in Israel will enroll 44 patients with Ocular Hypertension or Glaucoma for the first segment of the trial, who will be treated for 16 weeks with CF101 or placebo.

15 Dec 2009

QLT commences enrollment in QLT091001 Phase Ib trial of LCA pediatric patients

QLT Inc. today announced that it has initiated enrollment in a Phase Ib trial of QLT091001 in pediatric patients with Leber Congenital Amaurosis (LCA), an inherited progressive retinal degenerative disease that leads to retinal dysfunction and visual impairment beginning at birth. QLT091001 is an orally administered synthetic retinoid replacement for 11-cis-retinal, which is a key biochemical component of the visual retinoid cycle.

15 Dec 2009

University of Alberta researchers make math and science real for high-school students

University of Alberta education professor Stephen Norris and mathematics professor Gerda de Vries used the virus as a theoretical tool when they designed materials for use in an advanced high-school math course.

15 Dec 2009

Molecular Partners closes its CHF 46 million Series B equity investment round

Molecular Partners AG, a pioneer in the development of DARPins as next generation protein therapeutics, has announced the closing of its Series B equity investment round securing CHF 46 million (€ 30 million, $ 45 million).

15 Dec 2009

Poor access to safe and nutritious foods can pose serious health challenges for diabetes patients

Preparing a healthy meal loaded with fresh vegetables seems like an easy thing to do. But for some people living with diabetes, having access to nutritious food can be difficult --- and may have a detrimental effect on their health and well-being, according to a new study led by Ryerson University.

15 Dec 2009

UT Southwestern Medical Center performs minimally invasive procedures for sinuses and chronic rhinosinusitis

Only about one in 2,000 people in the United States get a sinus tumor, but Johnnie Wilcox was one of the unfortunate few.

15 Dec 2009

Alcon signs definitive agreement to acquire Optonol

Alcon announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Optonol, Ltd., a medical device company that develops, manufactures and markets novel miniature surgical implants used to lower intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with glaucoma.

14 Dec 2009

Iowa researchers discover new inherited retinal disease

University of Iowa researchers have found the existence of a new, rare inherited retinal disease. Now the search is on to find the genetic cause, which investigators hope will increase understanding of more common retinal diseases.

14 Dec 2009

Phase 1 clinical trial of iCo-007 demonstrates positive safety profile

iCo Therapeutics Inc. - iCo Therapeutics ("iCo") is pleased to announce that its Phase 1 clinical trial of iCo-007, having enrolled all patients in four cohorts of increasing concentration (110ug, 350ug, 700ug, 1000ug), has to date demonstrated a positive safety profile.

12 Dec 2009

CONNECT announces the winners of MIP Awards

CONNECT, one of the nation's most successful regional economic development programs for high technology and life science innovators, today announced the winners of the 22nd Annual Most Innovative New Product (MIP) Awards.

11 Dec 2009

Hot Ideas World creates Eye-POD Eye Care Kit

The Eye-POD Eye Care Kit has just been created by an entrepreneurial R&D company in Florida, Hot Ideas World, Inc. The array of easy to use functions in the device changes the way users wear Contact Lenses and use Eye Drops.

11 Dec 2009

ThromboGenics initiates Phase II trial of microplasmin for wet AMD

ThromboGenics NV, a biopharmaceutical company focused on innovative medicines for eye disease, vascular disease and cancer, announces today that it has started a Phase II trial of microplasmin for the treatment of exudative (wet) Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD).

11 Dec 2009

Stem cell therapy can be used for LSCD, reports newly published research

Newly published research, by investigators, at the North East England Stem Cell Institute (NESCI) in the journal Stem Cells reported the first successful treatment of eight patients with "Limbal Stem Cell Deficiency" (LSCD) using the patients' own stem cells without the need of suppressing their immunity.

11 Dec 2009

Senior research scientist to receive 2009 Astellas USA Foundation Award

Fredrick Khachik, Ph.D., a senior research scientist in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Maryland, College Park, has been chosen to receive a 2009 Astellas USA Foundation Award.

11 Dec 2009

Mouse study suggests response to injury-induced growth factors can be revived

Brain and spinal-cord injuries typically leave people with permanent impairment because the injured nerve fibers (axons) cannot regrow. A study from Children's Hospital Boston, published in the December 10 issue of the journal Neuron, shows that axons can regenerate vigorously in a mouse model when a gene that suppresses natural growth factors is deleted.

10 Dec 2009

Novartis presents 6-month results from its EVEREST study for PCV

QLT Inc. welcomed the 6-month results from the Novartis-sponsored EVEREST study which were presented during a scientific review today by Novartis in Basel, Switzerland.

9 Dec 2009

Laser technique used to change metal colors could have important implications for medicine

University of Rochester optics professor Chunlei Guo made headlines in the past couple of years when he changed the color of everyday metals by scouring their surfaces with precise, high-intensity laser bursts.

9 Dec 2009

High-flow oxygen appears to be more effective in treating cluster headaches

Patients with a cluster headache, which is characterized by bouts of excruciating pain usually near the eye or temple, were more likely to report being pain-free within 15 minutes of treatment with high-flow oxygen than patients who received a placebo treatment, according to a study in the December 9 issue of JAMA.

9 Dec 2009

New findings may help restore vision in patients with corneal injury

Winston Whei-Yang Kao, PhD, professor of ophthalmology, along with other researchers in UC's ophthalmology department found that transplanting human umbilical mesenchymal stem cells into mouse models that lack the protein lumican restored the transparency of cloudy and thin corneas.

9 Dec 2009