Blindness News and Research

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Blindness after ophthalmic surgery

The injection of gas into the eye, as is performed in various ophthalmic surgical procedures, can cause blindness by expanding the eye.

27 Feb 2008

New metabolic imaging instrument shows promise as screening device in diabetes and other major eye diseases

Scientists at the University of Michigan have shown that their new metabolic imaging instrument can accurately detect eye disease at a very early stage.

26 Feb 2008

Test for blood sugar not accurate in diabetic dialysis patients

The standard test for measuring blood sugar control in people with diabetes is not accurate in those on kidney hemodialysis, according to new research at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

21 Feb 2008

Standard test for blood sugar control not accurate in diabetic dialysis patients

21 Feb 2008

Biannual mass antibiotic treatment may help reduce contagious eye disease trachoma in Africa

Changing the administration of the antibiotic azithromycin from once to twice a year in villages in Ethiopia substantially reduced eye infections in preschool children caused by chlamydia, which causes the serious, contagious eye disease trachoma, according to a study in the February 20 issue of JAMA.

20 Feb 2008

Role gound for glaucoma gene and a signaling pathway

Researchers have found that a gene and a related signaling pathway play a role in the development of glaucoma, which is a common cause of visual impairment and blindness worldwide.

18 Feb 2008

Intervention program boosts education of kids at high risk of failure

An eight-week-long intervention program aimed at parents from low socioeconomic backgrounds reaped significant educational benefits in their preschool-aged children, a University of Oregon research fellow reported today at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

17 Feb 2008

Donors' health associated with risk of infection among recipients of corneal transplants

Corneal grafts obtained from donors dying in the hospital or with cancer may be associated with an increased risk of infection for the recipient, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

12 Feb 2008

Researchers identify cells that cause nervous system disease

Two teams of University of Michigan researchers have tracked down the cells responsible for neurofibromatosis type1, a disfiguring, incurable condition and one of the most common hereditary disorders.

4 Feb 2008

Anemia treatment may be a double-edged sword

Erythropoietin has so far been known to doctors as a hormone that boosts red-blood-cell production.

4 Feb 2008

Trabectome procedure for glaucoma

Glaucoma is a devastating disease that harms the eye without manifesting early signs or symptoms.

4 Feb 2008

Advances in age-related macular degeneration treatment

A new study of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a disease that affects more than nine million Americans, will pave the way for the biopharmaceutical industry to develop better treatments and cures, according to the Foundation Fighting Blindness, which partially funded the research.

4 Feb 2008

Onchocerciasis parasite shows signs of resistance

Onchocerciasis is an infection caused by Onchocerca volvulus, a parasite nematode worm transmitted to humans by a species of black fly of the Simulium genus whose larvae develop in fast-flowing rivers.

31 Jan 2008

Type 1 diabetes triggered by lazy T-cells

A research team led by Dr. Ciriaco A. Piccirillo of McGill University's Department of Microbiology and Immunology has discovered that in some individuals, the specialized immunoregulatory T-cells that regulate the body's autoimmune reactions may lose their effectiveness and become "lazy" over time, leading to the onset of type 1 diabetes.

16 Jan 2008

New European medical implants

Patients suffering from conditions such as stroke, blindness, deafness, incontinence, glaucoma or hydrocephalus will be the first to benefit from a range of new technologies and implantable medical devices developed by a pioneering European consortium of researchers, surgeons and technology companies.

16 Jan 2008

New York City mortality rate at all-time low in 2006

The death rate in New York City reached an all-time low in 2006, the Health Department reported today, as the number of deaths fell to 55,391 - down from 57,068 in 2005 and 60,218 in 2001.

10 Jan 2008

Treating diabetics with pig islet cells

As the fourth-leading cause of death in developed countries, diabetes can truly be called a modern-day plague.

9 Jan 2008

NicOx extends ophthalmology agreement with Pfizer

NicOx S.A. has announced it has signed an extension of its March 2006 collaboration agreement, which grants Pfizer Inc the exclusive right to apply its proprietary nitric oxide-donating technology to drug discovery research in the field of ophthalmology.

9 Jan 2008

Better access to cool caps improves outcomes, lowers cost of treating asphyxia in newborns

When newborns suffering from a form of asphyxia at birth have better access to head cooling devices, fewer will face a lifetime of debilitating and costly health complications, according to researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC).

7 Jan 2008

Multiple species of bacteria may cause infectious eye disease trachoma

In a study published in this week's PLoS Medicine, researchers have found that more than one species of bacteria may be causing the infectious eye disease trachoma.

4 Jan 2008