Eye News and Research

Latest Eye News and Research

Viewpoints: 'Triage' at the VA; GOP can't 'fix' health law; mental health problems in LA jail

Washington's attention span on the Veterans Affairs scandal seems to be expiring. Though 42 of the VA's 152 major campuses (27%) are still under investigation for falsifying wait-time records, the Senate is converging on a bipartisan deal that claims to solve the problem.

10 Jun 2014

Scientific images of blood, brain, bacteria are on display at Washington Dulles International Airport

Stunning scientific images of blood, brain, bacteria, viruses and more, enlarged by as much as 50,000 times, are on display in an exhibit called "Life: Magnified," on view through November 2014 at Washington Dulles International Airport's Gateway Gallery.

9 Jun 2014

UAB ophthalmologists offer tips to prevent firework related injuries

Fourth of July 2013: Family members were shooting fireworks in the backyard of Dianne Peterson's home in Vincent, Alabama, as she walked out of the house.

9 Jun 2014

New hippomsg software designed to live "natively" on smartphones and tablets

The No. 1, free medical-texting solution is unveiling a faster platform that handles attachments during a launch party on June 19 near Fenway Park.

9 Jun 2014

Study defines how our ability to identify spatial acuity varies across the body

"Where does it hurt?" is the first question asked to any person in pain. A new UCL study defines for the first time how our ability to identify where it hurts, called "spatial acuity", varies across the body, being most sensitive at the forehead and fingertips.

9 Jun 2014

Research roundup: Funding for safety-net hospitals; insurance competition

Safety-net hospitals rely on disproportionate-share hospital (DSH) payments to help cover uncompensated care costs and underpayments by Medicaid

9 Jun 2014

Senators reach bipartisan deal to fix VA

The agreement, announced Thursday by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., gives authority to the acting VA chief to fire senior officials and to allow veterans who have experienced long waits or who live further than 40 miles from a VA facility to seek care elsewhere. If passed by both houses, the bill would also authorize VA to spend $500 million hiring new doctors and nurses.

6 Jun 2014

First Edition: June 6, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about the Senate confirmation of Sylvia Mathews Burwell to be the next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

6 Jun 2014

Study: The brain controls cellular process that leads to glaucoma

Findings from a new study published in Translational Vision Science & Technology show the brain, not the eye, controls the cellular process that leads to glaucoma. The results may help develop treatments for one of the world's leading causes of irreversible blindness, as well as contribute to the development of future therapies for preserving brain function in other age-related disorders like Alzheimer's.

6 Jun 2014

Sleep helps consolidate, strengthen new memories

In study published today in Science, researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center show for the first time that sleep after learning encourages the growth of dendritic spines, the tiny protrusions from brain cells that connect to other brain cells and facilitate the passage of information across synapses, the junctions at which brain cells meet.

6 Jun 2014

Study demonstrates link between obstructive sleep apnea and development of diabetes

In the largest study to date of the relationship between sleep apnea and diabetes, a new study of more than 8,500 Canadian patients has demonstrated a link between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and the development of diabetes, confirming earlier evidence of such a relationship from smaller studies with shorter follow-up periods.

6 Jun 2014

Researchers take step toward restoring natural, high-fidelity vision to blind people

In laboratory tests, researchers have used electrical stimulation of retinal cells to produce the same patterns of activity that occur when the retina sees a moving object. Although more work remains, this is a step toward restoring natural, high-fidelity vision to blind people, the researchers say.

6 Jun 2014

Ocugen's OCU100 gets FDA orphan drug designation for treatment of retinitis pigmentosa

Ocugen, Inc. and the University of Colorado today announced exclusive license agreements that allow for Ocugen to continue developing two drug candidates for the treatment for ophthalmology indications, and that one of the assets, OCU100, recombinant lens epithelium derived growth factor 1-326 (LEDGF1-326), received orphan-drug status from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment of retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a rare eye disease.

6 Jun 2014

Kaiser Permanente receives 32 environmental excellence awards from Practice Greenhealth

Kaiser Permanente has received a record 32 environmental excellence awards this year from Practice Greenhealth, the national membership organization for hospitals and health systems committed to environmentally responsible operations and care.

6 Jun 2014

Navigated brain stimulation system may help improve motor function for people recovering from stroke

Researchers at Shepherd Center are studying whether stimulating the brain before rehabilitation could yield greater gains in motor function for people recovering from stroke.

5 Jun 2014

RPB grants $500,000 to accelerate treatments for Retinitis Pigmentosa

Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB), the leading eye research foundation, is providing $500,000 to accelerate the development of treatments for Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) -- a family of retinal diseases that progressively create extreme tunnel vision, loss of night vision and leave affected patients legally blind by the age of 40.

5 Jun 2014

Novel technology to block human infections receives I-Corps grant

A novel technology developed at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) to block human infections by taking a lesson from fish has landed a $50,000 grant from the National Science Foundation's Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program.

5 Jun 2014

CenterVue's next generation Macular Integrity Assessment receives FDA clearance

CenterVue, Inc., a leader in the design and manufacture of highly automated medical devices for the diagnosis and management of ocular pathologies, today announced FDA 510(k) clearance has been granted for the company's next generation Macular Integrity Assessment (MAIA).

4 Jun 2014

Scientists create 3-D silicon structures using water droplets

Researchers from the University of Twente in the Netherlands have taken the precise art of origami down to the microscopic scale.

4 Jun 2014

New nanomedicine allows glaucoma patients to do away with daily eye drops

Scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI) have jointly developed a new nanomedicine that will allow glaucoma patients to do away with daily eye drops.

4 Jun 2014