Visual Impairment News and Research

Latest Visual Impairment News and Research

Second annual USC VR Hackathon for international coders, designers focuses on Medical Empathy Machine

Kicking off its second annual virtual reality (VR) Hackathon, the University of Southern California Center for Body Computing announced this year's focus of the competition is "Medical Empathy Machine," showcasing the potential of VR to change medicine and patient experience through emotion, compassion and empathy.

30 Jul 2016

Flow diversion shows high rate of visual improvement in patients with paraclinoid aneurysms

Aneurysms of the paraclinoid region of the internal carotid artery (ICA) and the interventions used to treat them often result in visual impairment.

27 Jul 2016

TKCI Srujana Innovation Award launched to combat corneal blindness

The Tej Kohli Cornea Institute [TKCI] in partnership with world-renowned LV Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) is proud to announce the launch of the TKCI Srujana Innovation Award. The award encourages ideas that will lead to the next big breakthrough in treatment of corneal blindness. It launches in conjunction with the fourth annual ‘Engineering The Eye Workshop’ at which LVPEI clinicians and MIT engineers meet every July in Hyderabad, India.

5 Jul 2016

Controlling corneal blindness by 2030: an interview with Dr Pravin Vaddavalli

Corneal blindness is estimated to be the second most prevalent cause of blindness in many less developed countries. Globally, bilateral corneal blindness is estimated to afflict 4.9 million persons and accounts for 12% of 39 million blind, utilizing WHO 2010 global blindness data.

13 Jun 2016

Study finds that TPC2 protein regulates melanin production

A year and a half ago, researchers at Brown University found a molecular gas pedal for melanin production. Now they've found a brake. For scientists, the finding deepens not only the basic understanding of how eyes, skin and hair gain color, but also what perhaps can be done in disorders, such as albinism, when that doesn't happen.

27 May 2016

Zika virus infection may cause ocular problems in Brazilian infants with microcephaly

Researchers studying babies with a Zika virus-related birth defect say they have found previously unreported eye problems possibly linked to the virus that could result in severe visual impairment.

25 May 2016

NIH-funded study finds visual impairment, blindness may double by 2050

With the youngest of the baby boomers hitting 65 by 2029, the number of people with visual impairment or blindness in the United States is expected to double to more than 8 million by 2050, according to projections based on the most recent census data and from studies funded by the National Eye Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health.

23 May 2016

Early high-dose rhEPO fails to improve neurodevelopment in very preterm infants

Very preterm infants do not gain protection against neurodevelopmental delay with early prophylactic high-dose recombinant human erythropoietin, researchers report.

19 May 2016

Exposing headache sufferers to pure-wavelength green light can lessen severity of migraines

Most migraine and post-traumatic headache sufferers find their headaches get worse in light, leading them to quit their most fundamental daily tasks and seek the comfort of darkness.

17 May 2016

New study shows Ebola survivors may be at risk of severe vision loss

A new study has shown that Ebola survivors may be at risk of severe vision loss or blindness weeks after being declared virus-free. The research is being presented at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology this week in Seattle, Wash.

5 May 2016

Diabetic patients at risk for developing retinal diabetic neuropathy

A University of Iowa-led study of diabetes-related vision impairment holds good news -- and some bad news -- for patients with signs of these disorders.

28 Apr 2016

Sense announces official launch of new deafblind awareness e-learning course for audiologists

Sense, the national deafblind charity, has today announced the official launch of its new deafblind awareness e-learning course, specifically designed for audiologists.

27 Apr 2016

Researchers discover gene that plays vital role in inherited eye disorder

Researchers from the University of Liverpool have identified a specific gene that plays a key role in an inherited eye disorder.

26 Apr 2016

ADHD highly prevalent among children with vision problems

Children with vision problems not correctable with glasses or contact lenses may be twice as likely to have a diagnosis of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), suggests a study in the May issue of Optometry and Vision Science, official journal of the American Academy of Optometry. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

26 Apr 2016

Newly developed smartphone application may potentially benefit low-vision users

Researchers from the Schepens Eye Research Institute of Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School have developed a smartphone application that projects a magnified smartphone screen to Google Glass, which users can navigate using head movements to view a corresponding portion of the magnified screen. They have shown that the technology can potentially benefit low-vision users, many of whom find the smartphone's built-in zoom feature to be difficult to use due to the loss of context. Their results are published online in the journal IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering.

25 Apr 2016

New study to explore outcomes of pregnancy in Brazilian women with Zika virus

An observational study of pregnant women in Brazil to further understand Zika virus and its impact on reproductive health and fetus development have been launched. William Britt, M.D., professor of pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, leads the study, which complements his current research in Brazil on cytomegalovirus infection during pregnancy.

18 Apr 2016

Researchers provide new mechanism for age-related macular degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of visual impairment in people over 50 in developed countries. Although this condition affects up to 20% of people between the ages of 65 and 75, what drives abnormal blood vessels to invade the retina is unknown.

15 Mar 2016

New, regenerative medicine approach developed to remove congenital cataracts in infants

Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Shiley Eye Institute, with colleagues in China, have developed a new, regenerative medicine approach to remove congenital cataracts in infants, permitting remaining stem cells to regrow functional lenses.

10 Mar 2016

$Uncorrected refractive error responsible for vision impairment in 101 million people worldwide$

Uncorrected refractive error responsible for vision impairment in 101 million people worldwide

Uncorrected refractive error (URE)--nearsightedness, farsightedness, and other focusing problems correctable by prescription lenses--is responsible for moderate to severe vision impairment in 101 million people and blindness in seven million people worldwide, reports a study in the March issue of Optometry and Vision Science, official journal of the American Academy of Optometry.

27 Feb 2016

Homeless adults have more geriatric conditions than those living in homes

Homeless people in their fifties have more geriatric conditions than those living in homes who are decades older, according to researchers at UC San Francisco who are following 350 people who are homeless and aged 50 and over, in Oakland.

26 Feb 2016