Eye News and Research

Latest Eye News and Research

New surface coating for medical devices prevents blood from clotting

From joint replacements to cardiac implants and dialysis machines, medical devices enhance or save lives on a daily basis. However, any device implanted in the body or in contact with flowing blood faces two critical challenges that can threaten the life of the patient the device is meant to help: blood clotting and bacterial infection.

13 Oct 2014

Radio frequency identification technology for localizing breast tumors

Breast cancer may inspire more public discussion, advocacy and charitable giving than almost any other disease besides HIV and AIDS. But people rarely talk about the specific experiences to which cancer patients are subjected.

10 Oct 2014

Researchers develop nanoparticle eye drops to combat dry eye syndrome

For the millions of sufferers of dry eye syndrome, their only recourse to easing the painful condition is to use drug-laced eye drops three times a day.

9 Oct 2014

Health Canada approves Lucentis (ranibizumab) for myopic CNV

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc. announced today that Lucentis (ranibizumab), the treatment for several major causes of vision loss, has been approved by Health Canada for the treatment of visual impairment due to choroidal neovascularization (CNV) secondary to pathologic myopia (myopic CNV).

8 Oct 2014

Surgical treatment of strabismus can be carried out at any age

Around four per cent of all newborn children have a squint. In about 50 per cent of cases, this can be corrected with appropriate glasses, however the other half require treatment for their squint and in some cases even squint surgery.

8 Oct 2014

Pitt researchers awarded $1.25 million DOD grant to establish whole-eye transplantation program

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers have been awarded $1.25 million from the U.S. Department of Defense to fund two projects that aim to establish the groundwork for the nation's first whole-eye transplantation program.

8 Oct 2014

New report shows liquid detergent pods can cause eye injuries to children

Liquid laundry and dishwasher detergent pods are an emerging source of chemical exposure in children. When squeezed or bitten into, these pods can burst and send detergent into the mouth, nose, and eyes.

8 Oct 2014

DSM Venturing invests in ZeaVision Holdings

ZeaVision Holdings, Inc., maker of the EyePromise® brand of doctor-recommended nutraceuticals, has received an equity investment from DSM Venturing, the corporate venture arm of Royal DSM, the global life sciences and material sciences company.

7 Oct 2014

Care lags for people who have stroke in hospital, study finds

At the first sign of a stroke, time is of the essence. For every minute of delay in treatment, people typically lose almost two million brain cells. Yet a new study presented at the Canadian Stroke Congress reveals that those delays - in getting the right tests and the right drugs - can be longer when people experience a stroke in a hospital.

6 Oct 2014

Children who require long-term parenteral nutrition are at risk of IAFLD

Children who require long-term parenteral nutrition are at risk of a potentially devastating complication called intestinal failure-associated liver disease (IAFLD). The diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of IAFLD are discussed in a new position paper in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, official journal of the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition and the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition.

5 Oct 2014

Financial ties between doctors and health firms explored

Federal data shows that doctors and other health care professionals made more than $212 million in speaking and consulting for drug and device makers in the five months at the end of last year, reports The New York Times.

3 Oct 2014

Open payments database debuts, detailing financial connections between physicians and drug makers

Consumer advocates have pushed for years for this kind of government database in an effort to protect against physicians' conflicts of interest, to safeguard patient care and to prevent unnecessary costs to public health programs.

1 Oct 2014

Bionic Vision Australia reports positive results of prototype implant in patients with RP-induced vision loss

Bionic Vision Australia (BVA), a consortium of researchers working together to develop bionic eye devices to restore a sense of vision to people with profound vision loss, today announced the successful completion of the first clinical trial of its prototype 24-channel percutaneous implant in patients with profound vision loss from the eye disease retinitis pigmentosa (RP).

1 Oct 2014

UI study finds sleep twitches activate the brain in a unique way

A University of Iowa study has found twitches made during sleep activate the brains of mammals differently than movements made while awake.

30 Sep 2014

Bausch + Lomb’s sub-micron loteprednol etabonate ophthalmic gel meets primary endpoint

Bausch + Lomb, a wholly owned subsidiary of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (NYSE: VRX and TSX: VRX), today announced that its next generation sub-micron gel formulation of loteprednol etabonate was statistically superior to placebo (vehicle gel) in eliminating inflammation and pain following cataract surgery by study day eight, the primary endpoints in the first Phase 3, multi-center, double-masked, vehicle-controlled, parallel-group study.

30 Sep 2014

Early detection of cancers on the horizon with supersensitive nanodevice

Extremely early detection of cancers and other diseases is on the horizon with a supersensitive nanodevice being developed at The University of Alabama in Huntsville in collaboration with The Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering in Greensboro, NC.

29 Sep 2014

NIH-funded clinical trial aims to restore vision in people who have lost vision due to IIH

In an NIH-funded clinical trial, led at Saint Louis University by professor of ophthalmology Sophia Chung, M.D., researchers aim to bring sight back to those who have lost vision due to idiopathic intracranial hypertension.

29 Sep 2014

Bioregional approach can help improve human and environmental health

In a paper published this week online in Global Society, researchers with University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Urban Studies and Planning Program, also at UC San Diego, present a bioregional guide that merges place-based (territorial) city planning and ecosystem management along the United States-Mexico border as way to improve human and environmental health.

27 Sep 2014

State highlights: N.C. lawmakers still talking about Medicaid revamp; changes to La. health plan for state workers stir controversy

Legislators who couldn't agree this year on how to overhaul North Carolina's Medicaid program plan to spend more time talking about the issue before the General Assembly reconvenes early next year. A legislative oversight panel subcommittee charged with examining Medicaid reform and reorganization scheduled its first meeting Wednesday. Another oversight panel also examining Medicaid governance held its first meeting this month. The House and Senate approved differing versions of legislation to change how Medicaid pays for medical expenses by shifting risk from the state to either medical provider networks or private managed-care companies (9/24).

26 Sep 2014

Two genes that cause pediatric glaucoma increases risk of future stroke up to ten times

Every year in Canada about 50,000 people suffer from a stroke, caused either by the interruption of blood flow or uncontrolled bleeding in the brain. While many environmental risk factors exist, including high blood pressure and smoking, stroke risk is also frequently inherited. Unfortunately, remarkably little is known regarding stroke's genetic basis.

26 Sep 2014