Blindness News and Research

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Exposure to secondhand smoke raises the risk of diabetes

According to a new study, exposure to secondhand smoke can raise the risk of developing diabetes.

10 Apr 2006

Yellow pigment that sits on the retina focus of macular degeneration research

Whether a tiny yellow pigment is the main thing standing between many older people and macular degeneration is under study at the Medical College of Georgia.

4 Apr 2006

Cell therapy slows progression of metachromatic leukodystrophy

In an important discovery, scientists have demonstrated that the progression of a type of genetic brain disease is slowed and symptoms are improved in mice that received cell transplants.

23 Mar 2006

Management of diabetic patients in a primary care setting can be improved by an intervention aimed at physicians

The intervention was individualized to each physician's record of action when patient glucose levels were high, and featured regular feedback on their performance.

15 Mar 2006

Diabetics overestimate healthy body weight

Heavier patients with diabetes are more likely to overestimate their "healthiest" body weight compared to those of normal weight, according to a study published in the current issue of Diabetes Care.

14 Mar 2006

Single dose of oral antibiotic azithromycin taken after trichiasis eye surgery prevents recurrence of inturned eyelashes

A Johns Hopkins Medicine study finds that a single dose of the oral antibiotic azithromycin taken after trichiasis eye surgery can reduce the frequency with which eyelashes turn back in and abrade the eye.

14 Mar 2006

Trial explores safety and efficacy of injecting human stem cells directly into the brain to treat fatal pediatric neurodegenerative disorder

Researchers in Doernbecher Children's Hospital at Oregon Health & Science University will begin a Phase I clinical trial using stem cells in infants and children with a rare neurodegenerative disorder that affects infants and children.

13 Mar 2006

Antibiotic not sufficient for treating trachoma in populations with high disease prevalence

Treating trachoma, an eye infection that can lead to blindness, with a single mass antibiotic distribution in Ethiopian communities with high prevalence of infection is not effective in eliminating the disease

9 Mar 2006

Mutant genes trigger AMD but may lighten the way to new treatments

According to new research in the U.S., the most common form of blindness in the elderly, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), can be attributed to just two genes which trigger the condition.

7 Mar 2006

Factor B and H genes found to play role in the development of age-related macular degeneration

A new study, led by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center, pinpoints the role that two genes - Factor H and Factor B - play in the development of nearly three out of four cases of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a devastating eye disease that affects more than 10 million people in the United States.

7 Mar 2006

Pfizer acquires worldwide rights to Exubera

Pfizer has announced that it has acquired the sanofi-aventis worldwide rights to Exubera (inhaled human insulin). Pfizer received approval last month to market Exubera in the United States and the European Union for the treatment of adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

1 Mar 2006

Night blindness is a new clinical symptom of Chagas disease

"This is a new observation, a new clinical symptom of Chagas disease," said Levin, head of the Laboratory of the Molecular Biology of Chagas Disease at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Levin and colleagues report their findings in the March 2006, issue of the FASEB Journal.

1 Mar 2006

Compound found in marijuana may defend against diabetic retinopathy

A compound found in marijuana won't make you high but it may help keep your eyes healthy if you're a diabetic, researchers say.

1 Mar 2006

Genetic variations help predict risk for salt-induced high blood pressure

Researchers led by UVa Health System pathologist Robin Felder, Ph.D., have demonstrated that looking for several variations of genes that control blood pressure can predict the risk for high blood pressure caused by high levels of salt.

23 Feb 2006

Glaucoma set to reach 80 million by 2020

The global toll of the disabling eye disease glaucoma is set to reach 60 million by 2010, rising to almost 80 million by 2020, finds research in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

20 Feb 2006

Low birth weight infants overcome difficulties by adulthood

As young adults, the majority of extremely low birth-weight infants are attaining similar levels of education, employment and independence as normal birth-weight infants, according to a study by researchers at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University in the February 8 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

9 Feb 2006

$3.7 million to improve high blood pressure control

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health, has launched a $3.7 million, three-year educational effort to improve high blood pressure control nationwide.

5 Feb 2006

New inhaled drug for diabetics an alternative treatment option for some

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the U.S. has given it's approval for the sale of a new drug to treat diabetes.

29 Jan 2006

Weight loss and exercise reduces urinary incontinence in women with prediabetes

Losing a modest amount of weight through dietary changes and increased physical activity reduces the occurrence of urinary incontinence (UI) in women with prediabetes, a condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not yet diabetic.

27 Jan 2006

Aston Academy investigates macular oedema

Aston Academy of Life Sciences, the clinical research hospital of Aston University, has recently been commissioned to assess the efficacy and safety of a specialist drug, Posurdex (Allergan Ltd, UK), which is used in the treatment of patients who suffer from a sight threatening condition, called macular oedema.

26 Jan 2006