Ophthalmology News and Research

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Ophthalmology is the specialized field of medicine that focuses on the health of the eye. It includes the anatomy, physiology and diseases that may affect the eye. Historically, the science of ophthalmology encompassed all aspects of visual function, both in health and in illness. Additionally, ophthalmology also includes animal eyes as ocular function and optic diseases are similar among humans and animals.

Sex steroid hormone fluctuations may have direct effects on eye physiology and AMD

Gender-based differences may influence several ocular conditions, suggesting that fluctuations in sex steroid homeostasis may have direct effects on eye physiology and the pathogenesis of conditions like Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

18 Jan 2018

Mount Sinai study uncovers potential link between Crohn's and Parkinson's in Jewish population

Mount Sinai Researchers have just discovered that patients in the Ashkenazi Jewish population with Crohn's disease (a chronic inflammatory of the digestive system) are more likely to carry the LRRK2 gene mutation.

11 Jan 2018

Study finds genetic variations linked to BMI and obesity risk

It's not just diet and physical activity; your genes also determine how easily you lose or gain weight. In a study published in the January issue of Nature Genetics, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and other institutions of the Genetic Investigation of Anthropometric Traits consortium found 13 genes that carry variations associated with body mass index.

10 Jan 2018

Increased rate of language delay in girls linked to acetaminophen use by mothers during pregnancy

In the first study of its kind, researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai found an elevated rate of language delay in girls at 30 months old born to mothers who used acetaminophen during pregnancy, but not in boys.

10 Jan 2018

Study finds nearly 170% increase in eye injuries associated with non-powder guns

A new study conducted by researchers in the Center for Injury Research and Policy of the Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital investigated sports- and recreation-related eye injuries during a 23-year period and found a slight decrease in eye injuries overall; however, the rate of eye injury associated with non-powder guns (including BB, pellet and paintball guns) increased by almost 170%.

8 Jan 2018

Everyday eye movements may be cause of glaucoma in people with normal intraocular pressure

Common, unavoidable eye movements may be a cause of glaucoma in people with normal intraocular pressure (normal-tension glaucoma), according to new research supported by the National Eye Institute.

4 Jan 2018

Study suggests potential means of stalling or even reversing diabetes-related blindness

Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered a cell signaling pathway in mice that triggers vision loss in patients with diabetic retinopathy and retinal vein occlusion – diseases characterized by the closure of blood vessels in the retina, leading to blindness.

3 Jan 2018

Researchers use Nobel prize-winning technology to zoom in and see vital kidney protein

Researchers have applied Nobel prize-winning microscope technology to uncover an ion channel structure that could lead to new treatments for kidney stones.

3 Jan 2018

Macrophages play major role in helping early breast cancer cells spread even before tumor develops

Mount Sinai researchers have discovered that normal immune cells called macrophages, which reside in healthy breast tissue surrounding milk ducts, play a major role in helping early breast cancer cells leave the breast for other parts of the body, potentially creating metastasis before a tumor has even developed, according to a study published in Nature Communications.

2 Jan 2018

Ophthalmologists have more negative perceptions about effect of EHR systems

Ophthalmologists' use of electronic health records systems for storing and accessing patients' medical histories more than doubled between 2006 and 2016, while their perceptions of financial and clinical productivity following EHR implementation declined, a study published today in JAMA Ophthalmology shows.

29 Dec 2017

New multi-center study to explore how the brain's circuitry forms and recalls memories

Cedars-Sinai investigators will lead a multi-center study into how the brain's circuitry forms and recalls memories - research made possible by a $3.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

21 Dec 2017

Study finds racial differences in hospice care between African American and white patients

African Americans at the end of life have significantly higher rates of hospital admission, emergency department (ED) visits, and discontinuing (also known as disenrolling from) hospice care than whites, according to a new study by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai published today by the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

18 Dec 2017

Optical illusion called “curvature blindness” – The science behind it

An optical illusion is usually a trick to the eyes into seeing something that is not there. The brain here perceives something that is actually not there and interprets it.

17 Dec 2017

A daily cup of hot tea may lower glaucoma risk

According to a small study published online yesterday in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, drinking at least one cup of hot tea daily may be associated with a considerably lower risk of contracting glaucoma, a serious eye condition.

15 Dec 2017

Novel ‘black box’ recorder captures surgeons' robotic surgery skills

You may know that your surgeon is using the latest minimally invasive technology for your surgery, but how do you know if they've mastered it? To help answer that question, researchers at Keck Medicine of USC looked to a custom recording tool similar in concept to a flight recorder on an airplane.

13 Dec 2017

Solar retinopathy or sun damage to the eyes – a case report

A case report titled, “Acute Solar Retinopathy Imaged With Adaptive Optics, Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography, and En Face Optical Coherence Tomography”, appeared in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology, where the authors describe the damage caused by the sun’s rays to the eyes of a woman who viewed the recent solar eclipse without adequate eye protection. This type of eye damage is termed acute solar retinopathy.

10 Dec 2017

Steps to take for preventing dry eye in cold weather

As cold winter months arrive, many people will live in dry, indoor conditions with the heat on all day, which contributes to the season's being the most common time people complain about dry, itchy and watery eyes.

8 Dec 2017

Mount Sinai study uses adaptive optics to examine retinal eye damage from solar eclipse

In a first-of-its-kind study, Mount Sinai researchers are using adaptive optics (AO) to analyze retinal eye damage from the August solar eclipse on a cellular level. The research could help doctors develop a deeper understanding of this rare condition, called solar retinopathy, which has no currently accepted treatment.

8 Dec 2017

Scientists develop reversible superglue seal to treat ocular injuries

When a soldier sustains a traumatic eye injury on the battlefield, any delay in treatment may lead to permanent vision loss. With medical facilities potentially far away and no existing tools to prevent deterioration, medics are in a high-stakes race against the clock.

6 Dec 2017

Mount Sinai surgeons use BABA technique to remove metastatic cancer in the lateral neck

A team of surgeons at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, led by Hyunsuk Suh, MD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, have performed the first robot-assisted radical neck dissection in the United States using the bilateral axillo-breast approach (BABA), a surgery that involves removing all of the lymph nodes on one side of the neck.