Blindness News and Research

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Exploring the challenges of auditory magic tricks

Magic tricks make the impossible seem possible. Magicians have long captivated audiences with visual tricks, such as pulling a bunny from a hat or sawing someone in half, but tricks that rely on sound are scarce.

7 Oct 2024

Researchers boost natural defenses to fight cataracts and delay the need for surgery

Researchers have reviewed strategies to increase glutathione levels in the eye lens, focusing on endogenous molecular mechanisms to prevent cataracts by countering oxidative stress.

3 Oct 2024

Using advanced AI screening tools to improve early detection of myopic maculopathy

Myopia, also known as nearsightedness, is on the rise, especially among children.

3 Oct 2024

Do long genes hold the key to understanding the genetic underpinnings of aging?

Review highlights the growing evidence that aging is linked to reduced expression of long genes, offering insights into potential anti-aging therapies based on gene length.

19 Sep 2024

Study may represent a possible surgery-free strategy for managing cataracts

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and their collaborators have identified a protein, known as RNF114, that reverses cataracts, a clouding of the eye's lens that occurs commonly in people as they age.

18 Sep 2024

NIH-funded study compares eyelid surgeries for Trachomatous trichiasis

Trachomatous trichiasis, a potentially blinding condition where inward-turned eyelashes scratch the front of the eye, can successfully be treated by either of the two most common types of eyelid surgery, according to findings from a large comparison trial funded by the National Institutes of Health.

18 Sep 2024

Study reveals link between socioeconomic inequality and the risk of age-related macular degeneration

A recent study conducted by researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and Fudan University has revealed a significant association between socioeconomic status (SES) inequality and the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

16 Sep 2024

New AI imaging technique enhances retinal disorder diagnosis

Population-based studies have shown retinal disorders are the most common cause of irreversible blindness in developed countries and the second most common cause of blindness after cataracts in developing countries.

12 Sep 2024

New research aims to target IL-6 for treating diabetic retinopathy

Scientists at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University are searching for a new treatment target for a common complication of diabetes that can cause retinal blood vessels to break down, leak, or become blocked.

12 Sep 2024

Gene therapy improves vision in patients with Bothnia dystrophy

Bothnia dystrophy is a form of hereditary blindness, prevalent in the region Västerbotten in Sweden. A new study at Karolinska Institutet published in Nature Communications shows that gene therapy can improve vision in patients with the disease.

10 Sep 2024

Gene therapy shows dramatic vision improvement for rare inherited condition

The vision of people with a rare inherited condition that causes them to lose much of their sight early in childhood was 100 times better after they received gene therapy to address the genetic mutation causing it.

5 Sep 2024

Global study reveals widespread micronutrient deficiencies across all age groups

More than half of the global population consumes inadequate levels of several micronutrients essential to health, including calcium, iron, and vitamins C and E, according to a new study by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, UC Santa Barbara (UCSB), and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN).

29 Aug 2024

Study reveals personalized brain connectivity in blind individuals

A study led by Georgetown University neuroscientists reveals that the part of the brain that receives and processes visual information in sighted people develops a unique connectivity pattern in people born blind. They say this pattern in the primary visual cortex is unique to each person -; akin to a fingerprint.

31 Jul 2024

UW research contradicts Musk's vision of high-resolution implants

Elon Musk recently declared on X that Blindsight, a cortical implant to restore vision, would have low resolution at first "but may ultimately exceed normal human vision." That pronouncement is unrealistic at best, according to new research from the University of Washington.

30 Jul 2024

Xanthones show promise in diabetes with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties

Research reveals xanthones as promising agents in diabetes management, offering antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and insulin-sensitizing benefits.

29 Jul 2024

Combination therapy incorporating three existing drugs shows potential for treating retinal degenerations

Drug repurposing shows promise in the treatment of retinal degenerations, according to a new study by an international team of researchers, published in Nature Communications.

22 Jul 2024

Advanced imaging reveals hidden vision loss in AMD

New research by the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) in cooperation with the University of Bonn has shown for the first time that certain early changes in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) can lead to a measurable local loss of vision. This discovery could help to improve the treatment and monitoring of this eye disease in older patients, which otherwise slowly leads to central blindness, and to test new therapies.

11 Jul 2024