Blindness News and Research

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World Sight Day to focus global attention on blindness and vision impairment

World Sight Day, celebrated on October 8th, is an annual day of awareness to focus global attention on blindness and vision impairment as a major public health issue. World Sight Day is coordinated by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) under the global initiative of VISION 2020. This year, the theme for World Sight Day is Gender and Eye Health.

8 Oct 2009

Government of Alberta reimburses first medication to improve vision and restore quality of life

Alberta residents with neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of vision loss over the age of 50, have received a dose of good news with the decision by Alberta Health and Wellness to reimburse the innovative treatment Lucentis* (ranibizumab) on the Alberta Blue Cross insurance plan.

6 Oct 2009

Researchers identify novel circulation within human eye that provides new insight into glaucoma

Researchers at the University of Toronto, St. Michael's Hospital and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre have discovered a previously unidentified form of circulation within the human eye which may provide important new insights into glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness.

6 Oct 2009

ThromboGenics presents Phase IIa microplasmin intravitreal injection trial results at the ASRS conference

ThromboGenics NV, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of innovative medicines for eye disease, vascular disease and cancer, today announces results of a Phase IIa trial evaluating microplasmin intravitreal injection for the treatment of Diabetic Macular Edema (MIVI II DME).

6 Oct 2009

Molecular biologist receives 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Molecular biologist Elizabeth H. Blackburn, PhD, 60, of the University of California, San Francisco, today was named to receive the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

6 Oct 2009

Schering-Plough receives FDA recommendation approval for PEGINTRON

Schering-Plough Corp. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) recommended approval by a vote of six to four for PEGINTRON® (pegylated interferon alfa-2b) in the adjuvant treatment of patients with Stage III malignant melanoma.

6 Oct 2009

More than 1 million babies worldwide born prematurely die in first month, Study says

Each year more than 1 million babies born prematurely - before 37 weeks of development in the womb or within the first month of life - the "March of Dimes said Sunday in the first comprehensive global report on premature births," CNN reports. Nearly 10 percent of total births worldwide, or 12.9 million infants, are preterm, the study found.

6 Oct 2009

Preterm birth rate continues to rise

More than one million infants die each year because they are born too early, according to the just released White Paper, The Global and Regional Toll of Preterm Birth.

5 Oct 2009

Researchers engineer antidotes for blood-thinner aptamers

Imagine a surgical patient on a blood-thinning drug who starts bleeding more than expected, and an antidote that works immediately - because the blood thinner and antidote were designed to work together. Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have engineered a way to do this for an entire, versatile class of drugs called aptamers and published their findings in Nature Medicine.

4 Oct 2009

Study finds that visual impairment in T1D patients may be decreasing

People diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) in recent years are less likely to develop diabetes-related vision loss than those diagnosed in earlier years, says a new study funded by the National Eye Institute, a division of the National Institutes of Health. Forecasts of visual impairment prevalence in T1D patients may need to be amended, the researchers suggest, since current predictions assume that the earlier incidence rates will continue.

3 Oct 2009

Eye treatment reimbursement change could cost Medicare millions

A change in the reimbursement rate for the drug Avastin, used off-label to treat an eye illness in the elderly, could lead Medicare doctors to use a much costlier drug that would cost the system millions, The New York Times reports.

3 Oct 2009

ORBIS' Childhood Blindness Initiative aims to develop 50 pediatric ophthalmology centers across India

ORBIS International's flagship Flying Eye Hospital arrived in Jaipur, India with its international team of volunteer eye care specialists and global sponsor Alcon, Inc. (NYSE: ACL), the world's leading eye care company.

1 Oct 2009

Blood vessels in the retina may help predict risk of heart attack or stroke

For centuries eyes have been seen as windows to the soul. But medical researchers now believe the eyes may also offer vital clues to your risk of heart disease and stroke.

28 Sep 2009

Safety profiles of JANUVIA and JANUMET drugs established through clinical development program

Merck has thoroughly reviewed the safety data for sitagliptin, and sitagliptin was not associated with an increase in the incidence of pancreatitis in preclinical studies or in clinical trials of up to two years in duration with more than 6,000 patients.

28 Sep 2009

$Diabetic patients face increased risk of bone fractures$

Diabetic patients face increased risk of bone fractures

Current research suggests that the inflammatory molecule TNF-α may contribute to delayed bone fracture healing in diabetics. The related report by Alblowi et al, "High Levels of TNF-α Contribute to Accelerated Loss of Cartilage in Diabetic Fracture Healing" appears in the October 2009 issue of the American Journal of Pathology.

28 Sep 2009

European CHMP recommends Merck's JANUVIA and JANUMET as add-on to insulin

Merck & Co., Inc., which operates in many countries as Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), has received a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency’s (EMEA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) for JANUVIA® tablets and JANUMET® tablets recommending their use as add-on to insulin for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

26 Sep 2009

Symposium on ways to lower preterm birth rate

Journalists are invited to attend a gathering of the nation's leading maternal-child and quality assurance health care experts who will review and develop programs that may help lower the nation's costly preterm birth rate.

26 Sep 2009

Adaptive Eyewear's endeavors to build vision infrastructure in Rwanda

Adaptive Eyewear, a UK-based not-for-profit organisation which aims to provide vision correction solutions to people in the developing world, was recognized yesterday at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Fifth Annual Meeting for its exemplary approach to address the significant shortage of eye care specialists and lack of vision infrastructure in Rwanda. Adaptive Eyewear's commitment to the people of Rwanda was announced at the session "Driving Disruptive Innovation at the Base of the Pyramid" on Wednesday 23rd September at 2:45pm.

25 Sep 2009

Commitments announced at the Clinton Global Initiative

The second day of the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) came to a close with a special session on Northern Ireland, following afternoon plenary and breakout sessions that focused on harnessing innovation for development.

24 Sep 2009

Clinton Global Initiative to raise awareness and funding for NTD control and elimination

At the Clinton Global Initiative today, the Inter-American Development Bank joined with the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases to announce their commitment to mobilize $30 million from the public and private sectors to raise awareness and funding for NTD control and elimination in the Americas, supported by technical assistance from the Pan American Health Organization, regional office of the World Health Organization for the Americas.

24 Sep 2009

Blindness News and Research

World Sight Day to focus global attention on blindness and vision impairment

Government of Alberta reimburses first medication to improve vision and restore quality of life

Researchers identify novel circulation within human eye that provides new insight into glaucoma

ThromboGenics presents Phase IIa microplasmin intravitreal injection trial results at the ASRS conference

Molecular biologist receives 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Schering-Plough receives FDA recommendation approval for PEGINTRON

More than 1 million babies worldwide born prematurely die in first month, Study says

Preterm birth rate continues to rise

Researchers engineer antidotes for blood-thinner aptamers

Study finds that visual impairment in T1D patients may be decreasing

Eye treatment reimbursement change could cost Medicare millions

ORBIS' Childhood Blindness Initiative aims to develop 50 pediatric ophthalmology centers across India

Blood vessels in the retina may help predict risk of heart attack or stroke

Safety profiles of JANUVIA and JANUMET drugs established through clinical development program

Diabetic patients face increased risk of bone fractures

European CHMP recommends Merck's JANUVIA and JANUMET as add-on to insulin

Symposium on ways to lower preterm birth rate

Adaptive Eyewear's endeavors to build vision infrastructure in Rwanda

Commitments announced at the Clinton Global Initiative

Clinton Global Initiative to raise awareness and funding for NTD control and elimination

How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

The role of UV-Vis in biopharma QC

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