http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress provides the latest news from Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary Prostaglandin analogues (PGAs), drugs which lower intraocular pressure, are often the first line of treatment for people with glaucoma, but their use is not without risks. PGAs have long been associated with blurred vision, dryness, changes in eye color and other side effects. Now a new study has found that these drugs also cause upper and lower eyelid drooping and other issues that can interfere with vision. The findings are described in PLOS ONE. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-glaucoma-drug-droopy-eyelids.html Ophthalmology Tue, 21 May 2013 11:47:21 EST news288355624 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 Neurodegenerative and central nervous system (CNS) diseases represent a major public health issue affecting at least 20 million children and adults in the United States alone. Multiple drugs exist to treat and potentially cure these debilitating diseases, but 98 percent of all potential pharmaceutical agents are prevented from reaching the CNS directly due to the blood-brain barrier. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-nasal-lining-breach-blood-brain-barrier.html Neuroscience Wed, 24 Apr 2013 17:00:05 EST news286037448 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 The ongoing dance between a virus and its host distinctly shapes how the virus evolves. While human adenoviruses typically cause mild infections, recent reports have described newly characterized adenoviruses that can cause severe, sometime fatal, human infections. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-eye-pathogen-analysis-adenovirus.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 10 Apr 2013 16:29:09 EST news284830140 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 New research from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Program in Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology may have discovered a key piece in the puzzle of how hearing works by identifying the role of the olivocochlear efferent system in protecting ears from hearing loss. The findings could eventually lead to screening tests to determine who is most susceptible to hearing loss. Their paper is published today in the Journal of Neuroscience. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-primary-role-olivocochlear-efferent.html Neuroscience Wed, 27 Mar 2013 11:01:02 EST news283600835 Hearing loss is a significant public health problem affecting close to 50 million people in the United States alone. Sensorineural hearing loss is the most common form and is caused by the loss of sensory hair cells in the cochlea. Hair cell loss results from a variety of factors including noise exposure, aging, toxins, infections, and certain antibiotics and anti-cancer drugs. Although hearing aids and cochlear implants can ameliorate the symptoms somewhat, there are no known treatments to restore hearing, because auditory hair cells in mammals, unlike those in birds or fish, do not regenerate once lost. Auditory hair cell replacement holds great promise as a treatment that could restore hearing after loss of hair cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-sensory-hair-cells-regenerated-mammal.html Neuroscience Wed, 09 Jan 2013 12:00:07 EST news276953524 Human corneal endothelial cells (HCEnCs) form a monolayer of hexagonal cells whose main function is to maintain corneal clarity by regulating corneal hydration. Cell loss due to aging or corneal endothelial disorders, such as Fuchs dystrophy, can lead to cornea edema and blindness, resulting in the need for cornea transplants. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-cornea-endothelial-cell-lines-powerful.html Ophthalmology Thu, 27 Dec 2012 13:03:43 EST news275835810 Tonsillectomy is exceedingly common, with a reported increase in tonsillectomy rates in children younger than 15 years from 287,000 to 530,000 per year over the past decade. Although safe, adenotonsillectomy can result in significant complications, such as aspiration and bleeding. Complications are infrequent, but because tonsillectomy is so common, the absolute number of children experiencing tonsillectomy complications is formidable. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-pre-op-steroids-nausea-significantly-post-op.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 25 Sep 2012 16:00:03 EST news267807366 Research conducted at the Angiogenesis Laboratory at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, has for the first time, identified the mode of death of cone photoreceptor cells in an animal model of retinitis pigmentosa (RP). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-elucidate-death-photoreceptor-cells-retinitis.html Ophthalmology Mon, 20 Aug 2012 15:00:01 EST news264677694 Researchers from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Loyola University Chicago Health Sciences Division and their collaborators have isolated an elusive human gene that causes a common form of Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), a relatively rare but devastating form of early-onset blindness. The new LCA gene is called NMNAT1. Finding the specific gene mutated in patients with LCA is the first step towards developing sight-saving gene therapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-elusive-gene-leber-congenital-amaurosis.html Genetics Sun, 29 Jul 2012 13:00:11 EST news262780124 Phacoemulsification cataract surgery is one of the most frequently performed eye surgeries in the United States, with 1.5 million procedures performed each year. It is also one of the most complex procedures to learn. A new, highly innovative, computer-based simulation tool, the Mass. Eye and Ear Cataract Master, bridges the learning gap that residents and ophthalmologists new to phaco must navigate prior to performing actual surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-simulation-technology-users-safely-phacoemulsification.html Ophthalmology Tue, 29 May 2012 14:52:12 EST news257521899 Results from the largest genetic study of glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness and vision loss worldwide, showed that two genetic variations are associated with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), a common form of the disease. The identification of genes responsible for this disease is the first step toward the development of gene-based disease detection and treatment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-links-genes-common-glaucoma.html Genetics Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:00:01 EST news254666096