https://medicalxpress.com/ophthalmology-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Ophthalmology Researchers have found a possible way to stop abnormal signals in the retina that are linked to involuntary eye movements (nystagmus). In experiments on mouse retinas in the lab, restoring dopamine signaling stopped these abnormal signals and reduced the "noise" that interferes with visual signals—offering a potential dual benefit of quieting the abnormal eye movements while also increasing visual acuity. The next step is to find out whether the approach also works in living animals. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-involuntary-eye-movements-retinal-dopamine.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 17:00:02 EDT news710694301 Scientists have taken another important step toward restoring vision in people with certain inherited forms of blindness. In a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and international collaborators showed that an experimental, optogenetics-based treatment was safely administered to 10 patients and improved visual function in some participants when used in combination with a specially designed visual stimulation device. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-optogenetic-therapy-early-vision-inherited.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 17:00:17 EDT news710588341 Taking statins is linked to a lower risk of developing glaucoma and a reduced chance of it getting worse, suggest the findings of research published online in the British Journal of Ophthalmology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-statins-people-glaucoma.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 18:30:02 EDT news710437501 Researchers at the Greenwood Genetic Center (GGC) led the discovery of an unexpected connection between inherited blindness and a gene known for causing a rare metabolic disorder. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-unexpected-link-rare-metabolic-disease.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 14:20:20 EDT news710514782 For millions of people at risk of glaucoma, healthy eye pressure can mean the difference between preserving vision and losing it. Yet despite decades of research, scientists still do not fully understand what regulates daily changes in eye pressure or how those fluctuations may contribute to glaucoma. A series of three studies led by Christopher Passaglia, a University of South Florida professor and associate chair in the Department of Medical Engineering, is helping fill in those gaps. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-technology-advances-eye-pressure-glaucoma.html Sun, 04 Oct 2026 11:40:01 EDT news709998699 A new computational model that accounts for individual differences in human color vision is helping reveal why the colors of today's displays sometimes appear different to different people. The new information could help guide the development of displays that deliver a more consistent viewing experience across a wider range of color vision. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-reveals-modern-display-people.html Thu, 01 Oct 2026 16:40:28 EDT news710084777 Lower air temperatures may be associated with an increase in the fluid pressure inside the eye—a major cause of glaucoma—and should be considered when treating patients with the condition, according to findings published online in the British Journal of Ophthalmology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-colder-air-temperatures-significantly-fluid.html Tue, 29 Sep 2026 18:30:01 EDT news709896362 Weill Cornell Medicine investigators have determined how a molecule within cells can help tune the eyes' sensitivity to light. The study identified the molecule's binding site on a protein in retinal cells, which should enable the development of drugs that target the site to treat related eye diseases. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-membrane-lipid-tunes-eye-response.html Thu, 24 Sep 2026 16:20:04 EDT news709481522 An international study of almost 1,000 people living with sight loss, led by University College London (UCL) researchers, found that nearly one in five reported receiving or encountering eye treatments they believed to be "bogus." https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-people-sight-loss-encountering-bogus.html Thu, 24 Sep 2026 12:20:12 EDT news709466701 A research team led by Dr. Yangzhi Zhu, principal investigator and assistant professor at the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation, has developed a soft, reusable smart contact lens as part of its broader Ocular Library for the Analysis of Tear Biomarkers (OCULAB), a tear bioelectronics platform for noninvasive, longitudinal biochemical monitoring through the ocular surface and tear film. In this study, the platform was used to measure serotonin directly from tears as a proof-of-concept target for monitoring stress-related physiological changes. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-smart-contact-lens-serotonin-samples.html Thu, 24 Sep 2026 12:00:02 EDT news709464545 Researchers at Trinity College Dublin, in collaboration with Breye Therapeutics, have found that an oral medication ("Danegaptide") can protect against vision-threatening damage in nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), a leading cause of blindness in working-age adults. