Eye Health News and Research

Latest Eye Health News and Research

President Bush signs law to ensure health benefits for 'sole survivor' veterans

President Bush on Friday signed into law legislation (HR 5825, S 2874) that will guarantee health benefits for "sole survivor" veterans who receive honorable discharges, the Los Angeles Times reports.

4 Sep 2008

Hallucinations in the flash of an eye

Ever seen or heard something that wasn't there? For most of us such experiences - termed hallucinations - are a normal, fleeting, brain glitch; yet for a few they are persistent, distressing and associated with a range of psychiatric, neurological and eye conditions.

4 Sep 2008

Human herpes virus 6 weaves itself into the DNA transferred from parents to babies

Parents expect to pass on their eye or hair color, their knobby knees or their big feet to their children through their genes. But they don't expect to pass on viruses through those same genes.

2 Sep 2008

Hopkins researchers piece together gene "network" linked to schizophrenia

Reporting this week in the Archives of General Psychiatry, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have uncovered for the first time molecular circuitry associated with schizophrenia that links three previously known, yet unrelated proteins.

2 Sep 2008

Obama accepts Democratic Presidential nomination; discusses health care, other issues at convention

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) on Thursday at the Democratic National Convention in Denver accepted the presidential nomination and discussed his proposals for health care and other issues, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

1 Sep 2008

Antiangiogenic and anti-inflammatory drugs: are they safe?

Since Rofecoxib (Vioxx) was withdrawn from the worldwide market based on the safety findings of the Adenomatous Polyp Prevention on Vioxx (APPROVe) study, the uncertainty around the cardiovascular safety of NSAIDs and COX-2 inhibitors remains and leaves practitioners with difficult management decisions for the hundreds of millions of patients worldwide who continue to require pain-relieving therapy to maintain an acceptable quality of life.

1 Sep 2008

New genetic link to inflammatory bowel diseases discovered

A study which entailed scientists trawling through the genetic code of thousands of people, has revealed two new genes involved in childhood inflammatory bowel disease, a painful condition that includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis (UC).

1 Sep 2008

Low levels of 'brain derived neurotrophic factor' may lead to obesity

A brain chemical that plays a role in long term memory also appears to be involved in regulating how much people eat and their likelihood of becoming obese, according to a National Institutes of Health study of a rare genetic condition.

28 Aug 2008

Gleevec receives FDA priority review for gastrointestinal stromal tumors after surgery

Novartis has announced that Gleevec (imatinib mesylate) tablets, (known as Glivec (imatinib) outside the US, Canada and Israel), has been granted priority review status by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the first therapy to be reviewed for use after surgery in kit-positive gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST).

27 Aug 2008

Child's aggressive cancer spotted in a photo sent to a friend

A baby girl's photograph shown online to a friend of her mother has led to the child being diagnosed with a cancerous tumour.

27 Aug 2008

Drug Lucentis to save eyesight of thousands in the UK

The eyesight of thousands of people in the UK will be saved with a new drug available under the National Health Service.

27 Aug 2008

Medication slows progression of myopia in children

Daily treatment with a medication called pirenzepine can slow the rate of progressive myopia, or nearsightedness, in children, reports a study in the August issue of the Journal of AAPOS (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus).

26 Aug 2008

Alcohol consumption can cause too much cell death, fetal abnormalities

The initial signs of fetal alcohol syndrome are slight but classic: facial malformations such as a flat and high upper lip, small eye openings and a short nose.

25 Aug 2008

NicOx updates on PF-03187207 and research collaboration with Pfizer

NicOx S.A. has announced the results of a dose-ranging phase 2 study conducted with PF‑03187207 in Japanese patients with glaucoma by its partner Pfizer Inc. PF-03187207 is a nitric oxide-donating prostaglandin analog. The study was designed to compare the safety and efficacy of several doses of PF-03187207 to Xalatan (latanoprost) and enrolled 112 Japanese patients with primary open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension.

25 Aug 2008

Scientists engineer first drug-delivery particles capable of passing through human mucus

Chemical engineers from Johns Hopkins University have broken the "mucus barrier," engineering the first drug-delivery particles capable of passing through human mucus - regarded by many as nearly impenetrable - and carrying medication that could treat a range of diseases. Those conditions include lung cancer, cervical cancer and cystic fibrosis, the research noted in a presentation scheduled for the 236th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.

20 Aug 2008

Camera in teddy bear catches carer thieving from sick elderly woman

A carer caught on camera stealing from her sick and elderly client has been sentenced to six months in prison after pleading guilty to two charges of theft.

20 Aug 2008

Are your eyes a window to diabetes-related health issues?

Scientists at Aston University in Birmingham, UK are carrying out a unique study using the eyes to detect early signs of health problems which could lead to diabetes, and they're looking for volunteers to help.

19 Aug 2008

New discovery may lead to new drugs to regulate sleep

A team of scientists from Oxford University in the UK have discovered the reason why people feel drowsier in dim lighting and more alert in bright white light.

19 Aug 2008

Symmetry the key to sexual appeal

Scientists say when it comes to searching for a partner, the attraction of a potential mate is all about symmetry.

18 Aug 2008

What makes the human body attractive?

A study by Dr William Brown and colleagues in Brunel University's School of Social Sciences and School of Engineering and Design, published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), has revealed an explanation for the correlation between attractiveness and bodily characteristics like height, breast size, long legs, broad shoulders or a curvy figure.

18 Aug 2008