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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. ...

Genetics

Turning back the clock on a severe vision disorder

Gustavo Aguirre and William Beltran, veterinary ophthalmologists and vision scientists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, have studied a wide range of different retinal blinding disorders. But ...

Ophthalmology

Preventive treatment reduces diabetic retinopathy complications

Early treatment with anti-VEGF injections slowed diabetic retinopathy in a clinical study from the DRCR Retina Network (DRCR.net). However, two years into the four-year study its effect on vision was similar to standard treatment, ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Lab model offers hope for macular degeneration patients

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which leads to a loss of central vision, is the most frequent cause of blindness in adults 50 years of age or older, affecting an estimated 196 million people worldwide. There is no ...

Neuroscience

Depression affects visual perception

Researchers specializing in psychiatry and psychology at the University of Helsinki investigated the effects of depression on visual perception. The study confirmed that the processing of visual information is altered in ...

Ophthalmology

Eye care is key when you're working from home

If you're one of the many people who've switched to working at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, you need to take care of your eyes, the American Academy of Ophthalmology says.

Genetics

New genetic links found to rare eye disease

An analysis of thousands of genomes from people with and without the rare eye disease known as MacTel has turned up more than a dozen gene variants that are likely causing the condition to develop and worsen for a significant ...

Ophthalmology

Team sets new bar in retinal imaging

A team led by scientists at the National Eye Institute (NEI) has noninvasively visualized the light-sensing cells in the back of the eye, known as photoreceptors, in greater detail than ever before. Published in Optica, the ...

Neuroscience

Diverse neural signals are key to rich visual information

Visual sensation begins at the retina, which is the neural tissue located at the back of eyeballs. It has been known that the retina detects light using photoreceptors which are light-sensitive nerve cells.In case of retinal ...

Ophthalmology

Helping people understand glaucoma with a mobile app

Researchers from City, University London, supported by Allergan Pharmaceuticals and Glaucoma UK, have today released the latest edition of an app to help people newly diagnosed with glaucoma.

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Why you shouldn't neglect eye care during the pandemic

Since COVID-19 emerged, access to eye care has continued to change. Lockdowns and concerns about virus exposure have caused people of all ages to cancel and delay routine appointments, raising red flags among eye-care professionals. ...

Health

Vision impairment is associated with mortality

The global population is aging, and so are their eyes. In fact, the number of people with vision impairment and blindness is expected to more than double over the next 30 years.

Genetics

A new blindness gene uncovered in a canine study

Inherited retinal dystrophy is a common cause of blindness, with as many as two million people suffering from the disorder globally. No effective treatment is available for retinal dystrophies. Gene therapy is expected to ...