Eye News and Research

Latest Eye News and Research

Two computerized tests increase ability to detect remaining vision in patients with RP

Two new computerized tests increase the ability to measure remaining vision in patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and other blinding diseases, reports a study in the October issue of Optometry Vision Science, official journal of the American Academy of Optometry.

27 Sep 2011

Subtle and unspoken clues exchanged by patients, doctors exert an influence on medical care

Subtle and unspoken clues exchanged by patients and doctors exert an influence on medical care, according to a new study by the University of Michigan Health System. Researchers analyzed video recordings of routine checkups and conducted follow-up interviews with participants to help elucidate signals sent and received on both sides of the examination table.

27 Sep 2011

ISRA sponsors 'Susan G. Komen Shoot for the Cure' event

In observance of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the ISRA is pleased to announce its sponsorship of the first annual "Susan G. Komen Shoot for the Cure" benefit shooting event.

27 Sep 2011

Statistical algorithm can now determine focus error in eyes, cameras

University of Texas at Austin researchers have discovered how to extract and use information in an individual image to determine how far objects are from the focus distance, a feat only accomplished by human and animal visual systems until now.

27 Sep 2011

Men over 75 with prostate cancer are being undertreated: Study

It's an ongoing debate: Should men over a certain age be treated for prostate cancer? Should these patients be submitted to treatments that may result in significant side effects if they may not live very much longer?

27 Sep 2011

JDRF, iCo Therapeutics collaborate for iCo-007 Phase 2 trial in DME

iCo Therapeutics Inc. today announced that the company has entered into a research collaboration agreement with JDRF, the worldwide leader for research to cure, treat, and prevent type 1 diabetes (T1D), to support the previously announced Phase 2 investigator sponsored clinical trial investigating iCo-007 in Diabetic Macular Edema.

26 Sep 2011

Gold nanowires in engineered cardiac patches could help heart attack patients

A team of physicians, engineers and materials scientists at Children's Hospital Boston and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have used nanotechnology and tiny gold wires to engineer cardiac patches, with cells all beating in time, that could someday help heart attack patients.

26 Sep 2011

Percutaneous hepatic perfusion extends survival time for melanoma patients

Melanoma of the eye frequently spreads to the liver and, once this has happened, there is no effective treatment and patients die within an average of two to four months. Only about one in ten patients live for a year. Now, final results from a phase III study have demonstrated that a new treatment significantly extends the time patients can live without the disease progressing.

26 Sep 2011

Embryonic stem cell therapy for incurable Stargardt eye disease

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26 Sep 2011

RegeneRx completes RGN-259 Phase 2 trial on dry eye syndrome

RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that treatment and follow-up have been completed on 69 patients in the Company's Phase 2 clinical trial with RGN-259 for the treatment of dry eye syndrome, five more than the number of evaluable patients contemplated in the trial's protocol.

26 Sep 2011

STAAR's new Visian ICL with CentraFLOW technology showcased at ESCRS congress

STAAR Surgical Company, a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of minimally invasive ophthalmic products, today announced the Visian Implantable Collamer Lens (ICL), and new Visian ICL with CentraFLOW technology utilizing the KS-AquaPORT, were featured prominently in twice as many presentations at the 2011 Congress of European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS) as those on the ICL during last year's Congress.

23 Sep 2011

Scientists discover mechanism behind MRI-induced vertigo

A team of researchers says it has discovered why so many people undergoing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), especially in newer high-strength machines, get vertigo, or the dizzy sensation of free-falling, while inside or when coming out of the tunnel-like machine.

23 Sep 2011

UHC honors UC San Diego Health System with Quality Leadership Award

UC San Diego Health System is proud to receive the 2011 UHC Quality Leadership Award. This national award is given to academic medical centers that demonstrate excellence in delivering high-quality care as measured by the UHC Quality & Accountability Study, which has been conducted by the consortium annually since 2005.

23 Sep 2011

Cedars-Sinai inaugurates new facility to generate induced pluripotent stem cells

The Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute has opened a new Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (iPSC) Core Facility to produce powerful cells capable of making all tissues of the body from adult human skin cells.

23 Sep 2011

AGTC receives FFB grant to evaluate gene therapy treatment for X-linked Retinoschisis

Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation, a privately-held, clinical stage biotechnology company developing novel systems to deliver human therapeutics, announces that it has received a grant of $1.5 million from the Foundation Fighting Blindness to fund a pre-clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of a gene therapy treatment for X-linked Retinoschisis (XLRS), a genetic eye disease affecting over 35,000 patients in the US and Europe.

22 Sep 2011

ACT receives UK MHRA clearance for hESC-derived RPE cell trial for Stargardt's Macular Dystrophy

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc., a leader in the field of regenerative medicine, announced today that it has received clearance from the U.K. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to begin treating patients as part of a Phase 1/2 clinical trial for Stargardt's Macular Dystrophy using retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) derived from human embryonic stem cells.

22 Sep 2011

OPTOS to acquire ophthalmic instrumentation business from OPKO

OPKO Health, Inc. has agreed to sell its ophthalmic instrumentation business to OPTOS, Inc., a subsidiary of Optos plc, a leading and rapidly growing medical technology company engaged in the design, development, manufacture and marketing of devices to image the retina of the eye. Optos will pay OPKO $17.5 million in cash at closing, plus future royalties.

22 Sep 2011

Viewpoints: Progressives relish fight for 'shared sacrifice;' Desmond Tutu seeks to renew battle against HIV

To get our books in order, Obama would raise taxes on the rich while gaining savings by ending the wars abroad and reducing Medicare and Medicaid's unnecessarily high payments to drug companies. Republicans rise in defense of tax cuts for the wealthy and insist that deficit reduction come solely from cuts in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and other "entitlements." The president stands for shared sacrifice; the Republicans for sheltering the privileged few. Progressives will have no problem standing with the president in this fight.

22 Sep 2011

Bird flu strikes Eastern India yet again as culling operations begin

On Tuesday, the federal government in India announced that it had ordered poultry farms in the eastern part of the country to cull chickens and destroy eggs to rein in an new outbreak of bird flu.

21 Sep 2011

Sleep deprivation may disrupt insulin secretion and glucose levels in obese teens

Obese teenagers who don't get the proper amount of sleep may have disruptions in insulin secretion and blood sugar (glucose) levels, say pediatric researchers. Their study suggests that getting a good night's sleep may stave off the development of type 2 diabetes in these adolescents.

21 Sep 2011