Eye Health News and Research

Latest Eye Health News and Research

Microscission blasts drugs through skin

Nightmares of doctors or dentists with oversized hypodermic needles could soon be a thing of the past. A new painless way of delivering drugs through the skin is described in the journal BMC Medicine this week – and needles are not involved.

19 Apr 2004

New information about how the brain processes information about an object's brightness

Howard Hughes Medical Institute scientists at The Salk Institute have discovered a new class of optical illusion that they have studied in detail to show that humans use both the timing and spatial context of a visual stimulus to judge brightness.

19 Apr 2004

Lack of exercise causes physical and psychological setbacks

Use it or lose it, fitness experts tell us. Now a new study offers evidence that the adage really does ring true – that a lack of exercise can not only cause physical setbacks, but also psychological setbacks as well.

16 Apr 2004

There is more to beauty than meets the stranger's eye

There is more to beauty than meets the stranger's eye, according to results from three studies examining the influence of non-physical traits on people's perception of physical attractiveness.

16 Apr 2004

Diabetic eye disease on the rise

With the aging of the population, the number of Americans with major eye diseases is increasing, and vision loss is becoming a major public health problem. By the year 2020, the number of people who are blind or have low vision is projected to increase substantially. These findings appear in the April issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.

15 Apr 2004

Extra funding aids brain research

A healthy arrival of funds over the past couple of years has produced "endorphins" in McMaster’s "brain" that has psychology researchers very excited.

14 Apr 2004

$Pittsburgh eye center to offer refractive procedure for presbyopia$

Pittsburgh eye center to offer refractive procedure for presbyopia

UPMC Eye Center has become one of the first in Allegheny County to offer conductive keratoplasty (CK) for presbyopia. Recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it is the first and only FDA-approved vision technology that improves near vision in the millions of baby boomers with presbyopia, the age-related eye condition that sets in after age 40.

14 Apr 2004

Fixing your eyesight...while you sleep!

UNSW researchers have found the first scientific evidence that special orthokeratology (OK) contact lenses worn only while you sleep may be able to correct long-sightedness

13 Apr 2004

New research into World Trade Center firefighter respiratory symptoms

Researchers from New York and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Ohio found that arrival time and length of exposure to the World Trade Center (WTC) disaster were significant predictors of respiratory symptoms and lung function decline among firefighters.

12 Apr 2004

Lecture will explore the visual world of the newborn

Imagine creating an eye chart for someone who can't read or tell you what they see.

12 Apr 2004

Both sides of brain working together are key to math giftedness

There really may be something different about the brains of math-heads. Mathematically gifted teens did better than average-ability teens and college students on tests that required the two halves of the brain to cooperate, as reported in the April issue of Neuropsychology, published by the American Psychological Association (APA).

12 Apr 2004

Vision loss in over 40's is becoming a major public health problem

12 Apr 2004

Household molds trigger allergic rhinitis

April showers can increase the amount of mold found inside and outside the home. Along with pollens from trees, grasses, and weeds, molds are an important trigger of allergic rhinitis, affecting nearly 40 million Americans, according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI).

12 Apr 2004

A drug that improves function of retinal blood vessels may be able to reduce the risk of stroke

The small study found that endothelial function is abnormal in eye blood vessels of patients who have early-stage hypertension, but that treatment with an angiotensin-receptor blocker (ARB) drug improves endothelial function. The endothelium is the lining of vessel walls and plays a key role in the vessels’ ability to relax and to constrict.

9 Apr 2004

Breast-feeding may protect against SIDS

Breast-fed babies arouse more readily from deep sleep, Monash researchers have found, in a discovery that could help reduce deaths due to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

7 Apr 2004

Alcohol screening can spot addiction

Have you ever felt like you needed a drink? If an occasional cocktail changes into a need, it could mean an alcohol problem. National Alcohol Screening Day is April 8. In cities and towns throughout the United States, screening programs will be offered to help people determine whether they exhibit drinking behaviors that could be signs of alcohol addiction.

7 Apr 2004

New study could lead to new drugs to prevent premature birth

Dr Raheela Khan, of the University’s Academic Division of Obstetrics and Gynaecology based at the newly-opened University of Nottingham Medical School at Derby, is working with colleagues Dr Balwir Matharoo-Ball and Dr Dave Barratt in the University’s School of Pharmacy on the research looking at what makes some women go into labour before their baby is due.

6 Apr 2004

The first human case of avian influenza A(H7) in British Columbia

The first human case of avian influenza A(H7) in British Columbia occurred in a person who was involved in culling of infected birds on 13-14 March. On 13 March, he may have been accidentally exposed in the eye. On 16 March, the individual reported conjunctivitis and nasal discharge. Treatment with oseltamavir, an antiviral drug active against influenza A viruses, began on 18 March. On 30 March, Health Canada concluded that this case was caused by avian influenza A(H7). Health Canada informed WHO of this case on 31 March. The patient's symptoms have fully resolved.

5 Apr 2004

How rat's genetic blueprint stacks up against those of mice and humans

An international research team, supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today announced it has completed a high-quality, draft sequence of the genome of the laboratory rat, and has used that data to explore how the rat's genetic blueprint stacks up against those of mice and humans.

31 Mar 2004

Scientists find parallels between human speech and bird song which gives clues to human speech disorders.

The research by a team led by Stephanie White, UCLA assistant professor of physiological science, supports the theory that two genes shared by humans and songbirds, FoxP1 and FoxP2, may play a critical role in human speech, and speech disorders. The study is published March 31 in the Journal of Neuroscience.

30 Mar 2004