http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Have you ever wondered whether it's possible to look at two places at once? Because our eyes have a specialized central region with high visual acuity and good color vision, we must always focus on one spot at a time in order to see our environment. As a result, our eyes constantly jump back and forth as we look around. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-role-tiny-eye-movements.html Neuroscience Thu, 21 Feb 2013 10:20:02 EST news280663370 (Medical Xpress)—Retina Implant AG, the leading developer of subretinal implants for patients blinded by retinitis pigmentosa (RP), announced results from part of its multicentre study were published today in the peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The research found that, during the course of a three to nine month observation period, functional vision was restored in the majority of nine German patients implanted with a subretinal microchip as part of the first module of the Company's second human clinical trial. In addition, visual acuity for two of the nine patients surpassed the visual resolution of patients from the Company's first human clinical trial. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-retinal-implants-wireless-microchip-functional.html Ophthalmology Wed, 20 Feb 2013 03:00:02 EST news280475613 New findings from a landmark clinical trial show that although certain gene variants may predict whether a person is likely to develop age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a potentially blinding eye disease that afflicts more than nine million Americans, these genes do not predict how patients will respond to Lucentis™ and Avastin, the two medications most widely used to treat the "wet" form of AMD. This new data from the Comparison of AMD Treatment Trials (CATT), published online in Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, found no significant association between four gene variants and outcomes that measured the patients' responses to treatment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-major-clinical-trial-link-genetic.html Ophthalmology Tue, 12 Feb 2013 15:11:05 EST news279904119 Visual symptoms and abnormalities occur at high rates in people with traumatic brain injury (TBI)—including Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans with blast-related TBI, reports a study, "Abnormal Fixation in Individuals with AMD when Viewing an Image of a Face", in the February issue of Optometry and Vision Science, official journal of the American Academy of Optometry. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-combat-vets-high-vision-problems.html Neuroscience Mon, 04 Feb 2013 11:50:01 EST news279200228 (HealthDay)—For patients with vitreous hemorrhage from proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), the probability of vitrectomy within 16 weeks after intravitreal injections of ranibizumab or saline is lower than expected, with little difference seen between the two treatments, according to a study published online Jan. 31 in JAMA Ophthalmology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-ranibizumab-saline-vitreous-hemorrhage.html Ophthalmology Fri, 01 Feb 2013 11:00:01 EST news278938080 Inherited retinal disease is a major cause of vision impairment in early life - and a researcher at The University of Western Australia hopes a study in which he was involved will contribute towards the development of a drug-based treatment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-inherited-retinal-disease-treatment.html Medical research Tue, 08 Jan 2013 05:59:10 EST news276847139 (HealthDay)—For infants, supplementation of formula with long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) correlates with improved visual acuity in the first year of life, according to research published online Dec. 17 in Pediatrics. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-supplementation-formula-lcpufas-ups-infant.html Pediatrics Mon, 17 Dec 2012 20:50:01 EST news274989833 The prevalence of nonrefractive visual impairment (not due to need for glasses) in the U.S. has increased significantly in recent years, which may be partly related to a higher prevalence of diabetes, an associated risk factor, according to a study in the December 12 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-prevalence-visual-impairment.html Ophthalmology Tue, 11 Dec 2012 16:00:01 EST news274462229 For three years, University of Utah researchers have been deploying a computer-based design program called SketchUp in workshops to teach and develop life skills for youth on the autism spectrum. An earlier study showed that using the program helps kids develop their spatial and visual acuity, as well as to leverage those strengths to build positive social interactions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-tech-doors-grandparents-grandkids-asd.html Autism spectrum disorders Mon, 10 Dec 2012 02:53:03 EST news274330368 Using optical coherence tomography (OCT), diseases of the retina such as age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy or vascular occlusions can be predicted before symptoms develop. OCT has been developed in collaboration between the Department of Ophthalmology and the Centre for Medical Physics and Biomedical Technology at the MedUni Vienna and is being constantly improved by the ophthalmologists and physicists working there. "Vienna is helping the world to see better," said Head of Department Ursula Schmidt-Erfurth on the occasion of the 200-year anniversary of the eye clinic at the MedUni Vienna and the Vienna General Hospital - the first worldwide to have been founded as an academic institution. