Blindness News and Research

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'Bionic eye' improves visual function, quality of life for people with retinitis pigmentosa

The three-year clinical trial results of the retinal implant popularly known as the "bionic eye," have proven the long-term efficacy, safety and reliability of the device that restores vision in those blinded by a rare, degenerative eye disease.

24 Jun 2015

Scientific collaboration pinpoints genetic cause of rare form of blindness in newborn babies

A scientific collaboration, involving the Manchester Centre for Genomic Medicine at Saint Mary's Hospital, UK, and the Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine in Naples, Italy, has pinpointed the genetic cause of a rare form of blindness, which can present itself as a key-hole shaped defect in the eye in newborn babies.

24 Jun 2015

New 'smart insulin patch' could help patients suffering from diabetes

Painful insulin injections could become a thing of the past for the millions of Americans who suffer from diabetes, thanks to a new invention from researchers at the University of North Carolina and NC State, who have created the first "smart insulin patch" that can detect increases in blood sugar levels and secrete doses of insulin into the bloodstream whenever needed.

23 Jun 2015

Benitec, ReNeuron collaborate to launch new exploratory cellular therapy program

Benitec Biopharma is pleased to announce the launch of a new exploratory cellular therapy program including exosome-based delivery utilising the Company's proprietary ddRNAi technology. Entry into these areas have been facilitated by the commencement of a collaboration with UK-based stem cell therapeutics company, ReNeuron.

22 Jun 2015

Ortho Clinical Diagnostics announces FDA approval of VITROS Chemistry Products HbA1c Reagent Kit for diagnosis of diabetes

Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the VITROS Chemistry Products HbA1c Reagent Kit to be used on the VITROS 5600 Integrated System, VITROS 4600 Chemistry System, and the VITROS 5,1 FS Chemistry System. The test can be used for the quantitative determination of percent glycated hemoglobin A1c (DCCT/NGSP) and mmol/mol hemoglobin A1c (IFCC) in human whole blood.

From Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, Inc. 22 Jun 2015

Oraya IRay Radiotherapy System for AMD treatment receives Silver award at MDEA 2015

Oraya Therapeutics Inc.and Bridge Design announced today that the Oraya IRay Radiotherapy System has won the Silver award in the radiological and electromechanical devices category of the 18 Annual Medical Design Excellence Awards (MDEA).The winners were announced at a ceremony in New York City at the Jacob Javits Center in conjunction with the MD&M East event.

22 Jun 2015

University of Delaware researchers identify prime suspects in cataract formation

When cataracts encroach on the eyes, the only effective remedy is to surgically replace the eyes' lenses with synthetic substitutes. But what if scientists found a way to delay or prevent cataracts from forming in the first place? Researchers at the University of Delaware may have found such an opportunity by identifying the prime suspects in the formation of cataracts - deficiency of two genes that encode regulatory proteins.

19 Jun 2015

Injectable drug ocriplasmin improves vision in patients with symptomatic vitreomacular adhesion

In two ancillary studies of two multi-center international clinical trials led by the University of Southern California Eye Institute, the injectable drug ocriplasmin appears to improve vision among patients suffering from symptomatic vitreomacular adhesion (VMA), a condition related to the aging eye that could cause permanent vision loss if left untreated.

18 Jun 2015

Research finding could help develop artificial retinas for people with vision loss

Driving a car at 40 mph, you see a child dart into the street. You hit the brakes. Disaster averted. But how did your eyes detect that movement? It's a question that has confounded scientists. Now, studying mice, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have an answer: A neural circuit in the retina at the back of the eye carries signals that enable the eye to detect movement.

17 Jun 2015

Researchers suggest link between solar storms and incidences of RA and GCA

What began as a chat between husband and wife has evolved into an intriguing scientific discovery. The results, published in May in BMJ (formerly British Medical Journal) Open, show a "highly significant" correlation between periodic solar storms and incidences of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and giant cell arteritis (GCA), two potentially debilitating autoimmune diseases.

16 Jun 2015

Discovery could help scientists reduce global vitamin A deficiency

A research team's discovery of new information about how plants synthesize carotenoids, precursors for vitamin A that are essential for plant development and survival, and human health, could help scientists increase the levels of provitamin A in food crops and reduce global vitamin A deficiency.

16 Jun 2015

Catalan researchers first to use liposomes to fight against diabetes

For the first time liposomes that imitate cells in the process of natural death have been used to treat Diabetes. Researchers at Germans Trias Research Institute (at UAB-Campus of International Excellence Sphere) generated liposomes in collaboration with professionals from the ICN2. PLOS ONE Journal publishes the work.

10 Jun 2015

Keeping blood sugar levels under control can help protect hearts from diabetes-related damage

Day in and day out, for years on end, millions of people with diabetes prick their fingers to test their blood sugar level. And many may wonder if all the careful eating, exercise and medication it takes to keep those levels under control is really worth it.

4 Jun 2015

Researchers conduct noise output measurements on electric cars to improve safety of blind and visually-impaired people

The Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness at Louisiana Tech University is conducting human trials to determine if electric and hybrid electric vehicles traveling at low speeds provide sufficient sound to be safe for pedestrians, especially those who are blind and visually-impaired.

3 Jun 2015

Scientists identify gene mutation that causes color blindness

A rare eye disorder marked by color blindness, light sensitivity, and other vision problems can result from a newly discovered gene mutation identified by an international research team, including scientists from Columbia University Medical Center.

3 Jun 2015

ASCO 2015: Novartis presents data on Zykadia and Tafinlar studies for non-small cell lung cancer

Novartis today announced new data from two Phase II studies of Zykadia (ceritinib), as well as one Phase II study of Tafinlar® (dabrafenib) in combination with Mekinist (trametinib) in certain patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

2 Jun 2015

Medicare physician reimbursement data could be confusing to the public

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today released to the public data relating to 2013 Medicare payments made to physicians and other providers. In response, the American Academy of Ophthalmology is providing necessary context for the reimbursement data, which in its raw form are often complex and difficult to understand.

2 Jun 2015

Combination of Mekinist and Tafinlar drugs improves outcome in patients with metastatic melanoma

Novartis today announced data from the Phase III COMBI-d study showing a significant survival benefit for patients with BRAF V600E/K mutation-positive metastatic melanoma when treated with the combination of Tafinlar (dabrafenib) and Mekinist (trametinib) compared to Tafinlar monotherapy alone.

1 Jun 2015

NYU researchers identify root cause of eye infections among contact lens wearers

Using high-precision genetic tests to differentiate the thousands of bacteria that make up the human microbiome, researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center suggest that they have found a possible — and potentially surprising — root cause of the increased frequency of certain eye infections among contact lens wearers.