Eye Health News and Research

Latest Eye Health News and Research

Age related macular degeneration doubles heart attack and stroke risk

The progressive eye disease, age related macular degeneration, or AMD for short, doubles the risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke, reveals research published ahead of print in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

28 Feb 2008

FDA approves Arcalyst for treatment of rare inflammatory syndromes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug to help ease the suffering faced by those with certain chronic inflammatory diseases.

28 Feb 2008

Are cataract rates on the decline?

Should glaucoma patients seeking alternative therapies trust what they find online? Are seatbelts still important to protect eyes in auto accidents, now that most cars have airbags? What's the connection between hearing loss and one form of glaucoma? These are among the topics explored in the March 2008 issue of Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

28 Feb 2008

New understanding of structure and behavior of collagen

The structure and behavior of one of the most common proteins in our bodies has been resolved at a level of detail never before seen, thanks to new research performed at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory.

27 Feb 2008

Neurofeedback (EEG biofeedback) may help those with autism

Research on autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) shows that neurofeedback (EEG biofeedback) can remediate anomalies in brain activation, leading to symptom reduction and functional improvement.

27 Feb 2008

Facial asymmetry persists despite surgery to correct congenital deformity

Adults and teens that underwent surgery as infants to correct a congenital condition that causes the forehead and face to appear uneven still have a degree of facial asymmetry years later, according to new research led by a Hasbro Children's Hospital surgeon.

27 Feb 2008

Blindness after ophthalmic surgery

The injection of gas into the eye, as is performed in various ophthalmic surgical procedures, can cause blindness by expanding the eye.

27 Feb 2008

Mechanism of blood clot elasticity revealed in high definition

Blood clots can save lives, staunching blood loss after injury, but they can also kill. Let loose in the bloodstream, a clot can cause a heart attack, stroke or pulmonary embolism.

26 Feb 2008

Small protein discovered that specifically recognizes tumors responding to chemotherapy

A technique that specifically "tags" tumors responding to chemotherapy may offer a new strategy for determining a cancer treatment's effectiveness within days of starting treatment, according to a new study by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center investigators.

26 Feb 2008

New metabolic imaging instrument shows promise as screening device in diabetes and other major eye diseases

Scientists at the University of Michigan have shown that their new metabolic imaging instrument can accurately detect eye disease at a very early stage.

26 Feb 2008

New minimal incision techniques for foot and ankle surgery

Many patients who undergo foot and ankle surgery are recovering faster and with smaller surgical scars, thanks to new minimal incision techniques and tools.

21 Feb 2008

New way to grow blood vessels

Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have found a previously unknown molecular pathway in mice that spurs the growth of new blood vessels when body parts are jeopardized by poor circulation.

21 Feb 2008

A new age-related macular degeneration discovery

Scientists have won a major battle in the fight against age-related macular degeneration, or AMD, a blinding eye disease that affects millions of people.

21 Feb 2008

Scientists shed light on long-distance signaling in developing neurons

A longstanding puzzle in neurodevelopment may have yielded up a key secret.

20 Feb 2008

Ocular melanoma - potential new treatment options

Ocular melanoma is rarely detected before it has grown large enough to impair vision or to metastasize.

20 Feb 2008

Stereotypes and misinformation about HIV still commonplace in healthcare

The doctor who wouldn't come into the patient's hospital room. The neurologist who avoided eye contact. The ambulance attendant who angrily threw her bloodied gloves into the street after learning the injured patient was HIV-positive.

20 Feb 2008

Biannual mass antibiotic treatment may help reduce contagious eye disease trachoma in Africa

Changing the administration of the antibiotic azithromycin from once to twice a year in villages in Ethiopia substantially reduced eye infections in preschool children caused by chlamydia, which causes the serious, contagious eye disease trachoma, according to a study in the February 20 issue of JAMA.

20 Feb 2008

New key finding in neurodevelopment

A longstanding puzzle in neurodevelopment may have yielded up a key secret. A team led by scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College says they have determined how events at the very tips of the developing neuron's long, skinny axon affect gene transcription back in the cell's distant nucleus.

20 Feb 2008

Role gound for glaucoma gene and a signaling pathway

Researchers have found that a gene and a related signaling pathway play a role in the development of glaucoma, which is a common cause of visual impairment and blindness worldwide.

18 Feb 2008

Discovery of new cataract gene

The international team of researchers was able to identify the location and defect in the coding region of the gene through analysis of genetic material (DNA) from members of a large Swiss family, the majority of whom suffered from autosomal dominant juvenile cataract.

17 Feb 2008