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-years-eye-clinic-diseases-retina.html Ophthalmology Wed, 28 Nov 2012 09:40:00 EST news273317988 People who have eye diseases that damage their central vision can regain the ability to read quickly and comfortably by using digital tablets, according to a recent study. The research found that people with moderate vision loss could increase their reading speed by 15 words-per-minute, on average. Using a tablet with a back-lit screen resulted in the fastest reading speeds for all study participants, no matter what their level of visual acuity. The research is being presented today at the 116th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, jointly conducted this year with the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-digital-tablets-ease-people-moderate.html Ophthalmology Sun, 11 Nov 2012 10:34:59 EST news271852433 The primary treatment for wet macular degeneration, a chronic eye condition that causes vision loss, is effective even if patients have macular traction problems, a Mayo Clinic study shows. The findings will be presented today at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology in Chicago. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-age-related-macular-degeneration-treatment-eye.html Ophthalmology Sun, 11 Nov 2012 10:28:15 EST news271852068 Common wisdom has it that if the visual cortex in the brain is deprived of visual information in early infanthood, it may never develop properly its functional specialization, making sight restoration later in life almost impossible. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-mind-eye-scientists.html Neuroscience Wed, 07 Nov 2012 12:00:07 EST news271506734 (HealthDay)—Long-term aggressive treatment of patients with macular edema with ranibizumab during a third year correlates with reduced mean foveal thickness (FTH) and improved best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), according to research published online Oct. 8 in the Archives of Ophthalmology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-long-term-ranibizumab-beneficial-macular-edema.html Ophthalmology Thu, 11 Oct 2012 18:30:01 EST news269194573 (HealthDay) -- Intravitreal injection of the vitreolytic agent ocriplasmin resolves vitreomacular traction and closes macular holes significantly better than placebo, but with a higher incidence of adverse events, according to a study published in the Aug. 16 in the New England Journal of Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-vitreolytic-ocriplasmin-vitreomacular-traction.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 16 Aug 2012 18:00:03 EST news264357414 A randomized controlled trial involving patients with persistent clinically significant diabetic macular edema (swelling of the retina) suggests the greater efficacy of bevacizumab compared with macular laser therapy that was previously demonstrated at 12 months was maintained through 24 months, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Ophthalmology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-two-year-outcomes-diabetic-macular-edema.html Ophthalmology Mon, 09 Apr 2012 16:00:02 EST news253189745 People with mild vascular disease that causes damage to the retina in the eye are more likely to have problems with thinking and memory skills because they may also have vascular disease in the brain, according to a study published in the March 14, 2012, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-eye-health-brain.html Neuroscience Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:00:02 EST news250952963 Replacing visual acuity screenings for new Medicare enrollees with coverage of a dilated eye exam for healthy patients entering the government insurance program for the elderly "would be highly cost-effective," suggests a study being published Online First by the Archives of Ophthalmology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-medicare-visual-acuity-screening-dilated.html Other Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:28:10 EST news245348855 Patients in the United States who have the cornea-damaging disease keratoconus may soon be able to benefit from a new treatment that is already proving effective in Europe and other parts of the world. The treatment, called collagen crosslinking, improved vision in almost 70 percent of patients treated for keratoconus in a recent three-year clinical trial in Milan, Italy. The treatment is in clinical trials in the United States and is likely to receive FDA approval in 2012. The results of the Milan study are being presented today at the 115th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology in Orlando, Florida. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-vitamin-b-based-treatment-corneal-disease.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 24 Oct 2011 09:44:21 EST news238668248 (Medical Xpress) -- Here are some words that few would have thought to put together: video game therapy. Yet, a pilot study by vision researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, has found that playing video games can help improve the vision of adults with amblyopia, or lazy eye. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-video-games-adults-lazy-eye.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 01 Sep 2011 09:21:29 EST news234087672