Eye News and Research

Latest Eye News and Research

Allergies increase risk for corneal transplant rejection

Corneal transplant patients who suffer from eye allergies are at a significantly higher risk of transplant failure than those without allergies, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have shown.

22 May 2005

Nutritional composition of a mother’s breast milk may depend not just on her diet - but on her genes

“It is well known that genes control the nutrient levels in cow’s milk” said Richard B. Weinberg, M.D. “But until now, no one has considered how genes might affect human breast milk. This is the first study to demonstrate a genetic effect on human lactation.” The results were presented today at Digestive Disease Week 2005 in Chicago, Ill.

18 May 2005

Unrestrained retina too much of a good thing

When primitive nerve cells begin forming an eye in the mouse embryo, they are programmed to build a retina. But the ability to see depends upon connecting the retina to the brain via the optic nerve. Unless these embryonic cells are given the right cue at the right time, they mistakenly form a huge eye that consists entirely of retina and lacks the optic nerve.

18 May 2005

Jefferson researcher’s results show promise for metastatic eye melanoma

But now, by simultaneously revving up the immune system and choking off the tumor’s oxygen supply, oncologists at Jefferson Medical College and the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia may have found a better way to battle this deadly cancer.

17 May 2005

Safety belts in police cars may be life threatening

The hypothesis that the personal equipment or the uniform might affect the function of the seat belt in a collision was put to test. The study points out that an alternative, professional use of vehicles ought to be more generally considered in relation to the crash safety aspects.

17 May 2005

Distributing medications in specially designed blister packages rather than in bottles may increase the likelihood that medications will be taken properly

The study found that patients taking lisinopril – a medication used to treat chronic high blood pressure – were more likely to have their prescriptions refilled on time if the medication came in a blister package rather than as loose tablets in a bottle. In this case, the blister package clearly started the day on which to take each pill.

16 May 2005

Cataract treatment in the blink of an eye

Researchers at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand are pioneering the development of an eye drop to halt the development of cataracts.

10 May 2005

Green laser pointers can cause visible harm to the eye's retina

Mayo Clinic ophthalmologists have found commercially available Class 3A green laser pointers can cause visible harm to the eye's retina with exposures as short as 60 seconds. The findings will be published in the May issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.

9 May 2005

Older adults with diabetes in managed care networks have higher rates of untreated eye disease

Medicare beneficiaries at high risk for eye disease due to diabetes are more likely to have unrecognized and untreated eye disease if they are enrolled in managed care than if they have fee-for-service (FFS) health insurance, according to an article in the May issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.

9 May 2005

New treatment improves visual acuity score of patients with retinitis pigmentosa

Neurotech SA announced positive results from an open-label Phase I clinical trial (03-EI-0234) of its lead product, NT-501. NT-501 uses Neurotech’s patented Encapsulated Cell Technology (ECT) as a device to deliver ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) to eyes of visually impaired patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Neurotech is a biotechnology company specializing in the development of novel therapeutics to treat diseases of the eye. The company is headquartered in Paris.

8 May 2005

$Soft tissue injuries can predict risk of facial fractures in trauma patients$

Soft tissue injuries can predict risk of facial fractures in trauma patients

Trauma patients with specific types of facial soft tissue injuries should have a CT (computed tomography) scan of the face as well as a standard head scan to determine the presence and severity of facial fractures, according to a study published in the May issue of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.

8 May 2005

Internet may help prevent blindness in Medicaid patients with diabetes

A Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center team is launching a high-tech study to determine if early screening using a special camera and images transmitted over the Internet can prevent blindness in Medicaid patients with diabetes.

4 May 2005

New laser-surgery technique to perform cornea-transplant surgery

A UC Irvine ophthalmologist and his team have invented a new laser-surgery technique to perform cornea-transplant surgery that can replace the use of traditional handheld surgical blades and potentially improve recovery time for patients.

3 May 2005

Two-photon imaging gives real-time video of cells in living tissue

Biologists have a new tool to track and videotape cells moving about inside living tissue.

3 May 2005

Intriguing new data on the spread of the Lyme disease bacteria through the blood stream

The ability to find the Lyme spirochete--the tick-borne agent responsible--in the blood is itself an achievement because existing methods of culturing blood were not sensitive enough to detect its presence until College researchers developed a new technique, which they used in the study.

2 May 2005

Glaucoma therapy patients often do not comply with their doctor’s prescribed medicine regimen

A study that appears in the May edition of Ophthalmology, the clinical journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, shows that as many as 47 percent of patients receiving glaucoma therapy do not comply with their doctor’s prescribed medicine regimen. This is in startling contrast to the 90 percent of doctors who believe that their patients are following the prescribed treatment.

2 May 2005

Researchers present information on artificial retina

Researchers from the University of Southern California and the Doheny Eye Institute will be presenting data on the first six patients implanted with an intraocular retinal prosthesis-more popularly referred to as an artificial retina-developed and manufactured in partnership with Second Sight Medical Products, of Sylmar, Calif.

2 May 2005

New treatment uses stem cells to restore eyesight

The Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead, has been trialling the treatment and has already helped 40 people see again. The hospital has been developing the surgery over the past five years and uses stem cells taken from the patient or a donor to redevelop the cornea, the transparent film at the front of the eye which lets in light.

1 May 2005

Solar cell implant may restore some sight for the blind

Ophthalmologists at Rush University Medical Center implanted Artificial Silicon Retina (ASR) microchips in the eyes of five patients to treat vision loss caused by retinitis pigmentosa (RP). The implant is a silicon microchip 2mm in diameter and one-thousandth of an inch thick, less than the thickness of a human hair.

1 May 2005

Age-related macular degeneration is triggered, possibly by an infection

Age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in the elderly, occurs when a common inherited gene variation is triggered, possibly by an infection, according to a new study led by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center and the University of Iowa, with an international research team.

1 May 2005