Eye News and Research

Latest Eye News and Research

Rigorous visual training helps the brain to see again after stroke

By doing a set of vigorous visual exercises on a computer every day for several months, patients who had gone partially blind as a result of suffering a stroke were able to regain some vision, according to scientists who published their results in the April 1 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

1 Apr 2009

Branding still overshadows critical fine print on nonprescription medications

Medicine packages barrage consumers with information, some required to be "prominent" and "conspicuous."

1 Apr 2009

Eye exercises help patients work out vision problems

You've probably been there. In a doctor's office, being advised to do what you dread - exercise.

1 Apr 2009

Bad mix of bacterial remnants and NOD2 gene lead to arthritis

Here's another reason to hate leftovers. A research study appearing in the April 2009 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology sheds light on one cause of arthritis: bacteria.

1 Apr 2009

California stimulus funding not enough to stave off cuts to some health care services

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Friday signed five bills into law that allow California to receive more than $17.5 billion in federal economic stimulus aid, but the funding will not be enough for the state to avoid $3 billion in tax increases and cuts to services to balance its budget, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

31 Mar 2009

Moonlighting immune molecules found in the brain

Molecules assumed to be in the exclusive employ of the immune system have been caught moonlighting in the brain - with a job description apparently quite distinct from their role in immunity.

30 Mar 2009

SARcode announces results of phase 1 trial of SAR 1118 ophthalmic solution in healthy adult subjects

SARcode Corporation announced today the results of its Phase 1 randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled trial of the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of single- and multiple-escalating doses of SAR 1118 Ophthalmic Solution in healthy volunteers.

30 Mar 2009

New brain mapping capabilities come to desktops of scientists worldwide

Mapping the billions of connections in the brain is a grand challenge in neuroscience.

30 Mar 2009

Eye cells believed to be retinal stem cells are misidentified

Cells isolated from the eye that many scientists believed were retinal stem cells are, in fact, normal adult cells, investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have found.

30 Mar 2009

Community spread of trachoma could be stopped by treating all household members

All members of the household need to be treated for trachoma in order to prevent rapid re-infection, according to a new study published in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

30 Mar 2009

River blindness under control in Escuintla, Guatemala

An international team of researchers led by Rodrigo Gonzalez of the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala reports that the transmission of onchocerciasis or river blindness has been broken in Escuintla, Guatemala, one of the largest endemic areas in the Western Hemisphere to date to stop the transmission of the parasitic disease.

30 Mar 2009

Gene scan shows body's sleep cycle influences numerous physical functions

The pineal gland - integral to setting the body's sleep and wake cycles - may be involved in a broad range of bodily functions, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.

30 Mar 2009

Autism skews developing brain with synchronous motion and sound

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) tend to stare at people's mouths rather than their eyes.

29 Mar 2009

Action video games improve real-world vision

Video games that involve high levels of action, such as first-person-shooter games, increase a player's real-world vision, according to research in today's Nature Neuroscience.

29 Mar 2009

Vindictiveness doesn't pay

Vindictiveness doesn't pay. This has been demonstrated by a current study at Bonn and Maastricht Universities.

29 Mar 2009

Positive phase 3 uveitis trial results for voclosporin

Isotechnika Inc. has announced that their partner, Lux Biosciences, Inc., reported the results from the three Phase 3 LUMINATE trials investigating voclosporin oral capsule (LUVENIQ or LX211) for the treatment of uveitis.

29 Mar 2009

AHIP, BCBS say insurers willing to stop basing premiums on members' health status if all U.S. residents are required to obtain coverage

In a letter to leaders of the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committees on Tuesday, America's Health Insurance Plans and the BlueCross BlueShield Association said that their memberships would be willing to end the practice of charging different premiums based on individuals' health status if all U.S. residents were required to obtain coverage, CongressDaily reports (Edney, CongressDaily, 3/25).

25 Mar 2009

Lifeless cells ensure sharp vision

Seemingly dead cells perform a surprising task in the lens of a fish eye. Every morning and evening they change the lens's capacity to refract light in order to enhance color perception during the day and night vision when it's dark. This is shown in new research from Lund University in Sweden.

25 Mar 2009

Research provides new perspective on the way kids think

For parents who have found themselves repeating the same warnings or directions to their toddler over and over to no avail, new research from the University of Colorado at Boulder offers them an answer as to why their toddlers don't listen to their advice: they're just storing it away for later.

24 Mar 2009

Obama's proposed FY 2010 budget would require nearly $9.3 trilion in borrowing over 10 years, according to CBO report

President Obama's $3.6 trillion fiscal year 2010 budget proposal would require borrowing nearly $9.3 trillion over the next decade, or $2.3 trillion more than the White House projected, according to a Congressional Budget Office report released on Friday, the Washington Post reports (Montgomery, Washington Post, 3/21).

23 Mar 2009