Eye Health News and Research

Latest Eye Health News and Research

Alpha-linolenic acid good for dry eye syndrome

Research conducted by Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI) Cornea Service Director and Harvard Medical School Professor Reza Dana, M.D., M. Sc., MPH, and colleagues at the Schepens Eye Research Institute have found for the first time that topical drop application of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) led to a significant decrease in clinical signs of dry eye syndrome (DES) in animal models.

12 Feb 2008

Donors' health associated with risk of infection among recipients of corneal transplants

Corneal grafts obtained from donors dying in the hospital or with cancer may be associated with an increased risk of infection for the recipient, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

12 Feb 2008

Poison prevention and treatment

Each year, approximately 2.4 million people - more than half under age 6 - swallow or have contact with a poisonous substance..

11 Feb 2008

Oxytocin hormone promotes bonding

Gazing into your lover's eyes isn't only romantic; it may also mimic early attachments that forever alter your brain and body.

11 Feb 2008

Researchers decode genetics of chlorophyll d

A bacterium that harvests far-red light by making a rare form of chlorophyll (chlorophyll d) has revealed its genetic secrets, according to a team of researchers who recently sequenced the bacteria's genome.

8 Feb 2008

Cellcept immunosuppressant further linked to birth defects

A new study documents malformations seen in an infant born to a kidney transplant recipient who had taken mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), a widely used immunosuppressant available commercially as Cellcept.

7 Feb 2008

New understanding of cancer initiation

Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in Omaha have assisted in a significant discovery - the understanding of a common mechanism of cancer initiation - that could result in better cancer assessment, prevention and detection.

7 Feb 2008

For safety, NHLBI changes intensive blood sugar treatment strategy in trial of diabetes and cardiovascular disease

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health has stopped one treatment within a large, ongoing North American clinical trial of diabetes and cardiovascular disease 18 months early due to safety concerns after review of available data, although the study will continue.

6 Feb 2008

Molecules developed at UB boost vaccine potency

Two novel proteins studied by a University at Buffalo professor of microbiology and immunology appear to have the potential to enhance the production of antibodies against a multitude of infectious agents.

5 Feb 2008

Eye blinks may help to identify children prenatally exposed to alcohol

While children with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) have identifiable craniofacial abnormalities, children with alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND) can have significant cognitive impairments without facial anomalies. An important new study has found that a deficit in eyeblink conditioning (EBC) can identify children with probable FAS, and may also serve to identify alcohol-exposed children who lack distinctive FAS features.

5 Feb 2008

Balloon catheter-based sinus surgery radiation exposure very low, safe

A new and increasingly popular type of minimally invasive sinus surgery exposes patients to only "very low" doses of radiation during the procedure, a level considered to be safe, according to a new study published in the February 2008 issue of the journal Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery.

5 Feb 2008

FDA approves only once-daily inhaled corticosteroid for children

Schering-Plough Corporation has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved ASMANEX TWISTHALER 110 mcg (mometasone furoate inhalation powder) for the maintenance treatment of asthma as a preventive therapy in patients 4 to 11 years of age.

4 Feb 2008

Anemia treatment may be a double-edged sword

Erythropoietin has so far been known to doctors as a hormone that boosts red-blood-cell production.

4 Feb 2008

New research shows that people with blue eyes have a single, common ancestor

A team at the University of Copenhagen have tracked down a genetic mutation which took place 6-10,000 years ago and is the cause of the eye colour of all blue-eyed humans alive on the planet today.

4 Feb 2008

Trabectome procedure for glaucoma

Glaucoma is a devastating disease that harms the eye without manifesting early signs or symptoms.

4 Feb 2008

Onchocerciasis parasite shows signs of resistance

Onchocerciasis is an infection caused by Onchocerca volvulus, a parasite nematode worm transmitted to humans by a species of black fly of the Simulium genus whose larvae develop in fast-flowing rivers.

31 Jan 2008

Researchers can now determine when a human was born by radiocarbon dating of the human eye lens

Using the radiocarbon dating method and special proteins in the lens of the eye, researchers at the University of Copenhagen and Aarhus can now establish, with relatively high precision, when a person was born.

30 Jan 2008

Computer vision may not be as good as thought

For years, scientists have been trying to teach computers how to see like humans, and recent research has seemed to show computers making progress in recognizing visual objects.

25 Jan 2008

Aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs reduce risk of colorectal cancer

The use of regular, long-term aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) reduces the risk associated with colorectal cancer, according to a study published in Gastroenterology , the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute.

23 Jan 2008