Macular Degeneration News and Research

Latest Macular Degeneration News and Research

Cellular mechanism blocking retina regeneration discovered

A discovery opens the possibility of one day restoring loss of vision by activating the retina's ability to regenerate.

7 May 2019

Potential stem cell therapies moving from lab bench to clinical application

Stem cell research is leading to potential new therapies to treat disease, with several applications in clinical trials or expected to enter trials in the coming months.

3 May 2019

Microglia play vital role in regulating neuroinflammation, research shows

A research team at Massachusetts Eye and Ear has shown that microglia, the primary immune cells of the central nervous system--including the retina of the eye--serve as "gatekeepers," or biosensors and facilitators, of neuroinflammation in a preclinical model of autoimmune uveitis.

23 Apr 2019

Extracts of ginkgo seeds show antibacterial activity on pathogens that cause skin infections

Extracts from the seeds of the Ginkgo biloba tree show antibacterial activity on pathogens that can cause skin infections such as acne, psoriasis, dermatitis and eczema, a study at Emory University finds.

19 Apr 2019

Artificial intelligence project identifies existing drugs that have potential to treat AMD

The initial results from an artificial intelligence project show a number of existing drugs have the potential to reduce sight loss from age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of sight loss.

16 Apr 2019

Experimental drug may be twice as good at fighting vision loss as previously thought

In studies with lab-grown human cells and in mice, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers have found that an experimental drug may be twice as good at fighting vision loss as previously thought.

11 Apr 2019

Developing imaging techniques for early detection of eye and brain diseases

The eyes may be the window to the soul, but to scientists, they are also the window to the brain. In particular, the retina, a delicate light-sensing neural network with specialized cells at the back of the eyeball, is linked directly to the brain via the optic nerve and is considered by some to be part of the brain itself.

4 Apr 2019

Promising gene therapy could restore vision in humans

It was surprisingly simple. University of California, Berkeley, scientists inserted a gene for a green-light receptor into the eyes of blind mice and, a month later, they were navigating around obstacles as easily as mice with no vision problems.

15 Mar 2019

New therapy could help prolong useful vision and delay total blindness

Millions of Americans are progressively losing their sight as cells in their eyes deteriorate, but a new therapy developed by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, could help prolong useful vision and delay total blindness.

14 Mar 2019

Laser-based technique allows doctors to image the whole eye in 3D

Scientists have developed a laser-based technique that can produce a full 3D image of all the layers of the retina, allowing doctors to better diagnose and treat eye diseases such as cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, and cancer.

6 Mar 2019

Age-Related Macular Degeneration Awareness Month: How visual impairment affects older adults

As Age-Related Macular Degeneration/Low Vision Awareness Month comes to a close, we’re sharing three stories by Bonnielin Swenor, Ph.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of ophthalmology at the Wilmer Eye Institute in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

5 Mar 2019

Study finds out similarity in function between healthy retina cell and tumor cell

How is a healthy retina cell like a tumor cell? It hijacks an energy-producing chemical reaction to churn out molecular building blocks. When tumor cells do it, they use the building blocks to make cancer grow and spread. But when retina cells do it, they renew photoreceptor membranes that keep our vision sharp.

22 Feb 2019

New cellular atlas could provide a deeper insight into blinding diseases

When it comes to understanding how neurons connect to form circuits in the brain, scientists for decades have turned to the retina of the humble laboratory mouse as an ideal model organism. But as a model for vision and vision-related diseases, mice simply aren't equipped.

22 Feb 2019