Eye Health News and Research

Latest Eye Health News and Research

Researchers create 3D map of rod sensory cilium architecture affected by mutation

Using a new technique called cryo-electron tomography, two research teams at Baylor College of Medicine (www.bcm.edu) have created a three-dimensional map that gives a better understanding of how the architecture of the rod sensory cilium (part of one type of photoreceptor in the eye) is changed by genetic mutation and how that affects its ability to transport proteins as part of the light-sensing process.

23 Nov 2012

Researchers stream braille patterns directly into a blind patient's retina

For the very first time researchers have streamed braille patterns directly into a blind patient's retina, allowing him to read four-letter words accurately and quickly with an ocular neuroprosthetic device.

22 Nov 2012

Methylome modifications offer new measure of a person's biological age

Women live longer than men. Individuals can appear or feel years younger - or older - than their chronological age. Diseases can affect our aging process. When it comes to biology, our clocks clearly tick differently.

22 Nov 2012

Tips to achieve dieting success

There are a wide range of estimates pinpointing the amount of weight Americans gain over the holidays, but one thing is for sure – you know it when you feel it. On the heels of the average American consuming more than 4,500 calories on Thanksgiving Day, it's no wonder that for many "Black Friday" can feel like "Fat Friday."

22 Nov 2012

Cataract specifics are not relevant to postsurgery improvement

Patient-reported improvements in vision after cataract surgery are high and are unrelated to the level of ocular comorbidity or whether the surgery is in the first or second eye, report researchers.

21 Nov 2012

FOCUS Clinics Director performs KAMRA Vision surgery on two distinguished ophthalmologists

Dr. David Allamby, Director of FOCUS Clinics, an eye surgery clinic in London, announced that he has performed KAMRA Vision surgery, the proven solution to reading glasses, on two distinguished ophthalmologists.

21 Nov 2012

Prader-Willi children may receive relief from sleep disorders after adenotonsillectomy

Children with Prader-Willi syndrome may receive relief from sleep disorders after undergoing an adenotonsillectomy, suggests a new study from Nationwide Children's Hospital published in the November print issue of the Archives of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

21 Nov 2012

Simple, accurate testing protocol to determine driving fitness in individuals with MS

A simple, accurate testing protocol to determine driving fitness in individuals with multiple sclerosis is the aim of a three-year study at Georgia Health Sciences University.

21 Nov 2012

MRI reveals changes in brains of people with post-concussion syndrome

MRI shows changes in the brains of people with post-concussion syndrome (PCS), according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology. Researchers hope the results point the way to improved detection and treatment for the disorder.

21 Nov 2012

GOP governors welcome extension on health exchange decision

Last week was marked by a flurry of state-level activity related to the health law's insurance exchanges: News outlets run down which states have decided to develop their own marketplaces and which will defer to the federal government. A number of states, many with Republican state executives, are still seeking more information.

20 Nov 2012

Researchers discover new cause of hydrocephalus

Researchers at the University of Iowa have discovered a new cause of hydrocephalus, a devastating neurological disorder that affects between one and three of every 1,000 babies born. Working in mice, the researchers identified a cell signaling defect, which disrupts immature brain cells involved in normal brain development.

20 Nov 2012

New fiber-optic device can deliver light to the brain in 3D

A new tool for neuroscientists delivers a thousand pinpricks of light to a chunk of gray matter smaller than a sugar cube. The new fiber-optic device, created by biologists and engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, is the first tool that can deliver precise points of light to a 3-D section of living brain tissue. The work is a step forward for a relatively new but promising technique that uses gene therapy to turn individual brain cells on and off with light.

19 Nov 2012

ReFIT algorithm improves speed and accuracy of neural prosthetics

When a paralyzed person imagines moving a limb, cells in the part of the brain that controls movement still activate as if trying to make the immobile limb work again. Despite neurological injury or disease that has severed the pathway between brain and muscle, the region where the signals originate remains intact and functional.

19 Nov 2012

Five tips for safety at home during holidays

The holidays are a time to share joy with our friends, families and communities. They are also a time of great hustle and bustle with millions of us converging upon malls, salons and boutiques. The excitements experienced during the holidays are second only to the great memories we create.

19 Nov 2012

Carl Zeiss Meditec introduces new family of OCT products at 2012 AAO-APAO Joint Meeting

Medical technology manufacturer Carl Zeiss Meditec introduced a new family of OCT products spanning the full spectrum of multi-modality imaging for retinal disease and glaucoma at the 2012 Joint Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology in Chicago.

17 Nov 2012

FDA approves Cook's Zilver PTX drug-eluting peripheral stent

Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that its partner Cook Medical, Inc. received approval on November 15, 2012 from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market and sell the proprietary Zilver PTX drug-eluting peripheral stent, adding the United States to the list of over 50 markets, including the European Union and Japan, where Zilver PTX is approved for sale.

16 Nov 2012

Latest in optometry: headache link debunked; iPads open up new vista

The latest research in optometry finds no link between headaches and refractive errors in children under the age of 18 years – and a clinical purpose for iPads.

16 Nov 2012

Obama pledges 'substantive changes' to Medicare as part of budget deal

President Barack Obama told the nation's top CEOs Wednesday that he was committed to "substantive changes" to Medicare and other entitlement programs, but Senate Democrats are warning him not to cave on entitlements as negotiations with congressional leaders move forward. Also in the mix, health care providers lobby to counter possible Medicare cuts.

16 Nov 2012

Study finds mechanism that mediates inhibition of critical breathing muscles during REM sleep

A novel brain mechanism mediating the inhibition of the critical breathing muscles during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep has been identified for the first time in a new study, offering the possibility of a new treatment target for sleep-related breathing problems.

16 Nov 2012

Lab research can explain how city pollution ends up in Arctic

Pollution from fossil fuel burning and forest fires reaches all the way to the Arctic, even though it should decay long before it travels that far. Now, lab research can explain how pollution makes its lofty journey: rather than ride on the surface of airborne particles, pollutants snuggle inside, protected from the elements on the way. The results will help scientists improve atmospheric air-quality and pollution transport models.

16 Nov 2012