http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Scientists at Singapore Eye Research Institute and A*STAR's Genome Institute of Singapore have succeeded in identifying genes for central corneal thickness that may cause potentially blinding eye conditions. These eye conditions include glaucoma, as well as the progressive thinning of the cornea, which may eventually lead to a need for corneal transplantation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-singapore-scientists-genes-responsible-cornea.html Genetics Wed, 16 Jan 2013 10:15:03 EST news277553695 Ocular Systems, Inc. (OSI), Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and the North Carolina Eye Bank have formed a new company based on a promising new technology aimed at engineering replacement corneas in the lab for transplantation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-company-regenerative-medicine-corneal-transplantation.html Ophthalmology Tue, 08 Jan 2013 04:31:07 EST news276841861 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 Regenerative medicine, or the use of specially grown tissues and cells to treat injuries and diseases, has been successful in treating disorders of a number of organs, including heart, pancreas, and cartilage. However, efforts to treat disorders of the corneal endothelium, a single cell layer on the inner surface of the cornea, with regenerative techniques have been less effective. Now, a group of scientists has developed a method that enhances the adhesion of injected corneal endothelial cells (CECs), allowing for successful corneal transplantation to repair pathological dysfunctions. Their results are published online today in advance, in the July issue of The American Journal of Pathology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-regenerated-cells-vision-corneal-dysfunction.html Ophthalmology Thu, 14 Jun 2012 00:00:04 EST news258816210 (Medical Xpress) -- A new study from the University of Reading has established that a prosthetic cornea made from human cells is the best model for testing how irritants and toxins cause eye injuries. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-cornea-resistant-chemical-injury.html Ophthalmology Mon, 28 May 2012 06:32:16 EST news257405520 A national consortium of researchers has published new findings that could change the standard of practice for those treating Fuchs' Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy (FECD), a disease characterized by cornea swelling that can eventually lead to the need for corneal transplantation. The Fuchs' Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy Genetics Multi-Center Study Group, led by co-principal investigators Jonathan Lass, MD, Charles I Thomas Professor and chair, Case Western Reserve University Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and director, University Hospitals Eye Institute, and Sudha Iyengar, PhD, professor, Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Genetics, and Ophthalmology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, found that changes in the corneal thickness occur in patients at early stages of FECD even before swelling is observed in the clinical setting. Their study is published in the journal Archives of Ophthalmology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-corneal-thickness-linked-early-stage.html Ophthalmology Mon, 09 Apr 2012 16:27:25 EST news253207616