Visual Impairment News and Research

Latest Visual Impairment News and Research

Pediatric blindness etiology varies around the globe

The causes and prevalence of blindness in children vary markedly by geography, presumably as a proxy for socioeconomic factors influencing prevention and treatment schemes, conclude the authors of a literature review.

15 Feb 2013

Novel approach uses adult stem cells to save sight of diabetes sufferers

Scientists at Queen's University Belfast are hoping to develop a novel approach that could save the sight of millions of diabetes sufferers using adult stem cells.

14 Feb 2013

$Scientists discover 24 new genes that cause refractive errors and myopia$

Scientists discover 24 new genes that cause refractive errors and myopia

An international team of scientists led by King's College London has discovered 24 new genes that cause refractive errors and myopia (short-sightedness).

10 Feb 2013

Intravitreal ranibizumab shows little benefit after hemorrhage

Ranibizumab given intravitreally offers no clear benefit in the treatment of vitreous hemorrhage due to proliferative diabetic retinopathy, a randomized clinical trial indicates.

8 Feb 2013

'Better Vision' app can support visually impaired and dyslectic people

To support visually impaired and dyslectic people in their efforts to read, the 'Better Vision' app has been developed: a functional and handy all-in-one app that magnifies text and reads English, German, Spanish or Dutch text out loud on iPhones, iPads (mini) and Android devices.

6 Feb 2013

National Eye Institute’s booklet and videos help people adapt to life with low vision

A 20-page large-print booklet and a series of videos to help people adapt to life with low vision are available from the National Eye Institute (NEI), a part of the National Institutes of Health. The materials were released during Low Vision Awareness Month, February 2013.

2 Feb 2013

Congenital sight impairment cure grows closer

A cure for congenital sight impairment caused by lens damage is closer following research by scientists at Monash University.

31 Jan 2013

Reprogramming eye cells that enable night vision may one day treat retinitis pigmentosa

Doctors may one day treat some forms of blindness by altering the genetic program of the light-sensing cells of the eye, according to scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

29 Jan 2013

Researchers develop software package that adapts Facebook for visually impaired people

This new software was developed by researchers at the Department of Programming Languages and Systems of the University of Granada.. So far, there were only special social networks specifically developed for visually impaired people, such as Blindworlds. Researchers at the University of Granada have developed a software package that adapts Facebook for visually impaired people.

22 Jan 2013

Hearing loss is associated with accelerated cognitive decline and impairment in older adults

Hearing loss appears to be associated with accelerated cognitive decline and cognitive impairment in a study of older adults, according to a report published Online First by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

22 Jan 2013

Spain approves pSivida’s ILUVIEN to treat chronic diabetic macular edema

pSivida Corp., a leader in developing sustained release, drug delivery products for treatment of back-of-the-eye diseases, announced today that the Spanish Agency of Drugs and Medical Devices (Agencia Espanola de Medicamentos y Productos Sanitarios) granted marketing authorization to ILUVIEN for the treatment of vision impairment associated with chronic diabetic macular edema (DME) considered insufficiently responsive to available therapies.

18 Jan 2013

University of Hertfordshire to lead two new Govt-funded projects into dementia research

Researchers at the University of Hertfordshire are leading two of the twenty-one new Government-funded projects into dementia research - to boost dementia diagnosis rates and trial ground-breaking treatments, as well as helping people with dementia live well with the condition today.

17 Jan 2013

Bionic devices: an interview with Dr Rylie Green

Bionic devices are implants which replace biological functions which have been lost due to nerve damage. They use electrical signals to stimulate the remaining nerve cells following disease or injury. Although the term bionic was only coined in the late 1950s, the earliest bionic devices were cardiac pacemakers, developed in the early 1900s. However the first commercial implantable units were not available until the 1950s.

14 Jan 2013

SLU researchers to test new screening method for MPS disorders among infants

Researchers at Saint Louis University have received a five-year, $2.5 million National Institutes of Health grant to test a new method of screening newborns for a group of rare, but serious genetic disorders that affect approximately 200 babies born in the U.S., each year.

11 Jan 2013

Glaucoma likely to end in visual impairment

Visual impairment at the end of life is highly likely to occur in patients with glaucoma, show Dutch study results.

2 Jan 2013

Ethnic disparities remain in glaucoma testing

A decade’s worth of data show that Hispanic men and women are less likely than individuals of other race or ethnicity to undergo ocular imaging for glaucoma.

19 Dec 2012

Visual impairment and diabetes increase side by side

Visual impairment that is not explained by refractive error is increasing, as is the prevalence of diabetes – particularly diabetes lasting 10 years or longer, show US study results.

14 Dec 2012

$Study finds increase in prevalence of nonrefractive visual impairment in the U.S.$

Study finds increase in prevalence of nonrefractive visual impairment in the U.S.

The prevalence of nonrefractive visual impairment (not due to need for glasses) in the U.S. has increased significantly in recent years, which may be partly related to a higher prevalence of diabetes, an associated risk factor, according to a study in the December 12 issue of JAMA.

12 Dec 2012

Mass. Eye and Ear opens new outpatient surgical center in Longwood/Mission Hill

Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Longwood, a new outpatient surgical center at 800 Huntington Avenue in the Longwood/Mission Hill area of Boston, opened today to patients.

11 Dec 2012

Scientists evaluate two different strategies to treat Usher syndrome

After years of basic research, scientists at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) are increasingly able to understand the mechanisms underlying the human Usher syndrome and are coming ever closer to finding a successful treatment approach. The scientists in the Usher research group of Professor Dr. Uwe Wolfrum are evaluating two different strategies. These involve either the repair of mutated genes or the deactivation of the genetic defects using agents.

6 Dec 2012