Eye Health News and Research

Latest Eye Health News and Research

Healthcare costs could total more than household assets for elderly at end of life

For more than 25% of elderly US citizens, healthcare costs incurred during the last 5 years of life will amount to more than their total household assets, show data reported in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

17 Sep 2012

Bed cluster concept improves patient care

When hospitals group patient rooms into small clusters, nurses have more time for their patients. But the design of these "bed clusters" is important.

17 Sep 2012

MVK mutations linked to disseminated superficial actinic porokeratosis

A Chinese research team, led by Anhui Medical University and BGI, has found the strong genetic evidences of mevalonate kinase gene (MVK) mutations link to disseminated superficial actinic porokeratosis (DSAP).

17 Sep 2012

Fifth Military Vision Research Symposium to take place from Sept. 18-20

Eye injuries in war have changed - and increased in number - as weapons, tactics, technology and strategies have evolved. Today's soldiers face threats from explosive devices that cause extensive damage areas not protected by body armor. Military experts and ophthalmologists from the Schepens Eye Research Institute, Massachusetts Eye and Ear will convene in Boston, Mass., on Sept. 18 to address these issues at the Fifth Military Vision Research Symposium.

15 Sep 2012

University of Rochester faculty member to receive Ant-nio Champalimaud Vision Award

David Williams, a faculty member of the University of Rochester's Institute of Optics, director of its Center for Visual Science, and dean for research in Arts, Science, and Engineering, will receive the Ant-nio Champalimaud Vision Award at a ceremony today in Lisbon, Portugal.

15 Sep 2012

Sebelius found to have violated the Hatch Act

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel concludes that HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius violated the federal law that governs government officials' political actions.

15 Sep 2012

Factors predictive of successful DME treatment revealed

The pretreatment central subfield thickness in the eyes of patients with diabetic macular edema is the strongest predictor of outcome after one year of treatment with ranibizumab, with a reduction linked to better visual acuity outcomes, report researchers.

14 Sep 2012

Multiple interventions improve medication adherence for patients with chronic conditions

Although patients with chronic conditions who do not take medications as prescribed tend to have poorer health outcomes and higher health care costs than those who adhere to medication regimens, a new report sheds light on the potential for multiple interventions to improve medication adherence.

13 Sep 2012

Researchers hold new implications for pathogenesis of myotonic dystrophy

An important breakthrough could help in the fight against myotonic dystrophy. The discovery, recently published in the prestigious scientific journal Cell, results from an international collaboration between researchers at the IRCM, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of Southern California and Illumina.

13 Sep 2012

First Edition: Sept. 13, 2012

Today's headlines include news from the Census Bureau that, although record numbers of poor people persist, the number of uninsured Americans dropped by 1.3 million.

13 Sep 2012

Readily available index provides practical landmarks for glaucoma patients

The mean deviation index, a widely understood metric for summarizing damage to an individuals’ visual field, could help physicians estimate practical landmarks in patients with glaucoma such as fitness to drive, report UK researchers.

12 Sep 2012

Interventions can help prevent older people from falling

There is now strong evidence that some interventions can prevent falls in people over the age of 65 who are living in their own homes. However, the researchers who reached this conclusion say that care is needed when choosing interventions, as some have no effect. The full details are published this month in The Cochrane Library. This is an update of a previous report that contains data from 51 additional trials, enabling the authors to reach many more conclusions.

12 Sep 2012

Bioengineers design nanoparticles that can safely and predictably infiltrate deep into the brain

The brain is a notoriously difficult organ to treat, but Johns Hopkins researchers report they are one step closer to having a drug-delivery system flexible enough to overcome some key challenges posed by brain cancer and perhaps other maladies affecting that organ.

12 Sep 2012

Joslin Diabetes Center, Mass. Eye and Ear partner to form clinical and research alliance

Massachusetts Eye and Ear and the Joslin Diabetes Center announced today that they have reached agreement to form a clinical and research alliance, aimed toward providing coordinated high quality care to eye patients throughout greater Boston, especially those with or at-risk for diabetes-related eye disease.

11 Sep 2012

Combining two drugs may offer new and potent punch against cancer and other diseases

A new study by researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College shows combining two already-FDA approved drugs may offer a new and potent punch against diseases in which blood vessel growth is abnormal -- such as cancer, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration and rheumatoid arthritis.

11 Sep 2012

Automated system for mapping protein-DNA interactions

Since the sequencing of the human genome in 2001, all our genes - around 20,000 in total - have been identified. But much is still unknown - for instance where and when each is active. Next to each gene sits a short DNA segment, and the activity of this regulatory segment determines whether the gene will be turned on, where and how strongly.

10 Sep 2012

Phase III data for Suvorexant, an investigational insomnia medicine, announced

Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced new data for suvorexant, the investigational medicine Merck is developing for the treatment of insomnia. The new data are from one of the longest, continuously-dosed, placebo-controlled trials of a sleep medication ever conducted.

10 Sep 2012

UC Irvine receives CIRM grant to advance stem cell-based treatments for AD, retinitis pigmentosa

Efforts to begin human clinical trials using stem cells to treat Alzheimer's disease and retinitis pigmentosa received a $37.3 million boost from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine during its most recent round of funding on Sept. 5.

10 Sep 2012

Nano biosensor measures and analyzes glucose without needle pricks

Pricking a finger everyday is just part of everyday life for many diabetes patients. A non-invasive measurement approach could release them from the constant pain of pin pricks. The linchpin is a biosensor engineered by Fraunhofer researchers: A tiny chip combines measurement and digital analysis - and can be radioed to a mobile device.

7 Sep 2012

Rigid gas-permeable lenses correct vision after ocular trauma

Fitting a rigid gas-permeable contact lens into the eyes of patients treated surgically for ocular trauma can improve their visual acuity and are well tolerated, report researchers from China.

7 Sep 2012