Blindness News and Research

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Study: Glaucoma diagnosis not associated with steeper rates of cognitive decline

Previous studies have looked for links between glaucoma - a neurodegenerative disorder that's the leading cause of irreversible blindness - and cognitive function, but they've generated mixed results.

22 Jun 2022

Study offers new insight into the growth of blood vessels

Blood vessels must adapt their growth to the nutrients available in their surroundings so that they can keep organs adequately supplied. A team led by Michael Potente has identified two proteins that are important for this process and published their findings in Nature Metabolism.

20 Jun 2022

New discovery could lead to the development of therapeutic approaches for retinitis pigmentosa

Retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative genetic disease of the eye, is characterized by progressive vision loss, usually leading to blindness.

17 Jun 2022

Study reveals sex differences in COVID-19 diagnosis at the start of the pandemic

University of Alicante Professor of Preventive Medicine and Public Health María Teresa Ruiz Cantero has prepared a study based on COVID-19 and gender biases in healthcare and the inequalities revealing sex differences, recently presented as part of the 2022 Gender and Health Report of the Spanish Ministry of Health, through the Women's Health Observatory.

16 Jun 2022

Annual Wellness Visits associated with reduced risk of amputations in patients with diabetes

Patients with diabetes who participate in a free Annual Wellness Visit covered by Medicare are 36% less likely to need an amputation, a new study from University of Virginia School of Medicine researchers and their collaborators found.

15 Jun 2022

Affordable Advanced Rapid Diagnostics from Global Access Diagnostics (GADx)

Global Access Health (GAH), a social enterprise dedicated to providing affordable medical products for global health, today formally introduced its first portfolio company, Global Access Diagnostics (GADx).

From Global Access Diagnostics 15 Jun 2022

Study finds unequal access to life-changing device among youth with type 1 diabetes

Over the past 20 years, despite the overall increase in the use of insulin pumps, there have been few improvements in the ethnic, racial and socioeconomic inequities in insulin pump use among youth with type 1 diabetes, according to a new study presented Tuesday, June 14 at ENDO 2022, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in Atlanta, Ga.

14 Jun 2022

Children’s vision problems often go undetected, despite calls for regular screening

Jessica Oberoi, 13, can't exactly remember when her eyesight started getting blurry. All she knows is that she had to squint to see the whiteboard at school.

9 Jun 2022

Stem cell models help determine previously unknown genetic markers of glaucoma

Stem cell models of the retina and optical nerve have been used to identify previously unknown genetic markers of glaucoma, in research jointly led by scientists from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, the University of Melbourne, and the Centre for Eye Research Australia.

9 Jun 2022

Detailed genetic roadmap of glaucoma will help develop new drugs to combat the disease

A new, detailed genetic roadmap of glaucoma – the world's leading cause of irreversible blindness – will help researchers develop new drugs to combat the disease, by identifying potential target areas to stall or reverse vision loss.

8 Jun 2022

Dietary supplements can slow progression of age-related macular degeneration, NIH study confirms

The Age-Related Eye Disease Studies (AREDS and AREDS2) established that dietary supplements can slow progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common cause of blindness in older Americans. In a new report, scientists analyzed 10 years of AREDS2 data.

2 Jun 2022

Study expands understanding of the eye's immune response to viral infections

The cornea - the transparent protective outer layer of the eye critical to helping us see – produces a delicate and limited immune response to fight infections without damaging our vision, according to a ground-breaking new study from the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute).

24 May 2022

Novel ultrasound-assisted laser technique removes arterial plaque safely and efficiently

Atherosclerosis, a buildup of plaque, can lead to heart disease, artery disease, and chronic kidney disease and is traditionally treated by inserting and inflating a balloon to expand the artery.

24 May 2022

Epilepsy drug inhibits the growth of NF1 tumors in mice

People with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) develop tumors on nerves throughout their bodies. These tumors are usually benign - meaning they don't spread to other parts of the body and are not considered life-threatening - but they can still cause serious medical problems such as blindness, especially when they form in the brain and nerves.

19 May 2022

Using diet as a primary intervention to achieve remission of type 2 diabetes in adults

The American College of Lifestyle Medicine has released an expert consensus statement to assist clinicians in achieving remission of type 2 diabetes in adults using diet as a primary intervention.

18 May 2022

Ocular toxoplasmosis found to be common among Australians

One in 150 Australians have retinal scars caused by the Toxoplasma parasite, according to new Flinders University analysis.

16 May 2022

USF technology identifies locations of mosquitoes and helps eradicate malaria

Following his success eradicating a major source of malaria, technology created by a University of South Florida public health researcher is being implemented by insect control agencies throughout Africa and across the Tampa Bay region.

10 May 2022

Researchers develop new platform capable of mitochondrial DNA editing

Researchers from the Center for Genome Engineering within the Institute for Basic Science developed a new gene-editing platform called transcription activator-like effector-linked deaminases, or TALED.

25 Apr 2022

Disease-causing amoebas that live on organic leafy vegetables could be a threat to public health

New research to be presented at this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases in Lisbon, Portugal (23-26 April), suggests that disease-causing amoebas that live on organic leafy vegetables can shelter human pathogens like Pseudomonas, Salmonella, and Helicobacter and are a potential risk to public health.

23 Apr 2022

Treatment for retinal vein occlusion yields long-lasting vision gains, study shows

New research shows that a treatment for retinal vein occlusion yields long-lasting vision gains, with visual acuity remaining significantly above baseline at five years.

21 Apr 2022