Eye Health News and Research

Latest Eye Health News and Research

Xacore signs agreement with ESSE to tackle challenge of military hearing loss

Xacore announces today that they have entered into an agreement with Ellis Services and Solutions Enterprises, LLC headed by retired US Army Four-Star General Larry R. Ellis and his group of experienced professionals to tackle the challenge of military hearing loss. This agreement joins Xacore's leading edge noise protection DSP radio headset technology with the strengths of ESSE's experience in marketing and solutions with the military and government.

17 Jun 2010

OXiGENE completes enrollment in ZYBRESTAT Phase 2 FALCON trial for NSCLC

OXiGENE, Inc., a clinical-stage, biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics to treat cancer and eye diseases, announced today that it has completed its targeted enrollment of 60 patients in the FALCON trial, a randomized, controlled Phase 2 study of ZYBRESTAT™ in patients with non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

16 Jun 2010

Lantis Laser to merge with Perio-Imaging

Lantis Laser Inc., announced today that it has signed a Letter of Intent to merge with Perio-Imaging Inc., a private New York based company. The merger would be an all stock transaction and closing, among other conditions, would be subject to raising the required funding to complete the proposed merged company's product development program. The name of the new merged company will be announced upon closing.

16 Jun 2010

First Edition: June 16, 2010

Today's health policy headlines focus on the latest Senate developments regarding the Medicare 'doc fix' as well as continuing health reform implementation news.

16 Jun 2010

Study validates Grm1 protein as target for melanoma treatment

Research by investigators at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) is showing new promise in the treatment of melanoma, the most serious of skin cancers. The findings, published in the May 27, 2010, online edition of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology further validate the team's clinical and pre-clinical findings that blocking the signaling normally activated by a receptor called Grm1 results in decreased cell growth and decreased migration of melanoma cells, confirming that Grm1 is a potential target for the treatment of melanoma.

16 Jun 2010

Final results from Visudyne Phase IIIb DENALI study presented at World Ophthalmology Congress

QLT Inc. today announced that final results from the Novartis-sponsored Phase IIIb DENALI study were presented on June 8, 2010 during the World Ophthalmology Congress in Berlin. DENALI was a 24-month randomized, double-masked, multicenter trial in patients with subfoveal choroidal neovascularization secondary to wet age-related macular degeneration (all lesion types).

16 Jun 2010

Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation to present 2010 Neuroscience Prize to Robert H. Wurtz

Robert H. Wurtz, PhD, a pioneer and leader in the field of neurophysiology, is the recipient of the 2010 Neuroscience Prize of The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation. His discoveries of how the brain processes visual information and controls eye movements laid the groundwork for subsequent research into the neurophysiology of visual cognition. This research has led scientists to a deeper understanding of how the brain is organized to produce behavior.

15 Jun 2010

UH, AOA partner to get the word out about summer eye care, protection against UVR

As summer approaches, most people step up skin protection from harmful ultraviolet rays, yet aren't as vigilant about their eyes. Optometrists at the University of Houston are involved in a campaign to change this way of thinking.

15 Jun 2010

Free clinics across the U.S. care for 1.8M uninsured patients annually: Survey

Free clinics across the U.S. provide care to about 1.8 million mostly uninsured patients annually and the majority of clinics receive no government support, according to the first comprehensive survey of all known free clinics since the 1960s.

15 Jun 2010

Texas prepares for health reform's changes despite opposition to new law; Other states brace for federal funding cuts

When Congress approved the sweeping federal health care overhaul in March, Texas Governor Rick Perry was one of the loudest critics. He blasted the initiative as unconstitutional, a government takeover of health care and an unfunded federal mandate on the states. … That sentiment remains widespread in Texas, which has joined with 20 other states in suing to block the law from taking effect.

15 Jun 2010

States, Feds look to expand ACOs and medical homes

Crain's New York Business, on ACOs in New York: "Authorized by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed into law by President Barack Obama in March, ACOs are intended to reward providers that shift their focus to preventive care and presumably reduce the need for expensive procedures.

15 Jun 2010

Fluorescent cancerous tumors for early detection

Researchers at the Ecole Polytechnique F-d-rale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland have established a procedure where cancerous tumors in the bladder become fluorescent and are more easily discoverable under blue light. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the technique- already in practice in Europe - for the American market. Under the name Cysview-, the product is commercialized by Photocure and GE Healthcare as the most efficient detection technique for early stage bladder cancer.

14 Jun 2010

WoundVision launches bedside thermographic imaging system

WoundVision™, the healthcare industry pioneer in advanced wound detection technology, is introducing today a revolutionary predictive bedside thermographic imaging system. The WoundVision system brings knowledge bedside by acquiring, analyzing and applying essential patient data to inform healthcare providers in the development of effective treatment and care plans.

14 Jun 2010

Researchers show how tiny insect brain uses multiple brain pathways to judge motion

Insects may have tiny brains the size of a pinhead, but the latest research from the University of Adelaide shows just how clever they really are. For the first time, researchers from the University's Discipline of Physiology have worked out how insects judge the speed of moving objects.

14 Jun 2010

Dysfunctional magno cells in eyes associated with learning disabilities

Problems with math? And perhaps with handwriting - and motor skills? Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) believe that the explanation for your troubles may be that not all of the cells in your eyes work the way they should.

14 Jun 2010

Researchers find new way to prevent blindness caused by retinitis pigmentosa

Researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center have found a way to use a radical new type of gene therapy to prevent blindness caused by retinitis pigmentosa, giving hope to the estimated 100,000 Americans who suffer from this debilitating disease.

14 Jun 2010

Opinions: Haitian housing; U.S. foreign aid

"The only thing that seems to be moving relentlessly ahead in Haiti is the weather, with punishing heat and near-daily thunderstorms settling in for the summer - and the hurricane season that just begun," according to a New York Times editorial highlighting some of the problems with the Haitian reconstruction effort.

14 Jun 2010

Research on genetic mutations could lead to accurate diagnosis of USH, says scientist

Usher syndrome, an inherited condition involving both hearing and vision loss, is not a simply recessively inherited disease, a scientist will tell the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics today (Saturday). Dr. Hanno Bolz, Associate Medical Director of the Bioscientia Centre for Human Genetics, Ingelheim, Germany, and active in teaching and research at the University Hospital of Cologne, will say that his team's research challenges the traditional view that USH was inherited as a single gene disorder, and shows that it may result from at least two different genetic mutations.

14 Jun 2010

Equatorial Guinea advances public health services with ultramodern hospital in Bata

Equatorial Guinea (Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial) is advancing its public health services with an ultramodern hospital in Bata, the country's most populous city. One of the most sophisticated hospitals in West Africa, La Paz Medical Center operates in complete compliance with international standards and employs highly advanced technology systems.

11 Jun 2010

Overview of research into pathogenesis and clinical treatment of dry eye

Dry eye is one of the most common disorders encountered in ophthalmological practice. Its symptoms cause considerable discomfort and substantially reduce the patient's quality of life. As it is a complex and multifactorial condition, research investigating dry eye is a matter of great interest all over the world.

11 Jun 2010