Eye Health News and Research

Latest Eye Health News and Research

Rigel reports net loss of $25.6 million in first quarter 2013

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013. For the first quarter of 2013, Rigel reported a net loss of $25.6 million, or $0.29 per share, compared to a net loss of $23.2 million, or $0.32 per share, in the first quarter of 2012. Weighted average shares outstanding for the first quarters of 2013 and 2012 were 87.1 million and 71.4 million, respectively.

7 May 2013

New form of electroconvulsive therapy could prevent adverse cognitive side effects

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the most effective acute treatment for severe major depression. However, even with newer forms of ECT, there remains a significant risk of adverse cognitive effects, particularly memory problems.

7 May 2013

Ultrafine particles in consumer products can cause lung inflammation

A consortium of scientists from across the country has found that breathing ultrafine particles from a large family of materials that increasingly are found in a host of household and commercial products, from sunscreens to the ink in copy machines to super-strong but lightweight sporting equipment, can cause lung inflammation and damage.

7 May 2013

Viewpoints: Assessing the Oregon Medicaid experiment; health insurance hysteria; in Florida, 'toxic politics' beats out common sense

The people who got Medicaid used more health care, and seem to have done so smartly - they got preventive care, they got their diabetes diagnosed and began managing it.

7 May 2013

Study: Combination of chemotherapy and nerve-protecting agents can prevent anemia

Cancer chemotherapy can cause peripheral neuropathy-nerve damage often resulting in pain and muscle weakness in the arms and legs. Now, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered that chemo also induces an insidious type of nerve damage inside bone marrow that can cause delays in recovery after bone marrow transplantation.

6 May 2013

Study: Gene mutations are associated with severe form of nearsightedness

People have long taken for granted that glasses and contact lenses improve vision for nearsightedness, but the genetic factors behind the common condition have remained blurry. Now researchers at Duke Medicine are closer to clearing this up.

3 May 2013

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals expands ophthalmology portfolio

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it has expanded its ophthalmology portfolio by acquiring full exclusive rights to two families of novel antibodies invented at Regeneron and previously included in Regeneron's antibody collaboration with Sanofi.

3 May 2013

Researchers develop first portable, real-time airborne asbestos detector

Asbestos was once called a miracle material because of its toughness and fire-resistant properties. It was used as insulation, incorporated into cement and even woven into firemen's protective clothing. Over time, however, scientists pinned the cause of lung cancers such as mesothelioma on asbestos fiber inhalation. Asbestos was banned in the many industrialized countries in the 1980s, but the threat lingers on in the ceilings, walls and floors of old buildings and homes.

3 May 2013

UAB study evaluates crash risk for elderly drivers who always drive with pets

Senior drivers who always take a pet in the car are at increased risk for being involved in a motor vehicle collision, said University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers.

3 May 2013

TSRI scientists find dissimilar genes that keep very similar shapes

Solving the structure of a critical human molecule involved in cancer, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have found what they call a good example of structural conservation-dissimilar genes that keep very similar shapes.

2 May 2013

Haptics improve outcomes in people with visual prosthetics

Normal vision is essentially a spatial sense that often relies upon touch and movement during and after development, there is often a correlation between how an object looks and how it feels. Moreover, as a child's senses develop, there is cross-referencing between the various senses. Indeed, where the links between the senses are not made, there may be developmental problems or delays. This should be taken into consideration when training new users of visual prosthetics, artificial retinas, or bionic eyes, suggest researchers in Australia.

2 May 2013

Nearly half of patients see improvement by switching to different lens/solution combination, says study

If your contact lenses are causing you discomfort, simply switching to a different type of contact lens or lens care product may bring improvement, reports a study, " Effect of Lens and Solution Choice on the Comfort of Contact Lens Wearers", appearing in the May issue of Optometry and Vision Science, official journal of the American Academy of Optometry.

2 May 2013

Exposure to daylight helps protect children from myopia

Two new studies add to the growing evidence that spending time outdoors may help prevent or minimize nearsightedness in children. A study conducted in Taiwan, which is the first to use an educational policy as a public vision health intervention, finds that when children are required to spend recess time outdoors, their risk of nearsightedness is reduced.

2 May 2013

First Edition: April 30, 2013

Today's headlines include reports that the Obama administration has simplified the application for health insurance benefits under the health law.

30 Apr 2013

Viewpoints: Bowles, Simpson renew push for 'grand bargain;' The debate on FDA oversight of pharmacies; Kasich and feds work to find formula for Medicaid expansion

To be sure, some progress has been made the past two years. Policymakers have enacted about $2.7 trillion in deficit reduction, primarily through cuts in discretionary spending and higher taxes on wealthy individuals. Yet what we have achieved so far is insufficient.

30 Apr 2013

IL-1 antagonist relieves dry eyes

Clinical trial results point to a role for interleukin-1 targeted agents for the treatment of dry eye disease associated with meibomian gland dysfunction.

29 Apr 2013

Ocular tuberculosis presents a diagnostic challenge

Mycobacterial ocular inflammation typically arises without concomitant systemic or pulmonary disease and should be suspected in patients who do not respond to anti-inflammatory therapy.

29 Apr 2013

Alimera announces availability of ILUVIEN in U.K. for chronic DME treatment

Alimera Sciences, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company that specializes in the research, development and commercialization of prescription ophthalmic pharmaceuticals, today announced that ILUVIEN®, the first sustained release pharmaceutical product for the treatment of chronic diabetic macular edema, is now available in the United Kingdom.

29 Apr 2013

Md. insurer proposes 25% rate hike because of health reform

The state's largest insurer -- CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield -- wants to raise rates for individuals buying coverage on their own in order to offset the cost of the health law requiring that insurers accept patients with pre-existing conditions.

26 Apr 2013

High-energy proton beam therapy offers potential treatment option for eye cancer

Particle beams - from low energy beams with exotic ions through to extremely high energy light sources - are revolutionising the way we view the world and creating potential for new industries, but the instrumentation for controlling the beams is still in its infancy.

26 Apr 2013