Blindness News and Research

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Research to Prevent Blindness, IRRF partner to advance knowledge about AMD

Research to Prevent Blindness, the leading eye research foundation, is partnering with the International Retinal Research Foundation to advance knowledge about age-related macular degeneration (AMD) through novel stem cell research.

5 Dec 2014

Study reports effective treatment approach to inhibit herpes virus infection

A multi-institutional study reports an effective treatment approach to inhibit and keep latent viruses like herpes simplex from reactivating and causing disease. The work, whose lead author is the late James Hill, PhD, LSU Health New Orleans Professor and Director of Pharmacology and Infectious Disease at the LSU Eye Center, is published in the December 3, 2014, issue of Science Translational Medicine.

4 Dec 2014

IRIDEX's China distributor secures large tender to supply ophthalmology laser equipment

IRIDEX Corporation (Nasdaq: IRIX) announced today that its China distributor has been awarded a competitive tender for more than $620,000 in ophthalmology laser equipment to fulfill a government program designed to provide advanced ophthalmology solutions to patients across vast areas of China's rural regions.

2 Dec 2014

Apellis Pharmaceuticals completes $33M private placement of Series C Preferred Stock

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading biotechnology company applying immunotherapy to autoimmune disease, today announced that it has completed a $33M private placement of its Series C Preferred Stock.

2 Dec 2014

Researchers find that human eye can sense invisible infrared light under certain conditions

Any science textbook will tell you we can't see infrared light. Like X-rays and radio waves, infrared light waves are outside the visual spectrum.

2 Dec 2014

People diagnosed with diabetes in midlife experience cognitive problems later

People diagnosed with diabetes in midlife are more likely to experience significant memory and cognitive problems during the next 20 years than those with healthy blood sugar levels, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests.

2 Dec 2014

Researchers warn that Vitamin A deficiency can cause eye problems

Obese patients who have undergone bariatric surgery to shed weight should take the supplements prescribed to them to protect their eyes. Taking in too little Vitamin A, in particular, could in some cases actually cause night blindness, dry eyes, corneal ulcers, and in extreme cases total blindness. This advice comes from Rui Azevedo Guerreiro and Rui Ribeiro of the Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Central in Portugal, who reviewed what little research there currently is on the occurrence of eye conditions following bariatric surgery.

2 Dec 2014

Eylea receives Health Canada approval for treatment of CRVO and DME

Bayer Inc. announced today that it has received approval from Health Canada for Eylea (aflibercept, solution for intravitreal injection) for the treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME). This new indication comes just six weeks following the October 16th approval of Eylea for the treatment of visual impairment due to macular edema secondary to central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO).

1 Dec 2014

Grand Challenges Canada announces $1.2 million in grant for 11 new global health innovations

Grand Challenges Canada, funded by the Government of Canada, today announced $1.2 million in funding for 11 new global health innovations implemented in member states of La Francophonie.

29 Nov 2014

HIV drugs could be harnessed to treat leading cause of blindness

An established class of drugs, traditionally used to control HIV/AIDS infections, could soon be harnessed to treat the leading cause of blindness and visual impairment in the UK, for which currently there exists no cure.

27 Nov 2014

External artificial pancreas improves glucose control, reduces hypoglycemia risk

The world's first clinical trial comparing three alternative treatments for type 1 diabetes was conducted in Montréal by researchers at the IRCM and the University of Montreal, led by endocrinologist Dr. Rémi Rabasa-Lhoret.

27 Nov 2014

Peek's smartphone eye examination tool could help tackle blindness

The team behind Peek, the Portable Eye Examination Kit, are calling on the public to help provide a solution to avoidable blindness by increasing access to potentially life-changing new eye health testing equipment.

27 Nov 2014

Gates Foundation provides $2 million grant to help fight major parasitic diseases

Almost $2 million is being invested by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help fight major parasitic diseases of the developing world.

25 Nov 2014

Apellis Pharmaceuticals signs agreement to acquire Potentia Pharmaceuticals

Apellis Pharmaceuticals announced today that it entered into an agreement to acquire Potentia Pharmaceuticals.

20 Nov 2014

VEGF-B can regenerate damaged peripheral nerves without causing growth of new blood vessels

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have found that a growth factor can regenerate damaged peripheral nerves without causing the growth of new blood vessels -- making it a unique candidate to treat nerve damage in areas of the body where the proliferation of blood vessels would be a drawback.

18 Nov 2014

Understanding the genetic basis of glaucoma

Scientists from the University of Liverpool have sequenced the mitochondrial genome in glaucoma patients to help further understanding into the genetic basis for the disease.

16 Nov 2014

Massachusetts Eye and Ear offers femtosecond laser technology to Boston-area patients

Patients choosing cataract surgery at Massachusetts Eye and Ear may now elect to have laser-assisted cataract surgery with the femtosecond LensSx® Laser. The hospital is one of the few in New England to offer the advanced technology, which enables surgeons to more precisely perform cataract surgery aided by a computer-controlled laser.

14 Nov 2014

Scientists identify new factor behind major causes of blindness

Scientists at The University of Manchester have identified an important new factor behind one of the major causes of blindness, which they hope could lead to new treatments.

14 Nov 2014

Eye screenings of underserved populations reveal one in five has early stage diabetic retinopathy

Eye screenings of people with diabetes in underserved communities revealed that one in five had early stage diabetic retinopathy, according to a new study by a research consortium including investigators at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

13 Nov 2014

Researchers explore new ways to treat, prevent Streptococcus pneumoniae

Scientists from Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School Department of Ophthalmology have used the power of new genomic technology to discover that microbes that commonly infect the eye have special, previously unknown properties. These properties are predicted to allow the bacterium -- Streptococcus pneumoniae -- to specifically stick to the surface of the eye, grow, and cause damage and inflammation.

13 Nov 2014

Blindness News and Research

Research to Prevent Blindness, IRRF partner to advance knowledge about AMD

Study reports effective treatment approach to inhibit herpes virus infection

IRIDEX's China distributor secures large tender to supply ophthalmology laser equipment

Apellis Pharmaceuticals completes $33M private placement of Series C Preferred Stock

Researchers find that human eye can sense invisible infrared light under certain conditions

People diagnosed with diabetes in midlife experience cognitive problems later

Researchers warn that Vitamin A deficiency can cause eye problems

Eylea receives Health Canada approval for treatment of CRVO and DME

Grand Challenges Canada announces $1.2 million in grant for 11 new global health innovations

HIV drugs could be harnessed to treat leading cause of blindness

External artificial pancreas improves glucose control, reduces hypoglycemia risk

Peek's smartphone eye examination tool could help tackle blindness

Gates Foundation provides $2 million grant to help fight major parasitic diseases

Apellis Pharmaceuticals signs agreement to acquire Potentia Pharmaceuticals

VEGF-B can regenerate damaged peripheral nerves without causing growth of new blood vessels

Understanding the genetic basis of glaucoma

Massachusetts Eye and Ear offers femtosecond laser technology to Boston-area patients

Scientists identify new factor behind major causes of blindness

Eye screenings of underserved populations reveal one in five has early stage diabetic retinopathy

Researchers explore new ways to treat, prevent Streptococcus pneumoniae

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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