Eye Health News and Research

Latest Eye Health News and Research

Costs of health overhaul may be felt before benefits accrue

The Associated Press reports: "The costs of health care reform being pushed through Congress by Democrats will be felt long before the benefits. Proposed taxes and fees on upper-income earners, insurers, even tanning parlors, take effect quickly.

23 Dec 2009

Positive results from Alimera Sciences' Iluvien FAME trial for DME

Alimera Sciences, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company that specializes in the research, development and commercialization of prescription ophthalmic pharmaceuticals, today reported top-line results from the month 24 readout of the FAME Study.

23 Dec 2009

Beta blockers may increase risk of anemia-induced adverse cardiovascular events

Routinely used to treat patients for heart attack or high blood pressure, beta blockers are known for their role in helping to protect the heart. A new study in the January issue of the journal Anesthesiology looks at the effects of beta blockers on surgical outcomes, revealing that the cardioprotective effects of the medication could be compromised by acute surgical anemia.

23 Dec 2009

Hispanics should consider healthy sight as a key resolution for New Year

As a new decade begins, more Hispanics share in the desire to better themselves by making a New Year's resolution list. Many will start off the year trying to live healthier lifestyles through exercise, a proper diet and regular visits to healthcare professionals. One aspect of overall health and wellness that often gets overlooked is eye health. It's important for Hispanics to include a comprehensive eye exam on their New Year's resolution list to improve their quality of vision throughout the year.

23 Dec 2009

Contact lens can produce near-normal vision in infants and children

Infants as young as one-month-old are prescribed contact lenses at pediatric eye surgery centers so their visual system will develop correctly. Infants may be fitted for contacts if they have had cataract surgery, need extremely high-strength prescription glasses, or have very different prescriptions for the two eyes.

22 Dec 2009

Baucus vows to have health overhaul bill to President's desk by State of the Union

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., vowed Tuesday to have a healthcare overhaul bill to President Barack Obama by his State of the Union address in January, The Hill reports.

22 Dec 2009

Chordoma surgery through the nose

A remarkable brain surgery at Saint John’s Health Center has restored vision to a seriously ill young woman from Spain—and the entire operation was performed through her nose without an incision.

22 Dec 2009

TLC Vision reaches agreement with holders of Company's senior secured debt to restructure balance sheet

TLC Vision Corporation, North America's premier eye care services company, said today that it has reached an agreement with holders of a majority of the Company's senior secured debt to restructure its balance sheet.

22 Dec 2009

Reference platform for diabetic retinopathy and other vascular complications

The volume addresses a variety of current scientific discussions about mechanisms of damage such as growth factors and the VEGF/PEDF balance in the diabetic eye, the ocular renin-angiotensin system, and leukocyte interactions with the microvasculature among others.

22 Dec 2009

Discovery suggests how toxin-filtering cells go awry

Researchers from Children's Hospital Boston and Brigham and Women's Hospital have identified an important genetic cause of a devastating kidney disease that is the second leading cause of kidney failure in children, according to The NephCure Foundation.

22 Dec 2009

SynergEyes wins the 22nd annual Most Innovative New Product Award for 2009

CONNECT(R), one of the nation's most successful organizations dedicated to creating and sustaining the growth of innovative technology and life science businesses, announced SynergEyes, Inc., the high Dk hybrid contact lens manufacturer, as the winner of its 22nd annual Most Innovative New Product (MIP) Award for 2009.

22 Dec 2009

Healthy Humans receives the 2009 Life Sciences Startup Company of the Year award

Healthy Humans (www.healthyhumans.com), an online wellness solutions company, received the 2009 Life Sciences Startup Company of the Year award from the Eastern Technology Council.

21 Dec 2009

Effectiveness of VSEL stem cells in regenerative medicine demonstrated at the ASH meeting

NeoStem, Inc. (NYSE Amex: NBS), which is a leading provider of pre-disease adult stem cell collection, processing and long-term storage services, and holds the exclusive, worldwide license to VSEL(TM) technology that uses very small embryonic-like stem cells isolated from peripheral blood, announced today that five posters and two oral presentations at the prestigious American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting in New Orleans in early December demonstrated the basic cellular mechanisms of very small embryonic-like stem cells.

21 Dec 2009

U.S. Census Bureau highlights pioneering transplant procedures

The first successful organ transplant in the U.S. was performed this week in 1954 in Boston by Harvard Dr. Joseph Murray. He transplanted a kidney from one identical twin to another, who lived just over eight years. For his pioneering work on organ transplants, Dr. Murray received the Nobel Prize in medicine in 1990.

21 Dec 2009

Medical Marijuana announces the Nationwide Launch of its Educational Seminar series

Medical Marijuana, Inc. endorsed today the unprecedented act of President Obama signing into federal law the removal of restrictions on the use of medical marijuana in the nation's capitol, which underscores MJNA's foresight in becoming the first US public company to emerge, providing solutions to this revolutionary growth industry.

21 Dec 2009

Subitizing vision therapy for improving math skills

"The incidence of individuals with a mathematics learning disability is between 6-7% of the population." Since there are more than 300 million individuals in the United States, up to 21 million men, women, and children may be affected by this disorder. Sidney Groffman OD, MA, FCOVD, Professor Emeritus at SUNY College of Optometry, author of the article published in the December 2009 issue of Optometry & Vision Development, also says, "This is unfortunate because math skills are of prime importance in everyday life enabling us to understand number concepts and do calculations. Math ability is essential for many occupations and professions."

19 Dec 2009

Diabetes patients at higher risk from glaucoma

An estimated 3 million Americans have glaucoma, which can stealthily cause vision loss even before people realize they have the disease. People with diabetes face special risks from glaucoma. This January during Glaucoma Awareness Month, through its EyeSmart™ campaign, the American Academy of Ophthalmology in partnership with the American Glaucoma Society and the Glaucoma Research Foundation, remind Americans that knowing your glaucoma risks can save your sight and that people with diabetes need to be extra-vigilant.

19 Dec 2009

Rosetta Genomics announces third-quarter 2009 financial results

Rosetta Genomics, Ltd., a leading developer of microRNA-based molecular diagnostics, today reported financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2009 and provided a business update.

18 Dec 2009

ISTA Pharmaceuticals files sNDA for bromfenac ophthalmic solution

ISTA Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced the Company submitted a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for bromfenac ophthalmic solution dosed once-daily as a treatment for ocular inflammation and pain following cataract surgery.

18 Dec 2009

Comprehensive approaches to understand the interaction of H1N1 strains with human cells

Scientists have generated hundreds of new leads in the fight against the H1N1 flu pandemic, according to two new studies published online December 17th in the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication.

18 Dec 2009