Eye News and Research

Latest Eye News and Research

Congressional eyes focused on the high court

Depending on how the decision shakes out, funding provided for the health law would be fair game during a time marked by difficult budget choices. Meanwhile, the GOP stays steady on its pledge to repeal the health law, or whatever remains of it.

26 Jun 2012

Nanoparticles that can slip through mucus barriers shown to protect against herpes infections

Johns Hopkins researchers say they have demonstrated, for the first time in animals, that nanoparticles can slip through mucus to deliver drugs directly to tissue surfaces in need of protection. The researchers used these mucus-penetrating particles (MPPs) to protect against vaginal herpes infections in mice and the goal is to create similar MPPs to deliver drugs that protect humans against sexually transmitted diseases or even treat cancer.

26 Jun 2012

Glaukos receives FDA approval for iStent Trabecular Micro-Bypass Stent System

Today, the iStent Trabecular Micro-Bypass Stent System, Model GTS100R/L, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This is the first device approved for use in combination with cataract surgery to reduce pressure inside the eye (intraocular pressure) in adult patients with mild or moderate open-angle glaucoma and a cataract who are currently being treated with medication to reduce intraocular pressure.

26 Jun 2012

Study investigates EEGs as potential diagnostic tool for autism

Widely available EEG testing can distinguish children with autism from neurotypical children as early as age 2, finds a study from Boston Children's Hospital. The study is the largest, most rigorous study to date to investigate EEGs as a potential diagnostic tool for autism, and offers hope for an earlier, more definitive test.

26 Jun 2012

First Edition: June 25, 2012

Today's headlines are focused on analysis and speculation surrounding the Supreme Court's health law ruling, which could come as early as today.

25 Jun 2012

Health care system or patient-directed programs help prevent or manage diabetes

A new study has found that programs aimed at helping people prevent or manage diabetes are most successful if they are directed at the patient or the health care system. Programs aimed at physicians were only successful for patients with poorer diabetes control.

23 Jun 2012

Oxytocin hormone plays an important role in Williams syndrome

The hormone oxytocin - often referred to as the "trust" hormone or "love hormone" for its role in stimulating emotional responses - plays an important role in Williams syndrome (WS), according to a study published June 12, 2012, in PLoS One.

23 Jun 2012

AIO first in the Pittsburgh area to offer laser surgery for cataract removal

Associates in Ophthalmology (AIO), an eye care and surgery practice with seven locations in the Tri-State Area, has become the region's first medical group to offer bladeless, computer-controlled laser surgery for cataract removal.

23 Jun 2012

Scientists identify novel animal reservoir for tick-borne diseases

A team of scientists at Washington University in St. Louis has been keeping a wary eye on emerging tick-borne diseases in Missouri for the past dozen years, and they have just nailed down another part of the story.

23 Jun 2012

Cerebral damage risks vision in children born prematurely

Cerebral damage and retinopathy of prematurity are independently associated with the risk for visual impairment in 4-year-old children who were born prematurely, show Danish study results.

22 Jun 2012

Longer looks: Alzheimer's researcher turns to drug she helped invent

Given her relatively young age, Dr. Rae Lyn Burke didn't think much about her family history of Alzheimer's disease -- a grandmother and an aunt had suffered from it, but they were much older. Ironically, Burke was just in her late 50s when she started having her own symptoms of early onset Alzheimer's. Even more ironic is that Burke had been one of the key developers of the Alzheimer's drug bapineuzumab, which she now takes herself to reduce the progression of the disease in her own brain.

22 Jun 2012

Researchers identify genes that cooperate in development of medulloblastoma

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project lifts lid on the most aggressive subtype of medulloblastoma and finds genes that cooperate in tumor development.

22 Jun 2012

Gracilis muscle flap an effective treatment for facial paralysis in patients with NF2

A surgical technique using a muscle flap from the thigh restores facial motion—and the ability to smile—in patients with facial nerve paralysis resulting from neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2), reports a study in this month's special "Operative Neurosurgery" supplement to Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

21 Jun 2012

Mayo Clinic receives $60 million from CMMI to improve health care delivery

Mayo Clinic and its collaborators have been awarded nearly $60 million from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to improve health care delivery.

21 Jun 2012

Tips to keep kids safe while enjoying summer activities

Unintentional injuries are the number one cause of death in children in the United States. In fact, 2,000 children die each day from preventable injuries. With the summer months come an increased number of injuries.

20 Jun 2012

Hospital noises disturb sleep

Common hospital noises such as human conversations, paging systems, intravenous alarms sounding, and doors closing easily disturb patients’ sleep, according to US study results.

19 Jun 2012

Upcoming Supreme Court ruling: GOP as 'dog that caught the car'; Growing concerns about mandate

[T]he GOP may be positioning itself to become the dog that caught the car. Political and policy uncertainty is perhaps inevitable given the range of what the Court could do. But the Republicans need a more coherent strategy. ... An orderly unwinding of ObamaCare was always going to be difficult. But based on its disarray and confusion so far, the GOP may be making it harder.

19 Jun 2012

Cheaper drug to treat wet AMD increases risk of serious eye inflammation

A Queen's University study of two eye drugs used to treat wet Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) has determined the cheaper of the two could lead to eye inflammation, a potentially blinding adverse effect.

19 Jun 2012

FDA clears LensAR Laser System for anterior capsulotomy

LensAR Inc., developer of the LensAR Laser System for cataract surgery, announced today that it has received 510(k) clearance from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the company's next-generation commercial system, for use in anterior capsulotomy, with and without laser phacofragmentation during cataract surgery.

18 Jun 2012

Study reveals value of graphic warning labels on cigarette packaging

In a first of its kind study in the U.S., researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have shown that the addition of graphic warning labels on cigarette packaging can improve smokers' recall of the warning and health risks associated with smoking. The new findings are published online-first in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

16 Jun 2012