Blindness News and Research

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Researchers have discovered a gene linked to age-related maculopathy

University of Pittsburgh researchers have discovered a gene linked to age-related maculopathy (ARM), the leading cause of untreatable blindness in the elderly. Their discovery suggests a simple test might be able to identify those at risk for what is commonly known as macular degeneration (AMD) and may lead to the development of more effective preventive strategies.

16 Aug 2005

Decline in energy production by mitochondria appears to be a key problem leading to insulin resistance

A detectable decline in energy production by mitochondria - the organelles that are the cell's furnace for energy production - seems to be a key problem leading to insulin resistance, and thus to type 2 diabetes, according to studies by Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers.

16 Aug 2005

Findings could lead to gene therapy cure for childhood blindness

In findings that could lead to curing some forms of congenital blindness through gene therapy, researchers at UCLA have discovered that RPE65, a gene missing in infants born with the blinding disease Leber congenital amaurosis, is also a key enzyme in the visual cycle. The identity of this enzyme has long been a mystery to scientists.

11 Aug 2005

Cataracts a risk for pilots and astronauts

According to the results of a new study, airline pilots have a greater risk of developing cataracts because of exposure to cosmic rays while flying.

11 Aug 2005

Quality of the doctor-patient relationship can greatly affect patients' medication use

Patients who trust their doctors are more likely to stick to their prescription medicines, even if they face high out-of-pocket costs, a new study finds. But patients who have lower levels of trust in their physicians, or who have depression-like symptoms, are much more likely to skip doses or refills when costs become a problem for them.

10 Aug 2005

Factors inhibiting the brain's natural self-healing process identified

Factors that inhibit the brain's natural self-healing process and that may offer new insights into how to prevent brain damage in premature babies have been identified by a team of researchers supported in part by the March of Dimes.

7 Aug 2005

Scientists use gene transfer to prevent retinoschisis

University of Florida scientists used a healthy human gene to prevent blindness in mice with a form of an incurable eye disease that strikes boys.

2 Aug 2005

Researchers characterize the proteome of the human cornea

In doing so, they have identified 141 distinct proteins, 99 of which had not been previously recognized in mammalian corneas. The details of their findings appear in the August/September issue of Molecular and Cellular Proteomics, an American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology journal.

1 Aug 2005

Radiation helps eye cancer patients retain vision

Doctors in the United Kingdom have determined that patients suffering from cancer affecting their eye can usually avoid visual handicap, loss of the eye and spread of the disease by receiving proton beam radiation therapy, according to a new study

1 Aug 2005

Defect in the mechanics of motors that build tiny cellular hairs is the basis of Bardet-Biedl syndrome

A defect in the mechanics of motors that build tiny cellular hairs is the basis of a serious genetic disorder, according to researchers at UC Davis and Simon Fraser University, Canada.

1 Aug 2005

New way to prevent macular degeneration

Two studies from an unusual research partnership at the University of Chicago appear to have resolved a long-standing dispute about the role of melanin in the eye. The studies, one published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) and one early online in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS), also suggest a new way to prevent a common cause of blindness.

28 Jul 2005

Cats have no sweet tooth

According to British and U.S. scientists cats may like ice cream, but it is not the sugary taste that appeals to them, because they are genetically unable to taste sweet flavors.

28 Jul 2005

New insight into age-related macular degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in older adults, yet researchers are still in the dark about many of the factors that cause this incurable disease.

25 Jul 2005

Metformin should be in the first line of defense against type 2 diabetes

A new review of studies confirms that the drug metformin should be in the first line of defense against type 2 diabetes. Using metformin alone can improve control of blood glucose, while also reducing risk factors for heart disease such as excess body weight, cholesterol levels and hypertension, the review found.

20 Jul 2005

America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being 2005

The adolescent birth rate has reached another record low, the death rate for children between ages 1 and 4 is the lowest ever, young children are more likely to receive their recommended immunizations, and fourth graders are scoring better in math, according to a yearly compendium of statistics from federal agencies concerned with children.

20 Jul 2005