Eye Health News and Research

Latest Eye Health News and Research

New molecule blocks lymphangiogenesis

Researchers in the laboratory of Dr. Jayakrishna Ambati at the University of Kentucky have discovered the first naturally occurring molecule that selectively blocks lymphatic vessel growth. In an article in the Aug. 9, 2009 online edition of Nature Medicine, they report the identification of a new molecule known as soluble VEGFR-2 that blocks lymphangiogenesis - the growth of lymphatics - but not blood vessel growth.

11 Aug 2009

Canadian health care system may be getting 'bum rap'

Amid the debate about reforming heath care in the United States, it's tough to turn on your television these days without hearing a political ad condemning the Canadian health care system.

11 Aug 2009

Stemcells, Inc. reports Q2 financials

Results for the quarter reflect the Company’s acquisition of the operations of Stem Cell Sciences Plc (SCS), a UK-based company focused on cell-based technologies for drug discovery and screening.

10 Aug 2009

Decode Genetics announces Q2 2009 financials

deCODE genetics (Nasdaq: DCGN) today announced its consolidated financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2009. A conference call to discuss these results and recent developments in the company's business will be webcast live tomorrow, Tuesday, August 11, at 8:00am Eastern Daylight Time/12 noon GMT/1pm British Summer Time (details below).

10 Aug 2009

Nanoviricides anti-herpes drug candidate reduces viral load by 99.99%

NanoViricides, Inc. (OTC BB: NNVC.OB) (the "Company"), has announced that the herpes simplex viral load was reduced by 99.99% or 10,000 fold in in-vitro studies by nanoviricides™ drug candidates.

10 Aug 2009

NIH stimulus funding supports Emory - grants to advance research, create jobs, support students

At least 50 research projects so far, supported by more than $10 million in stimulus grants from the National Institutes of Health, are expected to lead to new discoveries at Emory University that will improve medical treatment, create new jobs, and provide additional educational opportunities for students. Emory has received half of all the NIH ARRA grants awarded to Georgia academic institutions thus far.

9 Aug 2009

Unlikely genetic suspect implicated in Dandy-Walker malformation

A genetic search that wound its way from patients to mouse models and back to patients has uncovered an unlikely gene critically involved in a common birth defect which causes mental retardation, motor delays and sometimes autism, providing a new mechanism and potentially improving treatment for the disorder.

9 Aug 2009

Hillary Clinton to meet with Somali President

As part of her seven country, 11-day trip to Africa, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday in Nairobi will meet with Somali President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed at the new U.S. embassy in Kenya, according to Associated Press (Lee, 8/6).

6 Aug 2009

Take Care Health Systems now offering nebulizer treatments for acute respiratory distress

Take Care Health Systems is now offering nebulizer treatments, when clinically appropriate, for clinic patients exhibiting acute respiratory distress.

6 Aug 2009

AHF launches HIV prevention campaigns in Uganda

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is proud to announce the launch of its popular ‘STAY NEGATIVE’ and ‘Love Condoms’ Campaign in Uganda, on Thursday, August 6th.

5 Aug 2009

Set-shifting and the on-line processing of relative clauses in Parkinson's Disease

The study of the neural basis of language has largely focused on regions in the cortex - the outer brain layers thought by many researchers to have expanded during human evolution.

4 Aug 2009

Eye movements of Parkinson’s disease patients during sentence comprehension support subcortical role in processing syntax

The study of the neural basis of language has largely focused on regions in the cortex – the outer brain layers thought by many researchers to have expanded during human evolution.

4 Aug 2009

Seed implants suitable prostate cancer treatment for men of all ages

Men diagnosed with prostate cancer have a number of treatments to choose from, but it's a daunting task to figure out the right mix of therapies for an individual patient.

3 Aug 2009

New microchip technology may accelerate drug discovery for cancer, other diseases

Flasks, beakers and hot plates may soon be a thing of the past in chemistry labs. Instead of handling a few experiments on a bench top, scientists may simply pop a microchip into a computer and instantly run thousands of chemical reactions, with results - literally shrinking the lab down to the size of a thumbnail.

From Siemens Healthineers 3 Aug 2009

Anti-growth factor drugs raise hope and concern for treatment of children's eye diseases

A new class of antibody drugs may provide a powerful new tool for the treatment of eye diseases in children, but specialists need to be alert for the possibility of serious side effects, according to an editorial in the August Journal of AAPOS (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus), published by Elsevier.

3 Aug 2009

FDA approves Onglyza (saxagliptin) for type 2 diabetes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Onglyza (saxagliptin), a once-daily tablet to treat Type 2 diabetes in adults. The medication is intended to be used with diet and exercise to control high blood sugar levels.

2 Aug 2009

Gene therapy for retinitis pigmentosa

An international team of scientists and clinicians from the United States and Saudi Arabia are working to develop gene therapy for treating a rare, hereditary retinal disease.

31 Jul 2009

Heat shock proteins provide protection against cataracts

The human eye lens consists of a highly concentrated mix of several proteins. Protective proteins prevent these proteins from aggregating and clumping. If this protective function fails, the lens blurs and the patient develops cataracts. Two research groups at the Department of Chemistry of the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) have succeeded in explaining the molecular architecture of this kind of protective protein.

31 Jul 2009

Discovery of genetic link to age-related cataracts

Bing-Cheng Wang, Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine professor of pharmacology and senior staff scientist at MetroHealth Medical Center, and Sudha K. Iyengar, Ph.D. professor of genetic and molecular epidemiology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, have discovered the first gene associated with the formation of age-related cataracts, a leading causes of blindness.

31 Jul 2009