Eye Health News and Research

Latest Eye Health News and Research

Most Canadians hope OAB symptoms will go away

A recent poll conducted by Leger Marketing, on behalf of the Powder Room - a national education program for those with overactive bladder (OAB) - asked 1,500 Canadians about their bladder health. The findings revealed that although people are experiencing OAB symptoms, most are choosing not to seek medical attention - perhaps assuming the frustrating and embarrassing symptoms will go away, or that they will just have to live with them.

23 Nov 2009

OEPA reports substantial reduction of river blindness in six endemic countries

A regional initiative launched in the 1990s to eliminate onchocerciasis (river blindness) in the Americas has substantially reduced the prevalence of the disease in recent years, as evidenced by a 31% decrease in the number of individuals requiring mass drug administration in six endemic countries. Results were reported today at the 58th annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH).

23 Nov 2009

UAB performs complicated eye reconstruction surgery

Singh and the team were practicing in Bundi, in northwestern India. It was a common drill, the coach hitting a golf ball at Singh, trying to keep the ball low. A field hockey ball is about the size of a baseball, and by trying to stop the much smaller and faster moving golf ball, it was thought a goalie could improve his reflexes and timing. Only this time the coach hit the ball too high.

21 Nov 2009

ENTA opens new medical offices in Edison and Old Bridge

ENT and Allergy Associates LLP (ENTA) is pleased to announce a significant expansion of their practice, with the opening of 2 new locations-in Edison and Old Bridge, New Jersey. These State-of-the-art medical offices will serve the growing population of Middlesex County, with physicians and clinical staff providing full service Otolaryngology, Audiology and Allergy medical services. This expansion includes the merging of Dr. Gerald Scott’s existing Edison and Old Bridge practice into ENTA, effective immediately.

21 Nov 2009

Tax hikes in Reid-Obama healthcare bill can affect families with special needs children

There are 18 separate tax hikes in the Reid-Obama healthcare bill. One of them caps the amount that can be deferred in Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) at $2500 per year (a similar provision was included in the Pelosi-Obama health bill and written about by Congressman Cathy McMorris-Rogers, R-Was., for National Review Online).

21 Nov 2009

Obesity: A major contributor to the development of Type 2 diabetes

"Many Americans have a very limited understanding of the basic facts about diabetes, as well as the serious consequences for health that accompany the disease," commented Sue McLaughlin, RD, CDE, President, Health Care & Education, American Diabetes Association, in a media alert. She blames the problem on a combination of factors including denial of the disease and promotion of inaccurate information or myths surrounding diabetes.

21 Nov 2009

USAID nominee visits Capitol Hill

President Barack Obama's nominee to head USAID, Rajiv Shah, "made the rounds" on Capitol Hill Thursday, which included a meeting with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair John Kerry (D-Mass.), Politco's Laura Rozen reports on her foreign policy blog. Rozen also examines this week's markup of the Kerry-Lugar foreign aid reform bill and quotes a Hill staffer saying that there is a "fundamental disagreement between what USAID should look like and what it should do between the administration and Congress."

20 Nov 2009

Poll: Majority of Americans support medical malpractice reform

The Associated Press further analyzed its poll from earlier this week, with an eye on medical malpractice limits: "54 percent favor making it harder to sue doctors and hospitals for mistakes taking care of patients, while 32 percent are opposed. The rest are undecided or don't know. But congressional Democrats are reluctant to press forward on the issue. They don't want to upset a valuable political constituency — trial lawyers — even if President Barack Obama says he believes that fear of being sued leads doctors to practice defensive medicine, driving up costs for everyone."

20 Nov 2009

Image of a water flea wins top prize in the 2009 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition

A glowing, eerily beautiful image of a water flea with its radiant green "crown of thorns" took top prize in the 2009 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition®, the world's foremost forum for showcasing microscope photos and movies of life science subjects. Dr. Jan Michels, a zoologist at the University of Albrecht, Kiel, Germany, took top honors for the image of a water flea, with its defensive "crown of thorns" to protect it against predators. The image reveals not only the exoskeleton, but also interior detail down to the nuclei within its cells, seen as tiny, glowing blue dots. This

From Evident Corporation - Life Sciences 20 Nov 2009

Twenty-five design teams compete in Brown School of Engineering Elevator Pitch Contest

Twenty-five Senior Design Teams competed for prizes Thursday night at Rice University's Brown School of Engineering Elevator Pitch Contest. The purpose of the contest was to get students to think about the commercial viability of their designs before building prototypes. Teams had 60 seconds to pitch their design project to an audience of local venture capitalists and business leaders.

20 Nov 2009

Advanced Cell Technology files an IND with the FDA for study using embryonic stem cells to treat SMD

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. announced today that it filed an Investigational New Drug (IND) Application with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to initiate a Phase I/II multicenter study using embryonic stem cell derived retinal cells to treat patients with Stargardt’s Macular Dystrophy (SMD). Among the most common causes of untreatable blindness in the world are degenerative diseases of the retina.

19 Nov 2009

ISCO, Scripps Research Institute collaborate in study of parthenogenetic stem cells

International Stem Cell Corporation, announced today that it is collaborating with renowned stem cell researcher Jeanne F. Loring, Ph.D., and the Scripps Research Institute (La Jolla, CA) to study parthenogenetic stem cells and potentially therapeutic cells that can be derived from them.

19 Nov 2009

SoloHealth and Kroger stores team up to promote eye health awareness

SoloHealth (www.solo-health.com), maker of EyeSite™ self-service vision testing and self-directed healthcare kiosks, has teamed with Atlanta area Kroger stores to promote eye health awareness and to encourage regular eye exams.

19 Nov 2009

Protein content of women's saliva changes with advancing age, describe scientists

In a step toward using human saliva to tell whether those stiff joints, memory lapses, and other telltale signs of aging are normal or red flags for disease, scientists are describing how the protein content of women's saliva change with advancing age.

19 Nov 2009

New CT scanner offers quality diagnostic images and emits minimum radiation

NYU Langone Medical Center is the first hospital in the Northeast to offer one of the world's fastest and most radiation dose efficient computed tomography (CT) scanner.

19 Nov 2009

Tips for staying safe and healthy during Thanksgiving holiday

Visiting is a big part of the Thanksgiving holiday. But one place you don't want to stop by is the Emergency Department.

19 Nov 2009

AMD: A leading cause of blindness among smokers

MD Alliance International strongly urges all smokers to participate in the Great American Smokeout on November 19 to save their eyes and protect their vision from the debilitating effects of macular degeneration.

18 Nov 2009

China Sky One Medical reports financial results for third-quarter 2009

China Sky One Medical, Inc., a leading fully integrated pharmaceutical company in the People's Republic of China ("PRC"), today announced record financial results for the third quarter of 2009.

17 Nov 2009

Researchers study different plant substances to "awaken" the latent HIV-1 virus

Researchers from the University of Cadiz and the University of Cordoba study different plant substances to "awaken" the latent HIV-1 virus, immune to the current therapy, and to obtain more effective treatments in the future.

17 Nov 2009

deCODE genetics files voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code

deCODE genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq: DCGN) today announced that it has filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to facilitate the sale of substantially all of its assets. deCODE is continuing to operate its business and manage its properties as a debtor-in-possession pursuant to Sections 1107 and 1108 of the Bankruptcy Code.

17 Nov 2009