Vision Loss News and Research

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Quarter of people with severe sight loss have unmet needs

Almost a quarter of people with severe sight loss in the UK are going without the treatment they need, according to a new study being presented at the World Congress on Public Health today (Friday 16 October).

16 Oct 2020

Researchers identify a promising method to stop COVID-19 infection

While the world waits eagerly for a safe and effective vaccine to prevent infections from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus behind the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers also are focusing on better understanding how SARS-CoV-2 attacks the body in the search for other means of stopping its devastating impact.

8 Oct 2020

Drugs used to treat HIV and hepatitis B could be repurposed to prevent type 2 diabetes

A group of drugs used to treat HIV and hepatitis B could be repurposed to prevent type 2 diabetes, a new study suggests.

23 Sep 2020

Parkinson's disease drug may improve vision in patients with age-related macular degeneration

Investigators have determined that treating patients with an advanced form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) with levodopa, a safe and readily available drug commonly used to treat Parkinson's disease, stabilized and improved their vision.

10 Sep 2020

New insights into how the brain can induce diabetes remission in rodents

In rodents with type 2 diabetes, a single surgical injection of a protein called fibroblast growth factor 1 can restore blood sugar levels to normal for weeks or months. Yet how this growth factor acts in the brain to generate this lasting benefit has been poorly understood.

7 Sep 2020

Surgeons use patients' own stem cells to rebuild damaged corneas

Surgeons at Massachusetts Eye and Ear have replaced the ocular surface of four patients who each experienced chemical burns to one eye by using their own stem cells taken from the other healthy eye, in a technique known as "cultivated autologous limbal epithelial cell transplantation" (CALEC).

1 Sep 2020

CNOT3 protein plays a key role in diabetes

A protein that's common throughout the body plays a key role in regulating glucose levels, says new research conducted in the Cell Signal Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University and Riken Center of Integrative Medical Sciences.

28 Aug 2020

FDA approves drug for treatment of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Enspryng (satralizumab-mwge) for the treatment of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) in adults with a particular antibody - patients who are anti-aquaporin-4 or AQP4 antibody-positive.

17 Aug 2020

New cell injection technique could help reverse forms of vision loss

University of Toronto Engineering researchers have developed a new method of injecting healthy cells into damaged eyes.

13 Aug 2020

Multifocal contact lenses reduce worsening nearsightedness in children

Children wearing multifocal contact lenses had slower progression of their myopia, according to results from a clinical trial funded by the National Eye Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health.

11 Aug 2020

Gene therapy to the inner retina prevents blindness in mouse model of CLN3 Batten disease

Gene therapy to the inner retina prevented blindness in a mouse model of the neuro-degenerative disorder CLN3 Batten disease.

10 Aug 2020

Researchers discover neural progenitor cells in the optic nerve

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) have for the first time identified stem cells in the region of the optic nerve, which transmits signals from the eye to the brain.

30 Jul 2020

Study uncovers dual role for molecule involved in autoimmune eye disease

The inflammatory molecule interleukin-17A (IL-17A) triggers immune cells that in turn reduce IL-17A's pro-inflammatory activity, according to a study by National Eye Institute researchers.

23 Jul 2020

Scientists discover promising drug target for dry age-related macular degeneration

Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have shown that the blood protein vitronectin is a promising drug target for dry age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of vision loss in Americans 60 years of age and older.

20 Jul 2020

Study: Brain compensates for changes in the eye caused by glaucoma

People with early-stage glaucoma see the contrast of visible objects in a very similar way to people without the condition, a new study has shown.

17 Jul 2020

Artificial intelligence can detect serious eye disease in diabetic patients

Results from the largest study of artificial intelligence use in the English Diabetic Eye Screening Programme (DESP), have shown that the technology can accurately detect serious eye disease among those with diabetes (retinopathy) and could halve the human workload associated with screening for diabetic eye disease, saving millions of pounds annually.

6 Jul 2020

Exercise can slow or prevent macular degeneration

Exercise can slow or prevent the development of macular degeneration and may benefit other common causes of vision loss, such as glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy, new research suggests.

1 Jul 2020

Researchers develop a promising treatment to prevent blindness

The team was co-led by May Griffith, a researcher at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital Research Centre, which is affiliated with Université de Montréal and is part of the CIUSSS de l'Est-de-l'Île-de-Montréal.

30 Jun 2020

New eye drops could prevent vision loss after retinal vein occlusion

Researchers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center have developed eye drops that could prevent vision loss after retinal vein occlusion, a major cause of blindness for millions of adults worldwide.

29 Jun 2020

Researchers question the mechanism of retinitis pigmentosa

Researchers who made a knock-in mouse-model of the genetic disorder retinitis pigmentosa 59, or RP59, expected to see retinal degeneration and retinal thinning. As reported in the journal Cells, they surprisingly found none, calling into question the commonly accepted -- though never proved -- mechanism for RP59.

12 Jun 2020