Eye News and Research

Latest Eye News and Research

Viewpoints: The role of IT in transforming health care; the GOP raises super committee stakes

Why can't Americans tap into the ingenuity that put men on the moon, created the Internet and sequenced the human genome to revitalize our economy? I'm convinced we can. We are in the early phases of the next big technology-driven revolution, which I call "consumer health." When fully unleashed, it could radically cut health care costs and become a huge global growth market.

11 Nov 2011

Researchers uncover mechanism that governs cell specialization

Researchers at then Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have uncovered a mechanism that governs how cells become specialized during development.

10 Nov 2011

Mathematical model accurately predicts horizontal gaze movements of eye

In one respect, handling a computer mouse is just like looking in the rearview mirror: well established movements help the brain to concentrate on the essentials. But just a simple gaze shift to a new target bears the possibility of an almost infinite number of combinations of eye and head movement: how fast do we move eye and head? How much does the eye rotate, how much the head? Until now, it was unclear why the brain chooses a particular movement option from the set of all possible combinations.

10 Nov 2011

Laser therapy to turn brown eyes blue

A laser treatment developed by Stroma Medical's Dr. Gregg Homer takes only 20 seconds to perform but can turn brown eyes into blue ones permanently.

8 Nov 2011

Abbott announces results from HUMIRA Phase 3 study on axSpA

Abbott today announced results from the Phase 3 ABILITY-1 study of HUMIRA (adalimumab) in patients with active non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis.

7 Nov 2011

Respiratory problems in homes on the rise due to air freshners

Sales of home air fresheners and scented candles are on the rise and so are respiratory problems in homes where these products are used, according to allergists at the annual scientific meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) in Boston, Nov 3-8.

7 Nov 2011

Mouse anti-aging study generates expert commentary

Age related changes like wrinkles, muscle wasting and cataracts could be delayed in mice, say researchers in the US. They achieved the feat by removing old cells that had stopped dividing. These accumulate naturally with age. The scientists believe their findings could eventually “really have an impact” in the care of the elderly. Experts said the results were “fascinating”, but should be taken with a bit of caution.

6 Nov 2011

Researchers develop new image sensors for 3-D endoscopes

The surgeon carefully guides the endoscope through the patient's nasal cavity to the operation zone. It is a delicate procedure for which the surgeon has to prepare in detail before commencing the actual intervention.

5 Nov 2011

NCQA recognizes three additional MetCare centers as PPC-PCMH

Metropolitan Health Networks, Inc., a leading provider of health care services in Florida, today announced that an additional three of its centers have been recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as Physician Practice Connections - Patient-Centered Medical Homes.

5 Nov 2011

Positive data from RegeneRx RGN-259 Phase 2 trial on dry eye syndrome

RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced positive data from its 72-patient, Phase 2 clinical trial with RGN-259, a sterile, preservative-free eye drop, to evaluate its safety and efficacy for the treatment of signs and symptoms of dry eye syndrome over a treatment period of 30 days using the Controlled Adverse Environment (CAE) model.

5 Nov 2011

Long-duration space voyages can affect astronauts' visual systems

A new study sponsored by NASA finds that space flights lasting six months or more can cause a spectrum of changes in astronauts' visual systems.

4 Nov 2011

Cancer drug shortage relates to economics

A perspective in this week's New England Journal of Medicine outlines this connection. Meanwhile, a House Democrat ramps up his investigation into the "gray market" and how it is contributing to the shortage.

4 Nov 2011

Scientists discover alternative mechanism for extension of telomeres

Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center have discovered an alternative mechanism for the extension of the telomere repeat sequence by DNA repair enzymes.

4 Nov 2011

The brain and the heart may not be so different after all

What do heart disease and dementia have in common? Perhaps more than meets the eye, according to researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

3 Nov 2011

First Edition: November 3, 2011

Today's headlines include reports about a bipartisan group of lawmakers who are urging the super committee to consider "all options."

3 Nov 2011

Pupil can constrict without any input from brain

You've seen it on television: A doctor shines a bright light into an unconscious patient's eye to check for brain death. If the pupil constricts, the brain is OK, because in mammals, the brain controls the pupil. Or does it? Now, researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered that in most mammals, in fact in most vertebrates, the pupil can constrict without any input from the brain.

3 Nov 2011

Clinical-grade viral vector can cure choroideremia

Researchers at Ohio State University Medical Center and Nationwide Children's Hospital have developed a viral vector designed to deliver a gene into the eyes of people born with an inherited, progressive form of blindness that affects mainly males.

3 Nov 2011

New laser technique could create tissue scaffolds, microneedles

In the emerging field of tissue engineering, scientists encourage cells to grow on carefully designed support scaffolds. The ultimate goal is to create living structures that might one day be used to replace lost or damaged tissue, but the manufacture of appropriately detailed scaffolds presents a significant challenge that has kept most tissue engineering applications confined to the research lab.

3 Nov 2011

Combination of Mediterranean diet, physical activity can help improve symptoms of OSAS

Eating a Mediterranean diet combined with physical activity can help to improve some of the symptoms of sleep apnoea, according to new research.

3 Nov 2011

TERE1 gene mutation also contributes to invasive bladder cancer

Research conducted by Dr. Jayne S. Weiss, Professor and Chair of Ophthalmology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, and colleagues has found that a defect in a gene involved in a rare disease of the cornea also contributes to the progression of invasive bladder cancer.

2 Nov 2011