http://medicalxpress.com/ophthalmology-news/ en-us Medical Xpress provides the latest research news on ophthalmology The most common cause of failure after glaucoma surgery is scarring at the surgical site, so researchers are actively looking for ways to minimize or prevent scar formation. Previous work had suggested that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) activates fibrosis, whereas VEGF inhibition results in reduced scar formation and better surgical results. In a series of studies using a rabbit model of glaucoma surgery, investigators have determined that VEGF probably exerts its effects through induction of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, which may open up a new target for therapies to improve glaucoma surgical outcomes. This study is published in the June 2013 issue of The American Journal of Pathology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-biochemical-mechanism-underlying-fibrosis-glaucoma.html Ophthalmology Fri, 17 May 2013 12:20:02 EST news288009239 New research is emphasizing the importance of regular screenings for glaucoma, a disease that deteriorates the optic nerve over time and is a leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. The onset of glaucoma is associated with a delay in diagnosing the disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-early-screenings-key-glaucoma.html Ophthalmology Fri, 17 May 2013 08:06:38 EST news287996763 The University of Nottingham and Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, have been working with Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) to develop special 3-D glasses and games to help treat children suffering from Lazy Eye. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-university-partners-sony-lazy-eye.html Ophthalmology Wed, 08 May 2013 07:50:03 EST news287216164 The first successful cornea transplant with donor endothelial tissue preloaded by an eye bank has been performed at Massachusetts Eye and Ear in Boston, Mass. Roberto Pineda II, M.D., Director of the Refractive Surgery Service at Mass. Eye and Ear, and an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School, recently performed the groundbreaking transplant. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-corneal-transplant-pre-loaded-donor-tissue.html Ophthalmology Tue, 07 May 2013 16:49:02 EST news287164122 Adding omega-3 fatty acids did not improve a combination of nutritional supplements commonly recommended for treating age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a major cause of vision loss among older Americans, according to a study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The plant-derived antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin also had no overall effect on AMD when added to the combination; however, they were safer than the related antioxidant beta-carotene, according to the study published online today in the Journal of the American Medical Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-clarity-supplements-eye-disease.html Ophthalmology Mon, 06 May 2013 04:55:47 EST news287034936 Two new studies add to the growing evidence that spending time outdoors may help prevent or minimize nearsightedness in children. A study conducted in Taiwan, which is the first to use an educational policy as a public vision health intervention, finds that when children are required to spend recess time outdoors, their risk of nearsightedness is reduced. A separate study in Danish children is the first to show a direct correlation between seasonal fluctuations in daylight, eye growth and the rate of nearsightedness progression. The research was published in the May issue of Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-outdoor-recess-nearsightedness-children.html Ophthalmology Wed, 01 May 2013 09:42:25 EST news286620138 If your contact lenses are causing you discomfort, simply switching to a different type of contact lens or lens care product may bring improvement, reports a study, " Effect of Lens and Solution Choice on the Comfort of Contact Lens Wearers", appearing in the May issue of Optometry and Vision Science, official journal of the American Academy of Optometry. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-contacts-uncomfortable-lens-product.html Ophthalmology Wed, 01 May 2013 04:56:23 EST news286602974 (Medical Xpress)—A winter after discovering Canada for France, Jacques Cartier's exploration crew started suffering and dying from the dreadful scurvy disease in 1535. But thanks to an Iroquoian healer, they were miraculously cured by a tea made from pine bark. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-bark-cataract.html Ophthalmology Thu, 25 Apr 2013 08:00:01 EST news286094970 Natural lubricants play an important role in health, including a well-known effect to help prevent osteoarthritis in knee and ankle joints. However, much is still unknown about their role and function in other areas of the body. Researchers for the first time have discovered that the surface of the eye produces "lubricin," the same substance that protects the joints, and have explained its role in this sensory organ. These findings provide new hope for the millions suffering from dry eye disease and complications from contact lens wear and refractive surgery. Dry eye disease is one of the most frequent causes of patient visits to eye care practitioners and occurs predominantly in women. