Eye Health News and Research

Latest Eye Health News and Research

Despite GOP efforts to corral Medicaid spending, states expand benefits

While congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump have been seeking major cuts in federal funding of Medicaid, 26 states this year expanded or enhanced benefits and at least 17 plan to do so next year, according to a report released Thursday.

19 Oct 2017

Dyslexia could be the result of eye spots that confuse the brain finds study

Latest research shows that dyslexia may be the cause of inability to spot clearly. A study with a small number of participants has revealed that most persons with dyslexia have dominant spots in both their eyes that cause them to see blurred images leading to their confusion with letters and reading, spelling and writing.

19 Oct 2017

UAB experts offer Halloween safety tips and tricks for children

Parents want to know the best way to keep their kids and teenagers safe on Halloween as the ghoulish, yet fun, night approaches.

17 Oct 2017

Timing is crucial for corticosteroids to aid healing of tendons

A corticosteroid can improve the healing of damaged tendons, but it must be given at the right time, according to a new study from Linköping University in Sweden. In rats, the tendon became twice as strong. The results are presented in the journal Scientific Reports.

17 Oct 2017

Want an IUD? Take note of Trump’s new birth control policy.

The Trump administration's recently announced changes to health insurance rules have raised concerns among people wondering how they'll be affected. This week, I address some of the questions likely on people's minds.

17 Oct 2017

CHLA and Keck Medicine of USC develop new liquid biopsy for tumor of the retina

Retinoblastoma is a tumor of the retina that generally affects children under 5 years of age. If not diagnosed early, retinoblastoma may result in loss of one or both eyes and can be fatal. Unlike most cancers that are diagnosed using a biopsy, retinoblastoma tumors cannot be directly biopsied.

16 Oct 2017

Einstein scientists share $9 million NIH grant for longevity research

Scientists now believe that the Fountain of Youth flows from our genes, or at least from the genes of people who live healthy lives to age 100 or later.

16 Oct 2017

FDA clears new Senhance System that can help facilitate minimally invasive surgery

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the Senhance System, a new robotically-assisted surgical device that can help facilitate minimally invasive surgery.

16 Oct 2017

The storm has passed, but Puerto Rico’s health faces prolonged recovery

As President Donald Trump signals impatience to wind down emergency aid to Puerto Rico, the challenges wrought by Hurricane Maria to the health of Puerto Ricans and the island's fragile health system are in many ways just beginning.

16 Oct 2017

FDA advisory committee vote 16-0 for first even gene therapy for rare blindness

A panel of advisors to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has voted unanimously in favor of an experimental gene therapy to treat patients with a rare kind of hereditary blindness.

16 Oct 2017

Illinois researchers develop ultra-sensitive camera that mimics mantis shrimp’s visual system

By mimicking the eye of the mantis shrimp, Illinois researchers have developed an ultra-sensitive camera capable of sensing both color and polarization. The bioinspired imager can potentially improve early cancer detection and help provide a new understanding of underwater phenomena, the researchers said.

13 Oct 2017

Scientists identify brain-wave patterns of explicit and implicit learning

Figuring out how to pedal a bike and memorizing the rules of chess require two different types of learning, and now for the first time, researchers have been able to distinguish each type of learning by the brain-wave patterns it produces.

12 Oct 2017

Zika virus outbreak in Ecuador worsened by El Niño and 2016 earthquake

A Zika virus outbreak in coastal Ecuador in 2016 was likely worsened by a strong El Niño and a magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck the region in April, according to a new study.

12 Oct 2017

New project to seek answers for effects of alcohol on the nervous system

When a drink at the local watering hole turns into five or six, what are the effects on our brains and hearts? How does too much to drink affect how we sleep? How does binge drinking affect blood pressure for people who drink socially but not usually to excess? Do women's bodies process alcohol differently depending on stages of their menstrual cycles?

11 Oct 2017

Penn State researcher creates step-index optical fiber for light delivery inside the body

A flexible, biodegradable optical fiber that can deliver light into the body for medical applications is the latest work of a collaboration between electrical engineers and biomaterials engineers in Penn State's Materials Research Institute.

11 Oct 2017

Researchers examine wide range of visual impairments developed by stroke survivors

A new University of Liverpool study, published today in Brain and Behaviour, examines the wide range of visual impairments developed by stroke survivors.

11 Oct 2017

Allergy medication restores nervous system function in patients with chronic MS

In a remarkably rapid translation of laboratory research findings into a treatment with the potential to benefit patients, UC San Francisco scientists have successfully completed a Phase II clinical trial showing that an FDA-approved antihistamine restores nervous system function in patients with chronic multiple sclerosis (MS).

11 Oct 2017

UH psychologist explores link between social media and alcohol consumption

A psychologist at the University of Houston is exploring the ways in which social media influences alcohol consumption among college students. Mai-Ly Nguyen Steers, a postdoctoral fellow and lecturer, will use grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to study how social media, and Facebook in particular, shapes students' drinking habits.

10 Oct 2017

Scientists identify potential treatment target for diabetic retinopathy

In oxygen-compromising conditions like diabetes, the body grows new blood vessels to help, but the result is often leaky, dysfunctional vessels that make bad matters worse.

10 Oct 2017

Farsighted preschoolers, kindergartners have hard time paying attention, study suggests

Farsighted preschoolers and kindergartners have a harder time paying attention and that could put them at risk of slipping behind in school, a new study suggests.

9 Oct 2017