Eye News and Research

Latest Eye News and Research

Health spending still in jeopardy despite end of super committee

Although Medicare and Medicaid were largely protected when the panel broke up, budget cutters will continue to eye them, and other health programs will likely have funding reduced.

23 Nov 2011

Medicare to cover infusion costs for prostate cancer vaccine, company says

In Medicare news, the drug maker Dendreon says federal officials have said they will pay doctors to administer the drug. Also, policymakers are studying Medigap to see if curbs on those policies could help cut Medicare costs.

23 Nov 2011

Regeneron’s Eylea for treating age related macular degeneration gets FDA nod

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has received marketing approval for their eye drug - Eylea, an injection meant to treat a common cause of blindness in older people. Eylea can be used to treat “wet” age-related macular degeneration. The only other drug approved for the condition is Lucentis from Roche, which was approved in 2006.

21 Nov 2011

Akebia commences dosing in AKB-9778 Phase 1 study for diabetic macular edema and retinopathy

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc., a small molecule discovery and development company focused on anemia and vascular disorders, today announced that it has dosed the first subjects in a first-in-man Phase 1 study of AKB-9778, a first-in-class human protein tyrosine phosphatase beta (HPTPβ) inhibitor in development for diabetic macular edema (DME) and diabetic retinopathy (DR).

21 Nov 2011

FDA approves EYLEA for treatment of wet Age-related Macular Degeneration

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved EYLEA (aflibercept) Injection, known in the scientific literature as VEGF Trap-Eye, for the treatment of patients with neovascular (wet) Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) at a recommended dose of 2 milligrams every four weeks for the first 12 weeks, followed by 2 mg every eight weeks.

19 Nov 2011

Senator Klein opens new Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory at Albert Einstein College of Medicine

New York State Senator Jeffrey D. Klein joined administrators and faculty members of Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University last Friday to officially open their new Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory.

19 Nov 2011

Regeneron receives FDA approval for Eylea to treat wet AMD

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Eylea (aflibercept) to treat patients with wet (neovascular) age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of vision loss and blindness in Americans ages 60 and older.

18 Nov 2011

High fish intake during pregnancy leads to better verbal intelligence, motor skills in children

The statement that 'fish is good for the brain' is increasingly backed-up by scientific evidence but what the actual outcomes are in terms of mental performance or 'brain power' is still being discovered.

18 Nov 2011

New protein in the fruit fly eye may shed light on neurodegenerative diseases

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and collaborators have discovered a powerful new protein in the eye of the fruit fly that may shed light on blinding diseases and other sensory problems in humans.

18 Nov 2011

Kenya readies to step up fight against trachoma

AllAfrica.com reports on trachoma -- a chronic bacterial infection spread by direct contact with eye, nose and throat secretions from others who are infected -- in Kenya, profiling Kajiado County where the disease has reached the blinding stage in 3.4 percent of patients, "making it a serious public health problem in that region and many other similarly remote areas with little access to health care and screening."

18 Nov 2011

Debt panel deliberations involve gloom, doom and blame

As indications continue to suggest the super committee stalemate continues, the panel members and other lawmakers are pointing fingers and assigning blame. Health programs -- including Medicare -- continue to be a sticking point. News outlets also examine how the threatened cuts that would kick in if the panel doesn't find success would impact the health sector.

18 Nov 2011

First study to describe transporter system that bacteria use to ensure their survival

Bacteria responsible for middle ear infections, pink eye and sinusitis protect themselves from further immune attack by transporting molecules meant to destroy them away from their inner membrane target, according to a study from Nationwide Children's Hospital.

18 Nov 2011

IRCI to design and fund clinical trials for rare cancers

Cancer Research UK will join forces with international research groups from the UK, Europe and the US to launch an initiative to boost the development of new treatments for patients with rare cancers. The announcement will be made by Dr Harpal Kumar, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, at the 2011 World Cancer Leaders' Summit taking place today in Dublin.

18 Nov 2011

InDevR introduces ampliPHOX system for microbiological analysis

InDevR, a Boulder-based biotechnology company that develops advanced life science instrumentation and assays for analysis of viruses and other microorganisms, announced today the launch revolutionary new technology for microbiological analysis.

18 Nov 2011

Are genes and hormones determinants of empathy and sensitivity in human nature?

According to latest research a first look or observation for just about 20 seconds maybe all that is needed to know if a person is nurturing and socially sensitive. These people may be genetically wired to be so say researchers.

17 Nov 2011

Just 20 seconds to know whether a stranger is trustworthy, kind or compassionate

There's definitely something to be said for first impressions. New research from the University of California, Berkeley, suggests it can take just 20 seconds to detect whether a stranger is genetically inclined to being trustworthy, kind or compassionate.

16 Nov 2011

Gallaudet University, UC Davis to co-sponsor Visual Learning Summit

How deaf children learn to read will be one of the topics of a conference at UC Davis Nov. 18-19. The Visual Learning Summit is co-sponsored by the UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain, Gallaudet University's Science of Learning Center on Visual Language and Visual Learning, and the departments of psychology and linguistics at UC Davis.

16 Nov 2011

Researchers examine how brain recognizes color

How the brain perceives color is one of its more impressive tricks. It is able to keep a stable perception of an object's color as lighting conditions change.

16 Nov 2011

N.J. plans to use managed care system for Medicaid enrollees with mental health problems

The N.J. effort must secure federal approval first. Also in Medicaid news, a judge in California this week will hear arguments in the challenge to the state's plans for adult health care.

15 Nov 2011

Lower glycemic index diet may delay onset of AMD-like lesions

Feeding older mice a lower glycemic index (GI) diet consisting of slowly-digested carbohydrates delays the onset of age-related, sight-threatening retinal lesions, according to a new study from the Laboratory for Nutrition and Vision Research at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (USDA HNRCA) at Tufts University.

14 Nov 2011