Eye Health News and Research

Latest Eye Health News and Research

Roundup: Calif. woman's death at nursing home probed; Minn. orders counseling before patients get long-term care

Johnnie Esco died after a 13-day stay at the El Dorado Care Center in Placerville. Her death on March 7, 2008, led to a contentious civil lawsuit, investigations by California's Department of Justice and Department of Public Health – and the exhumation of her body from Arlington National Cemetery. Last week, amid inquiries from The Bee, the state Department of Justice reopened its criminal investigation into Johnnie Esco's treatment at the facility.

20 Sep 2011

CMA announces winners of Canada's premier health journalism awards

The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) is proud today to announce the recipients of the 2011 Media Awards for Health Reporting, Canada's premier health journalism awards.

20 Sep 2011

Infant formulas fortified with LCPUFA are good for developing brains and hearts

University of Kansas scientists have found new evidence that infant formulas fortified with long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) are good for developing brains and hearts.

20 Sep 2011

Multispectral fluorescence imaging system can localize cancer cells during surgery

Ovarian cancer is one of the most frequent forms of cancer that affect women. As tumors can initially grow unchecked in the abdomen without causing any major symptoms, patients are usually diagnosed at an advanced stage and have to undergo surgery plus chemotherapy. During the operation, surgeons attempt to remove all tumor deposits as this leads to improved patient prognosis. To do this, however, they primarily have to rely on visual inspection and palpation - an enormous challenge especially in the case of small tumor nests or remaining tumor borders after the primary tumor excision.

20 Sep 2011

Cornell researchers learn how helicase enzyme works to unzip two strands of DNA

With an eye toward understanding DNA replication, Cornell researchers have learned how a helicase enzyme works to actually unzip the two strands of DNA.

19 Sep 2011

NPF announces support for three new Parkinson's research projects

The National Parkinson Foundation (NPF) is proud to announce support for three new research projects which fulfill NPF's mission of improving the quality of care in Parkinson's disease.

19 Sep 2011

ZocDoc launches in Boston region

Today ZocDoc, a free online service for patients to find a doctor and instantly book appointments, launches in the Boston region. In Massachusetts, where patients experience the longest wait times in the country for doctor appointments, ZocDoc is able to reduce wait times to mere hours.

17 Sep 2011

Venus Williams withdraws from US Open due to Sjogren syndrome

Sjogren syndrome was in the news recently when tennis player, Venus Williams, was forced to withdraw form the US Open tennis tournament due to symptoms from the disease.

17 Sep 2011

New collaboration reinforces Sanofi's translational discovery platform for retinal diseases

The Max Planck Society (Max-Planck-Gesellschaft), Germany's leading basic research organization, announced today that it has signed with Fovea Pharmaceuticals, the Ophthalmology Division of Sanofi, a research collaboration and license agreement to identify and develop innovative solutions for restoring vision in patients suffering from diseases affecting the retina.

16 Sep 2011

CHAM experts available to discuss variety of back-to-school issues

Experts from The Children's Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM) are available for interviews on a variety of back-to-school issues.

16 Sep 2011

Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification test for human African trypanosomiasis

The Geneva-based not-for-profit foundation FIND and Japanese diagnostics company Eiken announced today that a next-generation molecular test designed specifically for sleeping sickness - a deadly parasitic disease also known as human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) - is ready to enter accelerated field trials in sites across the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

16 Sep 2011

OXTR gene associated with optimism, self-esteem and mastery

UCLA life scientists have identified for the first time a particlular gene's link to optimism, self-esteem and "mastery," the belief that one has control over one's own life - three critical psychological resources for coping well with stress and depression.

15 Sep 2011

SARcode Bioscience initiates enrollment in SAR 1118 Phase 3 study for dry eye disease

SARcode Bioscience, Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical company, announced today that the initial patient has been enrolled in the company's pivotal Phase 3 clinical study (OPUS-1) of SAR 1118 ophthalmic solution.

15 Sep 2011

Lucentis receives Health Canada approval to treat vision loss from DME

Health Canada has approved Lucentis (ranibizumab) as a treatment for vision loss resulting from diabetic macular edema, one of the major causes of adult vision loss and an important complication of the growing epidemic of diabetes.

14 Sep 2011

BVES protein may play a role in colon cancer progression

A protein critical in heart development may also play a part in colon cancer progression. Research led by investigators from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center and the Vanderbilt Eye Institute suggests that the protein BVES (blood vessel endocardial substance) - which also is key in regulating corneal cells - may be a therapeutic target for halting colon cancer metastasis.

14 Sep 2011

Bausch + Lomb to launch VICTUS Femtosecond Laser Platform for cataract surgery

Bausch + Lomb, the global leader in eye health, and Technolas Perfect Vision GmbH (TPV), a leading ophthalmology laser company, plan to introduce the VICTUS Femtosecond Laser Platform at the upcoming XXIX Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons.

14 Sep 2011

Jefferson neurologist receives Harold G. Wolff Lecture Award for migraine headache model

Michael L. Oshinsky, Ph.D., assistant professor of Neurology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, and a member of the Jefferson Headache Center team, was recently named the 2011 Harold G. Wolff Lecture award recipient for creating a new animal model of migraine headache.

14 Sep 2011

Survey highlights need for better diabetes treatment guidelines

A survey of federally funded diabetes prevention and control programs in 57 U.S. states and territories has highlighted the need for better diabetes treatment guidelines that are specifically adapted to different populations. Such guidelines do not currently exist.

14 Sep 2011

Older drugs may be better than newly approved ones

It is a common belief that drugs given the okay by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are safer and more effective than they have to be to win approval, according to a new study. Especially in the first few years after a drug becomes available, researchers note, there are still questions about how well it will work and whether it will have any serious side effects warn experts. For example FDA-approved painkiller Vioxx was pulled off the market in 2004 after longer-term evidence showed that it may increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.

13 Sep 2011

FDA grants orphan drug designation for Avedro's VibeX to treat Keratoconus

Avedro, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to the Company's VibeX for use with its KXL System (UVA irradiation) for Corneal Cross-linking to treat Keratoconus.

12 Sep 2011