Eye News and Research

Latest Eye News and Research

Lucentis receives Health Canada approval to treat vision loss from DME

Health Canada has approved Lucentis (ranibizumab) as a treatment for vision loss resulting from diabetic macular edema, one of the major causes of adult vision loss and an important complication of the growing epidemic of diabetes.

14 Sep 2011

BVES protein may play a role in colon cancer progression

A protein critical in heart development may also play a part in colon cancer progression. Research led by investigators from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center and the Vanderbilt Eye Institute suggests that the protein BVES (blood vessel endocardial substance) - which also is key in regulating corneal cells - may be a therapeutic target for halting colon cancer metastasis.

14 Sep 2011

Bausch + Lomb to launch VICTUS Femtosecond Laser Platform for cataract surgery

Bausch + Lomb, the global leader in eye health, and Technolas Perfect Vision GmbH (TPV), a leading ophthalmology laser company, plan to introduce the VICTUS Femtosecond Laser Platform at the upcoming XXIX Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons.

14 Sep 2011

Jefferson neurologist receives Harold G. Wolff Lecture Award for migraine headache model

Michael L. Oshinsky, Ph.D., assistant professor of Neurology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, and a member of the Jefferson Headache Center team, was recently named the 2011 Harold G. Wolff Lecture award recipient for creating a new animal model of migraine headache.

14 Sep 2011

Survey highlights need for better diabetes treatment guidelines

A survey of federally funded diabetes prevention and control programs in 57 U.S. states and territories has highlighted the need for better diabetes treatment guidelines that are specifically adapted to different populations. Such guidelines do not currently exist.

14 Sep 2011

Older drugs may be better than newly approved ones

It is a common belief that drugs given the okay by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are safer and more effective than they have to be to win approval, according to a new study. Especially in the first few years after a drug becomes available, researchers note, there are still questions about how well it will work and whether it will have any serious side effects warn experts. For example FDA-approved painkiller Vioxx was pulled off the market in 2004 after longer-term evidence showed that it may increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.

13 Sep 2011

FDA grants orphan drug designation for Avedro's VibeX to treat Keratoconus

Avedro, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to the Company's VibeX for use with its KXL System (UVA irradiation) for Corneal Cross-linking to treat Keratoconus.

12 Sep 2011

New method for making synthetic collagen

In a significant advance for cosmetic and reconstructive medicine, scientists at Rice University have unveiled a new method for making synthetic collagen. The new material, which forms from a liquid in as little as an hour, has many of the properties of natural collagen and may prove useful as a scaffold for regenerating new tissues and organs from stem cells.

9 Sep 2011

Study: Early motor experiences can shape infants' preferences for objects and faces

In a new study published today in the journal Developmental Science, researchers from the Kennedy Krieger Institute and Vanderbilt University found that early motor experiences can shape infants' preferences for objects and faces.

9 Sep 2011

Viewpoints: Lessons from Massachusetts?; FTC and ACOs; Arizona partner benefits

The Massachusetts experience provides lessons for national health care reform. First, reform may accelerate the trend toward health care's being the dominant employment sector in the economy. ... our analysis supports physicians' concerns about the administrative burden of health care reforms ... Finally, rather than requiring greater numbers of physicians and nurses, reform may require larger numbers of people supporting the work of such health care professionals.

9 Sep 2011

Theraplex unveils new line of aesthetics skin care products

The Theraplex Company, makers of the theraplex line of medical moisturizers, unveiled a new line of aesthetics skin care products called theraesthetics at the recent Cosmetic Bootcamp in Aspen, Colorado.

8 Sep 2011

Mass. Eye and Ear receives NIAID grant to coordinate Harvard-wide Project on Antibiotic Resistance

The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary has received an $11 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, the largest National Institutes of Health grant in this hospital's187-year history, to coordinate the Harvard-wide Project on Antibiotic Resistance.

8 Sep 2011

Simulations Plus preliminary fourth quarter revenues increase 6.9% to $1.426 million

Simulations Plus, Inc., a leading provider of consulting services and software for pharmaceutical discovery and development, today released preliminary revenues for its fourth fiscal quarter of fiscal year 2011, ended August 31, 2011 (4QFY11), and for the entire fiscal year 2011 (FY11).

7 Sep 2011

OptiMedica's Catalys Precision Laser System for cataract receives European CE mark

Global ophthalmic company OptiMedica Corp. has announced that it has received CE mark approval to market its Catalys Precision Laser System for cataract surgery in Europe.

7 Sep 2011

Robert Gordon University scientists to develop new treatment for cystinosis

A team of researchers at Robert Gordon University has secured a six figure sum from Sparks, a leading children’s medical research charity, to develop a revolutionary treatment for a rare genetic disorder.

6 Sep 2011

Amakem receives €18m in Series A round of funding

Amakem NV today announced it has raised €18m with a syndicate of leading life sciences investors to advance its ophthalmology drug development portfolio and progress its lead candidate, AMA0076 for glaucoma, to clinical proof of concept.

6 Sep 2011

Three cases of novel influenza A virus now linked to agricultural fair in southwestern Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania departments of Health and Agriculture today announced three cases of a novel influenza A virus have been identified, and are now linked to an agricultural fair in southwestern Pennsylvania.

6 Sep 2011

McDonald’s menus to include calorie counts in Britain

In an advancement against rising rates of obesity nearly 1,200 McDonald's restaurants in the U.K. will this week begin displaying the calorie count of each food and drink item on their wall-mounted menu boards.

5 Sep 2011

Scientists discover highly conserved mechanism governing brain development

If you think today's political rhetoric is overheated, imagine what goes on inside a vertebrate embryo. There, two armies whose agendas are poles apart, engage in a battle with consequences much more dire than whether the economy will recover---- they are battling for whether you (or frogs or chickens) will have a forebrain.

3 Sep 2011

Discovery in rare disease may shed light on common causes of blindness

In a rare eye disease, the retina degenerates because light-receiving cells fail to regenerate, research led by a student at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine shows.

2 Sep 2011