Eye News and Research

Latest Eye News and Research

New data from Acucela’s ACU-4429 Phase 2a trial on advanced dry AMD/geographic atrophy

Acucela Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing new treatments for blinding eye diseases, announced today that the first patient data from the ACU-4429 program were presented during a poster session at The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) 2012 Annual Meeting.

8 May 2012

TOKU-E introduces faster dissolving dust-free grade Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate

TOKU-E Company has announced availability of their newly developed, innovative, ultra-safe, faster dissolving dust-free grade (DF) Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS).

7 May 2012

No functional difference in effects of Lucentis and Avastin on preventing vision loss

The one year results from a study into whether two drug treatments (Lucentis and Avastin), are equally effective in treating neovascular or wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD), have been reported today at an international research meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The findings will also appear online shortly in the leading journal Ophthalmology.

7 May 2012

Eye color linked to high-risk for skin conditions

Eye color may be an indicator of whether a person is high-risk for certain serious skin conditions. A study, led by the University of Colorado School of Medicine, shows people with blue eyes are less likely to have vitiligo.

7 May 2012

Oral nutriceutical restores vision to otherwise hopeless patients facing permanent loss

There may be new found hope for patients whose vision is threatened when medicine injected directly into the eyes fails to cause abnormal blood vessels to recede. While injectable drugs called angiogenesis (an-gee-oh-jen-esis) inhibitors are considered a modern miracle and have become the standard of care for patients with the fast-progressive form of macular degeneration, they are not foolproof.

7 May 2012

Researchers identify new mechanism that causes choroidal neovascularization

Sloppy shipping of a donated human retina to an Indiana University researcher studying a leading cause of vision loss has inadvertently helped uncover a previously undetected mechanism causing the disease. The discovery has led researchers to urge review of how millions of dollars are spent investigating the cause of a type of age-related macular degeneration called choroidal neovascularization.

5 May 2012

Ocular Therapeutix initiates travoprost-loaded punctum plug trial in glaucoma

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. announced today the commencement of a sustained release travoprost-loaded punctum plug feasibility study for the treatment of glaucoma.

5 May 2012

Dilp8 provides an important signal to slow body growth and delay insect development

Two independent groups of researchers have identified a hormone that is responsible for keeping the growth and development of insects on track. The results, which are reported in the journal Science, suggest that Dilp8 provides an important signal to slow body growth and delay insect development.

5 May 2012

Bionic eye helps two blind men see for the first time in 20 years

In a medical breakthrough two blind men have regained partial sight for the first time in more than 20 years after receiving a “bionic eye”. Scientists said the first clinical trials of the microchip eye implant, which measures just 3mm across and is fitted behind the eyeball, have proved successful and “exceeded expectations”.

4 May 2012

Competition to celebrate art in medicine

It turns out beauty really is skin deep. A hair follicle or skin specimen that doesn't look like much of anything to the naked eye can become a complex, colorful work of art under a microscope. Mayo Clinic dermatologists struck by the beauty they see in the cellular have started a competition to celebrate art in medicine. The winning entries appear in the May issue of the Journal of Cutaneous Pathology.

3 May 2012

Lexicon first quarter revenues decrease 50% to $0.3 million

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering breakthrough treatments for human disease, today updated its drug development progress and reported financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2012.

3 May 2012

Bevacizumab equivalent to ranibizumab in treating wet AMD

In a landmark drug-comparison study, Cleveland Clinic researchers found that bevacizumab (Avastin) is equivalent to ranibizumab (Lucentis) in the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) through two years.

2 May 2012

New studies restart debate about mammography for women in their 40s

Another study in today's news examines two eye drugs and finds they are comparable, a conclusion that could potentially save Medicare and other insurers millions of dollars.

2 May 2012

Study into why illusions trick our brains

Barrow Neurological Institute researchers Jorge Otero-Millan, Stephen Macknik, and Susana Martinez-Conde share the recent cover of the Journal of Neuroscience in a compelling study into why illusions trick our brains. Barrow is part of St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix.

2 May 2012

AcuFocus receives KFDA approval for KAMRA inlay to treat presbyopia

AcuFocus is pleased to announce they received approval from the Korean Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) for the KAMRA inlay, making this revolutionary treatment option for near vision loss available to the Korean population.

2 May 2012

First Edition: May 1, 2012

Today's health policy headlines include reports from the presidential campaign trail and from states on issues ranging from Massachusetts' payment reform to Idaho's scope-of-practices issues.

2 May 2012

Hospitals seek to cut costs, compete smartly

In Colorado, New Hampshire, Florida and Kansas, hospitals are trying to be strategic to beat marketplace challenges.

30 Apr 2012

UCLA develops compact and cost-effective RDT-reading device

In the fight against emerging public health threats, early diagnosis of infectious diseases is crucial. And in poor and remote areas of the globe where conventional medical tools like microscopes and cytometers are unavailable, rapid diagnostic tests, or RDTs, are helping to make disease screening quicker and simpler.

30 Apr 2012

IRIDEX launches non-invasive MicroPulse Laser Trabeculoplasty for glaucoma

IRIDEX Corporation today announced the launch of a new non-invasive, in-office glaucoma procedure based on its proprietary MicroPulse technology. The new glaucoma therapy, a tissue-sparing, repeatable therapy called MicroPulse Laser Trabeculoplasty (MLT), was introduced by IRIDEX at the recent American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS).

27 Apr 2012

Shutdown looms as committees, lawmakers spar over budget, spending cuts

The House Energy and Commerce Commitee, as well as other House panels, worked yesterday on various spending cuts and policy items with an eye on budget reconciliation. The GOP-led effort, which has very little chance of being taken up by the Senate, will likely lead to "a long summer of political skirmishing."

27 Apr 2012