Blindness News and Research

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Infantile cataracts are more common and problematic than thought

Three days after Canyon Brown was born, the attending pediatrician discovered a problem.

8 Dec 2021

Study investigates how vision influences the development of hearing

As it is common experience, our senses do not work in complete isolation from the others: sight helps listening (and this is maybe why it is difficult to understand people when they speak with their mask on) but can also influence taste.

6 Dec 2021

Cataract surgery associated with lower risk of dementia

Cataracts affect most older adults at risk for dementia, and now researchers are finding strong evidence that cataract surgery is associated with a lower risk of developing dementia.

6 Dec 2021

HyVIS project to develop bionic synapses for retinal prostheses

HyVIS, the European project coordinated by the IIT-Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (Italian Institute of Technology), is about to start.

3 Dec 2021

Scientists identify new genes associated with familial Meniere's disease

A team of scientists from the University of Granada (UGR) and GENYO (Pfizer-University of Granada-Andalusian Government Centre for Genomics and Oncological Research—led by Pablo Roman-Naranjo and Jose Antonio López-Escámez, researcher in charge of the Biohealth Research Institute in Granada (ibs.GRANADA)—has identified new genes associated with familial Meniere's disease.

1 Dec 2021

Study uncovers the herpes virus' strategy for infecting the nervous system

Herpes type 1 is sealed with a kiss for a lifetime. More than half of U.S. adults are carriers of HSV1 (herpes simplex virus type 1) which hibernates in the peripheral nervous system and can never be eradicated.

17 Nov 2021

New AI application reads eye movements

Eye movements read by a new AI application can reveal thoughts, memories, goals — and brain diseases.

16 Nov 2021

New WHO report highlights the alarming state of global access to insulin and diabetes care

A new report published by WHO in the lead-up to World Diabetes Day highlights the alarming state of global access to insulin and diabetes care, and finds that high prices, low availability of human insulin, few producers dominating the insulin market and weak health systems are the main barriers to universal access.

15 Nov 2021

Retinoid therapy improves vision in mice with Usher syndrome

Using data generated from patients and mice with genetic mutation for the disorder Usher syndrome, researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health's National Eye Institute, and National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, documented the natural history of vision impairment in patients and identified the cell mechanism behind progressive vision loss.

9 Nov 2021

As constituents clamor for ivermectin, Republican politicians embrace the cause

When state senators in South Carolina held two hearings in September about covid-19 treatments, they got an earful on the benefits of ivermectin — which many of the lawmakers echoed, sharing experiences of their own loved ones.

8 Nov 2021

New project investigates stem cell therapy as a potential treatment for glaucoma

Oregon Health & Science University is part of a national research project investigating stem cell therapy as a potential treatment for glaucoma, the world's second leading cause of blindness.

29 Oct 2021

Blue light can illuminate areas affected by diabetic retinopathy

Just as bright light can illuminate the depths of a darkened room, researchers in Japan have found that blue light can be used to probe the depths of the eye and uncover areas affected by diabetic retinopathy (DR), a leading cause of blindness.

28 Oct 2021

Clinically significant cataract associated with greater mortality risk from vascular causes

Clinically significant cataract is associated with an increased risk of death from vascular causes, such as stroke and heart attack, suggests research published online in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

26 Oct 2021

New project to deploy AI technology for detecting sight-threatening diabetic eye disease

St George's, University of London and Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust are leading a half a million pound project on artificial intelligence (AI), funded by NHSX and the Health Foundation, and enabled by the National Institute for Health Research.

22 Oct 2021

Antidepressant Prozac could offer the first treatment for atrophic macular degeneration

An antidepressant best known as Prozac could offer the first treatment for the leading cause of blindness among people over 50, new research from the University of Virginia School of Medicine suggests.

21 Oct 2021

Researchers identify new gene variants that may cause inherited retinal dystrophies

An international team of researchers, led by scientists at University of California San Diego and Shiley Eye Institute at UC San Diego Health, has broadened and deepened understanding of how inherited retinal dystrophies (IRDs) affect different populations of people and, in the process, have identified new gene variants that may cause the diseases.

20 Oct 2021

New technology streamlines the development of gene therapy for genetic blinding disorders

A novel computational platform developed by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine identifies top-performing viral vectors that could deliver gene therapies to the retina with maximum efficiency and precision.

19 Oct 2021

Laser treatment shows potential to transform glaucoma management in Africa

Laser treatment has the potential to transform the management of glaucoma in Africa, and to prevent more people from going irreversibly blind, particularly in regions with high disease prevalence and incidence, suggests new research published in Lancet Global Health.

15 Oct 2021

More severe SARS-CoV-2 infection associated with greater risk of preterm birth

Researchers at the Wayne State University School of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health's Perinatology Research Branch in Detroit have discovered that the more severely infected with COVID-19 a mother is, the more likely she is to experience preterm birth.

8 Oct 2021

Scientists elucidate the structure of protein complex essential for proper functioning of cells

Scientists at IST Austria describe for the first time the structure of a protein complex essential for our cells to function properly.

7 Oct 2021