Blindness News and Research

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Tel Aviv researcher says lessons from Israel's health-care system could optimize eye health

According to the World Health Organization, 80% of blindness is preventable or treatable - but it remains a severe health concern across the globe, even in industrialized countries.

11 Jul 2013

EyeTechCare's EyeOP1 device to be installed in four healthcare facilities in France

EyeTechCare SA, which develops non-invasive therapeutic medical devices for the ophthalmology market based on the use of ultrasound, today announces that its EyeOP1 device is to be installed in a number of hospitals in France, namely Lille University Hospital, Grenoble University Hospital and the Quinze-Vingts and Saint-Joseph hospitals in Paris. The first use of this device for the routine treatment of glaucoma patients is slated from July onwards.

4 Jul 2013

African-American kids with T2D and risk for retinopathy are less likely to receive eye exam

In one of the few studies to provide information on eye screening of children, African-American children with the greatest risk for disease of the retina as a complication of Type 1 diabetes are the least likely to have received an eye exam, reports a team of researchers including senior author Terri H. Lipman of the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing.

2 Jul 2013

Mayo Clinic provides tips to stay safe this summer

A backyard fireworks display may look pretty and get family and friends excited, but when it comes to lighting fireworks, leave it to the professionals, Mayo Clinic physicians are advising. Each year, Mayo Clinic doctors see dozens of patients who have lost fingers and limbs, gotten severe burns and suffered hearing loss as a direct result of using fireworks. Even seemingly harmless fireworks - such as sparklers - can cause severe burns and even blindness.

2 Jul 2013

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine receives US$ 10 million to continue research against human filariasis

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) has received US$ 10 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to continue their breakthrough drug discovery and development research against human filariasis - parasitic worm infections which cause river blindness and elephantiasis, some of the world’s most debilitating diseases affecting up to 150 million people in 83 countries throughout the tropics.

1 Jul 2013

'Sleep Mask' prototype: The world's first non-invasive treatment for sight loss

Rt Hon David Willetts MP has seen the 'Sleep Mask' prototype - the world's first non-invasive treatment for sight loss that will save the need for expensive hospital treatment - at Northumbria University's Northern Design Centre (NDC).

28 Jun 2013

UH Eye Institute to use Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System to treat patients with RP

University Hospitals Eye Institute will be one of the first medical centers in the United States to offer the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System.

28 Jun 2013

Study finds that triple therapy corrects two core defects in type 2 diabetes

Patients with type 2 diabetes fare significantly better if they are started on three medications at the time of diagnosis than if they are prescribed a single drug and have other therapies added later, a San Antonio researcher said June 22 at the 73rd Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association in Chicago.

25 Jun 2013

Weight loss does not reduce heart disease risks among Type 2 diabetes patients: Study

A landmark study investigating the long-term effects of weight loss on the risks of cardiovascular disease among patients with Type 2 diabetes has now concluded, with significant results to be published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

25 Jun 2013

Scientists find way to attack dangerous bacteria that cause eye infections

Much as predators attack their prey in the animal world, there are bacteria that consume and kill other bacteria. Scientists are reporting new progress in putting the predator microbes to work - to attack dangerous bacteria that cause eye infections that lead to blindness and have grown resistant to antibiotics.

21 Jun 2013

Ico Therapeutics completes Phase 2 iDEAL study for treatment of diabetic macular edema

iCo Therapeutics Inc. announced today that it has completed enrollment of its Phase 2 iDEAL study evaluating the efficacy and safety after repeated injections of iCo-007 in patients with Diabetic Macular Edema (DME). The study has shown a good safety profile with no drug-related serious adverse events to date.

19 Jun 2013

Eylea can ease vision problems for wet AMD patients

There is no cure for age-related macular degeneration, an eye disease that is the leading cause of vision loss and blindness in older Americans. Last year, the National Institutes of Health reported that two drugs injected into the eyes, Avastin and Lucentis, eased symptoms for sufferers, especially those in the advanced, "wet" stage of the disease, when blood vessels in the eye become swollen and leak fluids in the eye.

19 Jun 2013

Researchers to study benefits, side effects of four widely used therapies in adults with type 2 diabetes

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers are seeking 150 adults with type 2 diabetes to take part in the local arm of a major national clinical trial that will compare benefits and side effects of four widely used therapies to lower blood-sugar levels.

18 Jun 2013

Celgene reports results from placebo-controlled phase II trial in patients with Behçet's disease

Celgene International Sàrl, a subsidiary of Celgene Corporation today presented results from a randomized, placebo-controlled phase II trial in patients with Behçet's disease at EULAR, the European Congress of Rheumatology annual meeting in Madrid.

14 Jun 2013

Using hands-free devices to talk and text while driving is distracting and risky

Using hands-free devices to talk, text or send e-mail while driving is distracting and risky, contrary to what many people believe, says a new University of Utah study issued today by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

13 Jun 2013

Effective method to restore sight to patients with blinding diseases

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed an easier and more effective method for inserting genes into eye cells that could greatly expand gene therapy to help restore sight to patients with blinding diseases ranging from inherited defects like retinitis pigmentosa to degenerative illnesses of old age, such as macular degeneration

13 Jun 2013

Massachusetts Eye and Ear enrolls deaf children in new clinical trial of Auditory Brainstem Implant

The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, a Harvard Medical School teaching affiliate, is now enrolling a select group of deaf infants and children in a new FDA-approved clinical trial of an Auditory Brainstem Implant.

12 Jun 2013

Novel method introduced for detecting retinal micro-aneurysms that pose high risk for leakage

Yissum Research Development Company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Ltd., the technology transfer arm of the Hebrew University, introduces a novel method for detecting retinal micro-aneurysms that pose a high risk for leakage, an underlying cause of diabetic retinopathy.

10 Jun 2013

Discovery sheds new light on causes of debilitating diseases and birth defects

Danish researchers have just published findings that explain a previously unknown mechanism used by cells to communicate with one another. The research significantly contributes to understanding why some children are born with malformations and why children and adults may develop life-threatening diseases.