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-treatments-range-women-health-issues.html Ophthalmology Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:00:04 EST news285518498 Dry eye disease (DED) is a common condition that causes discomfort, visual disturbance and potentially damaging ocular surface inflammation that greatly impacts a person's quality of life. An estimated nine million people in the United State alone suffer from significant DED; millions more may have milder forms or experience discomfort when exposed to low humidity or contact lens use. DED, the most common reason people visit ophthalmologists, is estimated to cost $55 billion in annual direct and indirect costs to society in the nation alone. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-topical-arthritis-drug-relief-eye.html Ophthalmology Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:00:02 EST news285518701 Physicians at the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center have become the first in Virginia to successfully implant a telescope in a patient's eye to treat macular degeneration. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-vcu-medical-center-virginia-implant.html Ophthalmology Mon, 15 Apr 2013 15:56:16 EST news285260163 Rates of surgery to correct childhood squint in England have tumbled over the past 50 years, finds research published online in the British Journal of Ophthalmology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-childhood-squint-surgery-plummeted-years.html Ophthalmology Wed, 10 Apr 2013 18:30:03 EST news284832020 Proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR), or the formation of scar tissue in the eye, is a serious, sight-threatening complication in people recovering from surgical repair of retinal detachment. PVR is difficult to predict, lacks effective treatment options, and substantially reduces an individual's quality of life. Each year 55,000 people are at risk for developing PVR in the United States alone. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-ranibizumab-retinal-detachment-side-effect.html Ophthalmology Tue, 09 Apr 2013 09:40:05 EST news284719198 Researchers have discovered that using two kinds of therapy in tandem may be a knockout combo against inherited disorders that cause blindness. While their study focused on man's best friend, the treatment could help restore vision in people, too. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-one-two-key.html Ophthalmology Tue, 09 Apr 2013 09:38:51 EST news284719124 Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) continues to be the leading cause of visual impairment in the United States for people over age 65, according to a study recently published online in Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. AMD is a potentially blinding disease that affects more than 9.1 million Americans. This study, which tracked vision loss in relation to eye disease and treatment response in nearly 5,000 patients over a 20-year period, showed that despite the recent discovery of sight-saving drugs and advances in disease prevention, AMD still causes severe vision loss in approximately 15 percent of Americans 85 and older. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-ophthalmologists-urge-early-diagnosis-treatment.html Ophthalmology Wed, 03 Apr 2013 11:25:17 EST news284207093 Using new technology and new approaches, researchers at Lund University in Sweden hope to be able to explain why people suffer vision loss in eye diseases such as retinal detachment and glaucoma. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-view-eye-diseases.html Ophthalmology Wed, 03 Apr 2013 10:50:02 EST news284204995 By middle age, most people have age-related declines in near vision (presbyopia) requiring bifocals or reading glasses. An emerging technique called hyperopic orthokeratology (OK) may provide a new alternative for restoring near vision without the need for glasses, according to a study, "Refractive Changes from Hyperopic Orthokeratology Monovision in Presbyopes", appearing in the April issue of Optometry and Vision Science, official journal of the American Academy of Optometry. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-technique-vision-glasses.html Ophthalmology Mon, 01 Apr 2013 04:26:46 EST news284009196 (HealthDay)—A supplement containing a combination of lutein, zeaxanthin, and ω-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) significantly benefits patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to a study published online March 21 in JAMA Ophthalmology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-supplement-aids-age-related-macular-degeneration.html Ophthalmology Tue, 26 Mar 2013 13:10:02 EST news283521594 (Medical Xpress)—For UCLA bioengineering professor Wentai Liu, more than two decades of visionary research burst into the headlines last month when the FDA approved what it called "the first bionic eye for the blind." http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-bionic-eye.html Ophthalmology Mon, 25 Mar 2013 09:58:26 EST news283424294 A tiny, EPFL-designed implantable device that can be positioned within the eye and controlled remotely may well revolutionize the treatment of glaucoma. The device should be through testing this year and on its way to the market in 2014 via Rheon Medical, an EPFL spin-off. