Eye News and Research

Latest Eye News and Research

Neurobiologists discover potential cure for degenerative vision diseases

Neurobiologists funded by the Office of Naval Research have discovered a potential cure for degenerative vision diseases leading to terminal blindness.

5 Aug 2010

Lux Biosciences receives CRL for Voclosporin

Isotechnika Pharma Inc. today announced that their partner, Lux Biosciences, Inc., has received a Complete Response letter (CRL) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding their New Drug Application (NDA) for voclosporin. Lux's NDA, filed in February 2010, seeks approval for voclosporin in the treatment of non-infectious uveitis involving the intermediate or posterior segments of the eye.

5 Aug 2010

Detection of Alzheimer's before symptoms occur

Research is on to detect the dreaded Alzheimer's disease even before any symptoms occur. In a newly proposed diagnostic criteria developed by experts from the National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer's Association three stages of the disease viz. pre-clinical Alzheimer's, mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's dementia are described.

4 Aug 2010

Influence of culture on brain structure and function

Where you grow up can have a big impact on the food you eat, the clothes you wear, and even how your brain works. In a report in a special section on Culture and Psychology in Perspectives on Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, psychological scientists Denise C. Park from the University of Texas at Dallas and Chih-Mao Huang from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign discuss ways in which brain structure and function may be influenced by culture.

4 Aug 2010

MMRSS expands to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore

MMRSS, which has been expanding its geographic footprint over the past 5 years, announced the opening of new full service offices in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

4 Aug 2010

Proton therapy to treat patient’s tumor without compromising quality of life

The radiation oncologist's mantra is to deliver the maximum dose of radiation to the malignant tumor, while limiting damage to healthy surrounding tissue. In proton therapy, this balance is achieved by using proton particles, accelerated to nearly the speed of light, to mimic the shape of a tumor and effectively deposit their energy within the confines of it with sub-millimeter precision.

4 Aug 2010

Kopin second-quarter total sales increase 7.0% to $30.2 million

Kopin Corporation today announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 26, 2010.

3 Aug 2010

Health and Safety Watch launches new website to help Canadians access health-related information

Health and Safety Watch Inc., an organization established to help Canadians manage all types of health and safety hazards, today officially launched www.HealthandSafetyWatch.com, a new website designed to give Canadians easy access to real-time information about the 500-plus product, food, and drug recalls, as well as health advisories, that occur every year.

3 Aug 2010

RIT professor designs database with physician input and novel eye-tracking techniques

Digital archives of biomedical images could someday put critical information at doctors' fingertips within seconds, illustrating how computers can improve the way medicine is practiced. The current reality, however, isn't quite up to speed, with databases virtually overwhelmed by the explosion of medical imaging.

3 Aug 2010

Abnormal eye movements, neurobehavioral impairments common among relatives of patients with autism: Report

Abnormal eye movements and other sensorimotor and neurobehavioral impairments appear common in unaffected family members of individuals with autism, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

3 Aug 2010

Research links body weight to glaucoma risk

This month's Ophthalmology journal includes surprising research from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary on the relation of body weight to the risk for glaucoma. Also, from researchers at the Tokyo Medical and Dental University, comes the first specific map of how the development of myopic maculopathy, an illness that afflicts many severely nearsighted people, predicts which patients will be most susceptible to vision loss.

3 Aug 2010

Team to execute research strategies surrounding oil spill health outcomes

While oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill may have stopped gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, experts are far from finished working to anticipate, outline and minimize the disaster's potential health risks, says a University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health researcher actively involved in helping the federal government deal with repercussions from the April 20 accident.

31 Jul 2010

Siepser donates Lasik procedure to Shane Victorino Foundation for raising funds

Steven Siepser, M.D., one of the Delaware Valley's most distinguished ophthalmologists, is donating a Lasik eye procedure to the Shane Victorino Foundation.Money raised during the benefit goes to the Shane Victorino Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps underprivileged youth in Hawaii and Philadelphia with educational, recreational and wellness programs.

31 Jul 2010

Despite all advancements in melanoma diagnosis, rapid treatment remains critical: Report

Twenty-five years after publishing the mnemonic "ABCD" to facilitate the early diagnosis of melanoma, the group who came up with that moniker says early detection remains a key factor in lowering mortality from malignant melanoma. Darrell S. Rigel, M.D. and colleagues from the Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology at New York University School of Medicine say that, despite all of the advances in melanoma diagnosis, timely recognition, detection, and rapid treatment of melanoma remain critical.

30 Jul 2010

Wash. regulations would restrict pain killer prescriptions; Texas Lt. Gov. bemoans costs associated with health law; Fla. insurance pilot project shows early success

The New York Times: "In an unusual move, a state government is developing regulations meant to stop doctors from prescribing higher doses of powerful — and often dangerous — pain killers for patients who are not benefiting from them. The effort, in Washington State, represents the most sweeping attempt yet to stem what some experts see as the excessive use of prescribed narcotics, and it is being closely watched by medical professionals elsewhere.

30 Jul 2010

USPTO grants IRIDEX patent for Adjustable Laser Probe for use in vitreoretinal surgery

IRIDEX Corporation today announced the receipt of an Issue Notification from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for U.S. Patent No. 7,766,904, "Adjustable Laser Probe For Use In Vitreoretinal Surgery." This patent applies to a number of consumable medical devices already in the IRIDEX product line, collectively identified and sold as Adjustable and Intuitive EndoProbe® laser handpieces.

29 Jul 2010

ACT responds to FDA queries on Phase I/II study using ES cell derived retinal cells to treat SMD

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. announced today that it has submitted documentation and a complete response to substantively address the issues raised by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in connection with the Company's plans to initiate a Phase I/II multicenter study using embryonic stem (ES) cell derived retinal cells to treat patients with Stargardt's Macular Dystrophy (SMD).

29 Jul 2010

REM sleep behavior disorder may later lead to neurologic disorders

A new study shows that a sleep disorder may be a sign of dementia or Parkinson's disease up to 50 years before the disorders are diagnosed. The research is published in the July 28, 2010, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

29 Jul 2010

Price of sun overindulgence and tanning misuse is not just skin deep

It's what marketers lead us to believe is the picture of glowing health - the ultimate tan. But sun overindulgence and tanning misuse does have a price. And it's not just skin deep.

28 Jul 2010

NEI, FDA to sponsor Glaucoma Endpoints conference

The National Eye Institute and the Food and Drug Administration are sponsoring a Glaucoma Endpoints conference on September 24, 2010, to develop definitions and standards for describing structural changes in the glaucomatous optic nerve and functional changes in vision, as criteria for approval of new glaucoma therapeutics in clinical trials. The one-day meeting will take place at the Natcher Center, National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.

28 Jul 2010