Last update:

Ophthalmology news

Genetics

Scientists discover gene responsible for rare, inherited eye disease

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and their colleagues have identified a gene responsible for some inherited retinal diseases (IRDs), which are a group of disorders that damage the eye's light-sensing ...

Ophthalmology

Case series offers insights on corneal epithelial ingrowth after small incision lenticule extraction surgery

Corneal epithelial ingrowth (EI) is a rare but significant complication following small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) surgery. Although this refractive procedure offers several advantages, such as a smaller incision ...

Immunology

Researchers discover new role of immune cells in eye health

The eye is an immune-privileged tissue because of the need to keep blood vessels away from the central pathway of light and to restrict entry of inflammatory cells that could cause damage. This has prompted questions about ...

Health

Your eyes could reveal the first signs of many diseases

Melissa, a 30-year-old educator, came to the emergency department with a sudden onset of double vision. She had not been in an accident or suffered any trauma and had never experienced this symptom before. However, she noted ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Laughter may be as effective as drops for dry eye disease

Dry eye disease (DED) is a chronic condition estimated to affect around 360 million individuals worldwide. Common symptoms include uncomfortable, red, scratchy or irritated eyes.

Genetics

Gene therapy found to be effective in hereditary blindness

Bothnia dystrophy is a form of hereditary blindness, prevalent in the region Västerbotten in Sweden. A new study at Karolinska Institutet published in Nature Communications shows that gene therapy can improve vision in patients ...

Genetics

100-fold improvement in sight seen after gene therapy trial

The vision of people with a rare inherited condition that causes them to lose much of their sight early in childhood was 100 times better after they received gene therapy to address the genetic mutation causing it. Some patients ...

Ophthalmology

Understanding Graves' disease

Graves' disease is a condition of the immune system that leads to an overactive thyroid. It is caused by antibodies attacking the thyroid by mistake. The thyroid and the hormones it produces are the gas pedal for the body. ...

Ophthalmology

UN adopts first resolution on vision, aims to help 1 billion

The U.N. General Assembly approved its first-ever resolution on vision, calling on its 193 member nations to ensure access to eye care for everyone in their countries which would contribute to a global effort to help at least ...

Genetics

Links between genetic risk, glaucoma prevalence examined

(HealthDay)—Polygenic variants are associated with comparable risk for developing open-angle glaucoma as that associated with the most common single-gene pathogenic variant, according to a study published online July 15 ...

Ophthalmology

Vision impairment tied to cognitive decline

(HealthDay)—Worse visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and stereo acuity impairment are associated with an increased risk for cognitive decline in older, community-dwelling individuals, according to a study published online ...

Neuroscience

This is how the visual system shows us a more persistent world

Imagine meeting a friend on the street, and imagine that with every step they take, your visual system has to process their image from scratch in order to recognize them. Now imagine if the same thing were to happen for every ...

Ophthalmology

Mobile screening app triples eye care uptake

Using smartphones for eye screening and referrals could triple the number of people seeking primary care for eye problems and increase the uptake of hospital services in low-resource settings, a study says.

Ophthalmology

Atropine plus patching increases visual acuity in amblyopic eyes

(HealthDay)—For children with severe amblyopia, combined atropine and patching therapy (CAPT) results in greater mean improvement of amblyopic eye visual acuity (VA) compared with patching alone, according to a study published ...

Oncology & Cancer

Melanoma of the eye: Preclinical tests show path toward treatment

Uveal melanoma, or UM, is a rare and deadly cancer of the eye, and the mortality rate has remained unimproved for 40 years. Half of the melanomas spread to other organs of the body, causing death in less than a year, so new ...

Alzheimer's disease & dementia

Roughness of retinal layers, a new Alzheimer's biomarker

Over recent years, the retina has established its position as one of the most promising biomarkers for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's. Moving on from the debate as to the retina becoming thinner or thicker, researchers ...

Ophthalmology

Pure cocoa found to improve visual acuity in daylight

Eating 2.5 grams of pure natural cocoa powder serves to improve visual acuity in healthy young adults and in daylight conditions, according to research by the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) and the ICTAN (Institute ...

Ophthalmology

How a specialty contact lens restored one patient's sight

Three years ago, an outside clinic diagnosed Maria Contreras with keratoconus, a degenerative eye disease that causes thinning and bulging of the cornea. Though the clinic followed her for years, Maria saw no improvement ...

Obstetrics & gynaecology

Do hormonal contraceptives impact glaucoma risk?

Women who currently use hormonal contraceptives face more than a 2-fold higher risk of developing glaucoma, according to an analysis of electronic medical records for women aged 15-45 years from 2008 to 2018. The British ...

Neuroscience

Scientists unravel the function of a sight-saving growth factor

Researchers at the National Eye Institute (NEI) have determined how certain short protein fragments, called peptides, can protect neuronal cells found in the light-sensing retina layer at the back of the eye. The peptides ...