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-micro-tap-glaucoma.html Ophthalmology Mon, 25 Mar 2013 09:42:54 EST news283423361 (HealthDay)—Cytomegalovirus (CMV)-associated posterior uveitis or panuveitis can develop in patients without HIV infection, most of whom have evidence of compromised immune function, according to a study published online March 14 in JAMA Ophthalmology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-cmv-linked-eye-infections-idd-patients.html Ophthalmology Mon, 18 Mar 2013 14:50:01 EST news282833764 A team of interventional neuroradiologists and neurosurgeons at Johns Hopkins reports wide success with a new procedure to treat pseudotumor cerebri, a rare but potentially blinding condition marked by excessive pressure inside the skull, caused by a dangerous narrowing of a vein located at the base of the brain. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-brain-stent-alternative-shunt-potentially.html Ophthalmology Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:10:01 EST news282422111 Vision scientists long have thought that lack of very long chain fatty acids in photoreceptor cells caused blindness in children with Stargardt type 3 retinal degeneration, an incurable eye disease. But researchers at the University of Utah's John A. Moran Eye Center have shown in a new study that lack of these fatty acids does not cause blindness, meaning that the search for the mechanism that robs sight from children with the disease must start anew. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-long-suspected-eye-disease.html Ophthalmology Mon, 11 Mar 2013 17:02:40 EST news282240153 (HealthDay)—People with depression are more likely to have self-reported vision loss, according to a new study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-vision-loss-depression-linked.html Ophthalmology Thu, 07 Mar 2013 17:33:17 EST news281899988 A contact lens technique called overnight orthokeratology (OK) brings rapid improvement in vision for nearsighted patients. Now a new study shows that OK treatment works mainly by flattening the front of the cornea, reports a recent study, "Posterior Corneal Shape Changes in Myopic Overnight Orthokeratology", appearing in the March issue of Optometry and Vision Science, official journal of the American Academy of Optometry. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-contact-lenses-flattening-front-cornea.html Ophthalmology Mon, 04 Mar 2013 15:48:46 EST news281634516 (HealthDay)—The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) is participating in the Choosing Wisely campaign and has identified five tests and treatments that may be overused. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-overused-ophthalmology-treatments.html Ophthalmology Fri, 01 Mar 2013 14:10:02 EST news281367431 (HealthDay)—For pediatric patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), complications are common, but are generally mild and self-limiting, according to a study published online Feb. 28 in JAMA Ophthalmology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-ocular-complications-common-pediatric-hsct.html Ophthalmology Fri, 01 Mar 2013 14:00:01 EST news281367208 (Medical Xpress)—Research carried out by Professor Barbara Pierscionek and a team of fellow vision experts suggests that the way proteins are distributed in the lens of the eye may cause its gradient to be stepped rather than smooth as previously thought. The finding could give a new insight into the way the eye grows and lead to major improvements in synthetic lenses used in surgery to treat patients who have developed cataracts. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-poised-major-advances-cataract-treatment.html Ophthalmology Fri, 01 Mar 2013 08:30:02 EST news281347098 (Medical Xpress)—A possible link between colour vision and the development of myopia - or near-sightedness - has been discovered by an international group, including a researcher from The University of Western Australia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-colour-vision-link-myopia.html Ophthalmology Fri, 01 Mar 2013 07:23:18 EST news281344934 The most advanced technology for use in real-time detection and assessment of common blinding eye disease and general health disorders will soon be available to the world with stimulus funding provided for development by the Australian Government's CRC Program. The imaging technology of the breakthrough retinal camera is being developed by the Vision Cooperative Research Centre (Vision CRC) based in Sydney with international partners in Australia, US, China, India and Africa. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-breakthrough-camera-eye-disease-diabetes.html Ophthalmology Tue, 26 Feb 2013 11:57:18 EST news281102230