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-simple-pill-sight-loss-diabetes.html Wed, 23 Sep 2026 14:00:38 EDT news709308423 Uveal melanoma is a rare, aggressive cancer that starts inside the eye and often spreads to the liver. Few treatment options exist, and unlike some forms of skin melanoma that can respond well to modern therapies, metastatic uveal melanoma (MUM) remains difficult to treat. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-drug-combination-reveals-clues-treatment.html Wed, 23 Sep 2026 08:00:06 EDT news709361281 A new study by researchers at the University of Eastern Finland (UEF) reports changes in the dopamine system of the retina during inherited retinal degeneration. Inherited retinal degenerations form a diverse group of genetic eye diseases that lead to vision impairment and blindness as retinal function progressively declines. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-early-retinal-dopamine-imbalance-inherited.html Mon, 21 Sep 2026 13:20:09 EDT news709210414 A team from the Department of Computational Biology at the University of Lausanne has developed an artificial intelligence model capable of estimating a person's retinal age from a simple photograph of the back of the eye. This measure provides information about health and the future risk of developing age-related diseases. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-ai-retinal-age-revealing-sex.html Wed, 16 Sep 2026 15:40:08 EDT news708788461 AI in eye care is set to take a new leap with an AI-native rather than assisted approach. Researchers have developed a new tool that moves beyond the conventional model of deploying AI as isolated, standalone tools for individual tasks by bringing together a network of specialized AI software agents that can operate across every stage of a patient's care pathway. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-augmented-eye-clinic-ai-native.html Wed, 16 Sep 2026 11:20:01 EDT news708775197 When retinitis pigmentosa takes a person's sight, the standard clinical test goes flat: no response, no signal, nothing. Yet the retina behind that flat line is anything but quiet. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-retina-isnt-silent-noise-hinder.html Tue, 15 Sep 2026 14:40:07 EDT news708696328 People with atrial fibrillation have signs of the condition in their retinas that can be detected as early as four years before diagnosis, according to a new study led by University College London (UCL) and Moorfields researchers. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-retinal-scans-flag-atrial-fibrillation.html Tue, 15 Sep 2026 12:20:01 EDT news708691681 A study among young women who regularly have eyelash extensions has found most have tiny mites, called Demodex folliculorum, living on their lashes. These mites can cause a painful skin reaction called demodicosis. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-regular-eyelash-extensions-linked-skin.html Thu, 10 Sep 2026 19:10:06 EDT news708257521 An international team of researchers led by the University Hospital and University of Bonn, as well as the universities of Edinburgh, Basel and Pennsylvania, has identified a previously unrecognized form of inherited retinal degeneration caused by a specific variant in the EFEMP1 gene. The disease primarily affects the peripheral retina and the rod photoreceptors responsible for vision in dim light and darkness. Importantly, rod function may already be severely impaired while the retina still appears largely normal on clinical examination. The study results have now been published in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-rare-variant-reveals-hereditary-retinal.html Thu, 10 Sep 2026 16:40:01 EDT news708274682 A medical informatics team at Jena University Hospital has introduced a privacy-compliant method for the AI-driven generation of realistic eye images. While the synthetic images remain suitable for diagnostic analysis, it is no longer possible to identify the individuals depicted in the original training data. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-ai-eye-image-filter-disease.html Thu, 10 Sep 2026 10:00:13 EDT news708252661 A new study from the laboratory of Levi Todd, Ph.D., at Upstate Medical University has found that aging significantly limits the ability of support cells in the retina, called glia, to be reprogrammed into new neurons, a finding with important implications for the future of regenerative medicine for age-related neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and glaucoma. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-aging-blocks-retina-ability-regrow.html Fri, 04 Sep 2026 11:20:06 EDT news707738761 Retinal ganglion cells, known as RGCs, are the retina's final link to the brain. They collect processed visual information, and their axons form the optic nerve. When these cells die, the lost connection cannot easily be rebuilt. This loss happens, among other conditions, in glaucoma, which affects more than 70 million people worldwide. RGCs are also at risk during retinal ischemia, in diabetic retinopathy and following optic nerve injuries. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-magnesium-vision-narrow-therapeutic-window.html Tue, 01 Sep 2026 11:40:01 EDT news707474230 The number of people who need prescription glasses to correct their vision is increasing each year as nearsightedness, or myopia, becomes more common worldwide. Current projections suggest cases could reach 50% by 2050, affecting nearly 5 billion people. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-special-aspherical-glasses-childhood-myopia.html Thu, 27 Aug 2026 09:01:04 EDT news707040031