Eye Health News and Research

Latest Eye Health News and Research

Approval of integrated insulin pump and continuous glucose system a significant step towards artificial pancreas technology

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) has said that the federal government's approval of an insulin pump that also provides real-time, continuous glucose monitoring is a significant step on the path to the development of an artificial pancreas, with the potential to significantly improve diabetes care and lower the risk of complications.

13 Apr 2006

Scientists step closer to new treatments for river blindness

Veterinary scientists in Liverpool have found that some African cattle have natural immunity to a parasite, similar to that which causes river blindness in humans.

13 Apr 2006

Computer program lets people with Trigeminal neuralgia diagnose themselves

Trigeminal neuralgia, or TN, is a disorder affecting the areas of the face where the trigeminal nerve's branches are distributed, including the lips, eyes, nose, scalp, forehead, and upper and lower jaws.

13 Apr 2006

Dwindling time fuels happier outlook

Older adults' attention tilts toward positive feelings and associations, despite the time-limited future that comes with advancing age, concludes a Brandeis study in the journal Psychology and Aging.

13 Apr 2006

Finding a cure for cancer would be worth about $50 trillion

Even a modest one percent reduction in mortality from cancer would be worth nearly $500 billion in social value, according to a new study by economists Kevin Murphy and Robert Topel of the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.

13 Apr 2006

How you wake up might explain near death experiences

According to a new study, people who have had near death experiences often have different arousal systems controlling the sleep-wake states than people who have never had such an experience.

12 Apr 2006

Targeted mutations in mice uncover two key molecular events linked to learning

Johns Hopkins researchers have used mouse mutants to define critical steps involved in learning basic motor skills. The study focuses on the behavior of two proteins and the specific steps they take to control a neuron's ability to learn by adapting to signals from other nerve cells.

11 Apr 2006

Colorimetric screening detects DNA, small molecules and proteins

Using the unusual color properties of gold at the nanoscale, scientists at Northwestern University have developed a "litmus test" for DNA and small molecule binding that eventually could be used by pharmaceutical companies to rapidly identify promising candidates for new anti-cancer drugs.

11 Apr 2006

REM state intrusion contributes to near death experiences

People who have had near death experiences often have different arousal systems controlling the sleep-wake states than people who have not had a near death experience, according to a new study published in the April 11, 2006, issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

11 Apr 2006

Researchers engineer cells in the eye to be light sensitive that were not before

In an experiment that could offer a new pathway to restoring vision in people with inherited retinal degeneration, researchers have engineered cells in the eye to be light sensitive that were not before.

11 Apr 2006

Fish oil may help protect against age-related macular degeneration

A paper published in Trends in Neuroscience by Nicolas G. Bazan, MD, PhD of the Neuroscience Center of Excellence at LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, reports on the role that the omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil play in protecting cells in the retina from degenerative diseases like retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration.

7 Apr 2006

Yellow pigment that sits on the retina focus of macular degeneration research

Whether a tiny yellow pigment is the main thing standing between many older people and macular degeneration is under study at the Medical College of Georgia.

4 Apr 2006

Moderate alcohol intake stimulates tumor angiogenesis and expression of vascular endothelial growth factor in a mouse model

University of Mississippi researchers say they have created the first-ever mammalian model of how alcohol consumption spurs tumor growth, showing that even moderate drinking resulted in larger and more robust tumors.

4 Apr 2006

British boy dies from measles

The death of a 13 year old boy in Britain from measles is the first fatality from the infection in 14 years and has ignited concern that the once common killer is back.

3 Apr 2006

Alcohol combined with energy drink won't make you less drunk

Scientists say that people who mix energy drinks with alcohol may feel more sober but that perception is a delusion.

28 Mar 2006

New way of targeting proteins to exosomes - potential for melanoma, Alzheimer's disease

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered how a protein called Pmel17 is sorted by pigment cells in the skin and eye to make a fiber matrix that eventually sequesters melanin, the dark pigment found in skin, hair, and eyes.

28 Mar 2006