Eye Health News and Research

Latest Eye Health News and Research

Novel method of testing exhaled breath to detect infection

Researchers from Johns Hopkins University are developing a novel method of testing exhaled breath to detect infection rapidly after potential exposure to a biological warfare agent. They report their findings today at the 2005 ASM Biodefense Research Meeting.

22 Mar 2005

Sleeping in contact lenses can lead to an increased risk of severe eye infection

The University of Manchester study found that wearers who failed to remove their lenses before bedtime had an increased risk of developing keratitis than those who routinely took out their lenses before going to sleep.

22 Mar 2005

Depression appears to be a major cause of insomnia in people with HIV

Patients in the last stages of HIV infection with full-blown AIDS and those who have suffered some kind of brain impairment as a result of the disease are also more likely to suffer from insomnia, the reviewers conclude in the current issue of Psychosomatic Medicine.

22 Mar 2005

New contact lenses cause less infections

Sleeping with your contact lenses in can give you a nasty eye infection (keratitis), but now a new generation of silicone hydrogel lenses cuts that risk fivefold, according to research in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

21 Mar 2005

New information on TB available online

A range of new information on TB including top facts and a handy Q&A will be available at the click of a button when it goes live on www.immunisation.nhs.uk tomorrow - ahead of World Stop TB Day.

21 Mar 2005

Compound found in broccoli is a powerful disease fighter

More than 300 scientific studies point to an antioxidant found in broccoli sprouts, sulforaphane glucosinolate (SGS), as a factor in preventing multiple diseases, including several types of cancer, high blood pressure, macular degeneration and stomach ulcers.

21 Mar 2005

Genes play a substantial role in the development of age-related macular degeneration

Genes play a substantial role in the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), one of the leading causes of irreversible blindness among older individuals, according to an article in the March issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

14 Mar 2005

Study indicates need for new standards and training for cornea transplants

Improving the training and standardizing the procedures used by the nation's eye banks to assess corneal cells may help to select corneas with optimal health for transplantation, according to new study led by Jonathan H. Lass, MD, principal investigator of the study and chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at University Hospitals of Cleveland and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

14 Mar 2005

High-dose radiation and bone marrow transfer treatments on glaucoma-susceptible mice completely blocked development of glaucoma

In a discovery that could point to new treatments for a wide range of neurodegenerative diseases, Jackson Laboratory researchers have found that high-dose radiation and bone marrow transfer treatments on glaucoma-susceptible mice completely blocked the development of glaucoma, by preventing neurodegeneration.

14 Mar 2005

Gene identified that confers susceptibility to age-related macular degeneration

By combining the tools of high-throughput biology and statistical genetics, scientists at Rockefeller University, Yale University School of Public Health and the National Eye Institute have identified a gene that confers susceptibility to age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common cause of vision loss in the United Sates for those over 60.

14 Mar 2005

Gene for AMD has now been identified by researchers

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a debilitating eye disease affecting about 15 million people in the United States.

13 Mar 2005

People use letters to recognize words and facial features to recognize faces

Although they are dramatically different, words and faces are both recognized by parts, according to a study published in February in the Journal of Vision, an online, free access publication of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO).

7 Mar 2005

Is that a glimmer in your eye?

A medical procedure, implanting jewelry in your eye, could be outlawed in Illinois. The cosmetic surgery was developed in 2002 in the Netherlands by the Institute for Innovative Ocular Surgery and about 100 patients have had the implants in Europe. Dr. Thomas Steinemann, from the American Academy of Ophthalmology says this procedure has only been done a few times in the U.S.

7 Mar 2005

Underhand methods used to challenge secondhand smoke's link to infant death risk

The link between secondhand smoke and sudden infant death has been discredited in the last few years in scientific articles paid for and influenced by cigarette manufacturers, according to a new study of once-secret industry documents.

7 Mar 2005

Autistic children shy from eye contact because they perceive even the most familiar face as an uncomfortable threat

The work deepens understanding of an autistic brain's function and may one day inform new treatment approaches and augment how teachers interact with their autistic students.

6 Mar 2005

Definitive evidence that TRPV3 is a temperature sensor

The human brain is like a general in a bunker. Floating in its bubble of cerebrospinal fluid, it has no direct window to the outside world, so the only way for the brain to observe, comprehend, and order the body into action is to rely on information it receives.

6 Mar 2005

Mutations in newly discovered gene, NPHP5 cause Senior-Loken syndrome

Scientists at the University of Michigan Medical School have discovered a gene called NPHP5 and found mutations in this gene that cause a rare genetic disease called Senior-Loken syndrome. Children with this syndrome develop a type of cystic kidney disease called nephronophthisis, as well as a form of blindness called retinitis pigmentosa.

3 Mar 2005

CPAP therapy helps control glucose levels among patients with Type II diabetes and sleep apnea

Patients with Type II diabetes who also suffer from obstructive sleep apnea can lower their glucose levels by receiving the most common sleep apnea therapy, a new study has found.

1 Mar 2005

Nature’s most sophisticated biological weapon

Nature’s most sophisticated biological weapon, snake venom, largely evolved from bits of body parts a Melbourne researcher has found.

1 Mar 2005

Encouraging results in wet age-related macular degeneration study

Novadaq Technologies has announced that Dr. Giovanni Staurenghi, (Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, Department of Otorhinolaryngological and Ophthalmological Science University of Milan, Italy), reported preliminary data on 24-patients in an on-going study using the Company's proprietary technology to treat wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD).

28 Feb 2005