Eye protection can prevent nearly all injuries, reports study in American Journal of Ophthalmology Paintballs can cause severe and ‘visually devastating’ eye injuries, especially when used in unsupervised settings without proper eye protection, reports a study in the February issue of the American Journal of Ophthalmology (www.AJO.com), published by Elsevier. “Eye injuries secondary to high-velocity [...]
Scientists employing a gene therapy have provided partial vision to patients who were nearly blind from a condition known as Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) — a severe form of retinitis pigmentosa. Initial results from the clinical trial, which was funded in part by the Foundation Fighting Blindness, were published today in the New England Journal [...]
Recent discoveries regarding the origins of senile blindness. Age-dependent macular degeneration (AMD) is the commonest cause of blindness in the western industrialised nations. Hereditary changes in the regulation of the immune system influence the risk of contracting AMD. Opthalmologists at the University Clinic in Bonn, working in co-operation with researchers from Göttingen, Regensburg and Great [...]
A test to show whether a person may be genetically predisposed to suffer one of the most prevalent forms of blindness in the elderly – before symptoms arise – has moved a step closer to reality after a licence agreement involving Cambridge Enterprise. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is among the most common causes of blindness [...]
Researchers at McGill University have discovered that amblyopia, a vision disorder colloquially known as “lazy eye,” can be temporarily reversed in adults. Until now, the condition was believed to be untreatable in adults who had not received some form of intervention before the age of 12. Amblyopia is characterized by poor or indistinct vision in [...]
An international team of researchers has identified a gene mutated in Duane syndrome, a common disorder that restricts the movement of the eyes. The research group, led by Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator Elizabeth C. Engle, published its article on July 24, 2008 in Science Express, which provides electronic publication of selected Science papers [...]
Scientists in the U.S. and Australia are using new devices, experimental a bionic eyes, to help bring sight to the sightless. It uses similar technology to cochlear implants that have been helping people hear for decades. Both implanted devices stimulate key nerves connected to the brain so that people can enjoy the senses of sight [...]
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health reminded people to guard against acute conjunctivitis (red-eye syndrome) and adopt healthy habits when going swimming. The latest sentinel surveillance system by CHP showed that the consultation rates of acute conjunctivitis at private clinics had recently increased from 4.5 to 7.2 per 1 000 [...]
A joint team of US and Chinese researchers has identified a gene linked to a particular form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which is leading to elderly blindness. Dry macular degeneration is one of the two types of AMDs, which currently affect 9 million Americans older than 60. Researchers found that TLR3 protein can attack [...]
Three young adults with an inherited form of blindness showed evidence of improved day and night vision following a specialized gene transfer procedure in a phase 1 clinical trial funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health. In addition no adverse effects from the therapy were reported. These findings [...]
