https://medicalxpress.com/ophthalmology-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Ophthalmology A study using tiny retinas grown in a lab has revealed how subtle changes in a key growth-controlling protein can lead to a condition causing serious eye defects from birth. The findings, published in the journal Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)—Molecular Basis of Disease, shed new light on ocular coloboma, a rare congenital eye condition affecting about 1 in 5,000 births and responsible for roughly 10% of childhood blindness. Coloboma arises when a structure in the developing eye, the optic fissure, fails to close properly and often co-occurs with other tissue-fusion problems such as cleft lip and/or palate. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-lab-grown-retina-gene-clue.html Mon, 13 Apr 2026 20:00:04 EDT news695290418 A new Yale School of Medicine (YSM) study has uncovered surprising new details about how our eyes process what we see. When we look at something, our visual system breaks down different aspects of the scene—such as color, contrast, and motion—and processes those components separately. It's called parallel visual processing and it's what allows our brains to work out what we're seeing so quickly. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-eye.html Thu, 09 Apr 2026 17:20:12 EDT news694946205 If you've been thinking about ditching your glasses or contacts, you might be wondering: Is now a good time for LASIK surgery? Is there a "best age?" Should you wait until your prescription stops changing? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-lasik-age-eligibility-recovery.html Thu, 09 Apr 2026 10:40:01 EDT news694947541 One night, Tomás realized something was seriously wrong. He went for a stroll, along the same paths near his village that he had walked along countless times with his friends, their cheerful voices echoing in the still of the night. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-dark-treatments-hereditary.html Wed, 08 Apr 2026 18:00:04 EDT news694870458 Dr. Yangzhi Zhu from the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation has published a research paper titled "Real-time intraocular pressure monitoring and responsive drug delivery in preclinical models by an all-polymer smart contact lens" in Science Translational Medicine. The study introduces an innovative smart contact lens that integrates AI-enabled real-time intraocular pressure monitoring with closed-loop treatment delivery. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-smart-contact-lens-ai-track.html Wed, 08 Apr 2026 14:00:04 EDT news694867198 A virus that typically infects marine animals, such as shrimp and fish, has jumped to humans and is causing chronic eye disease in some people, according to a study published in the journal Nature Microbiology. In recent years, the number of people in China with a condition called persistent ocular hypertension viral anterior uveitis (POH-VAU) has been increasing with no clear explanation as to why. Symptoms include extremely elevated eye pressure and inflammation. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-virus-seafood-linked-persistent-eye.html Tue, 07 Apr 2026 15:00:03 EDT news694788010 The geographic atrophy (GA) enlargement rate in one eye does not consistently predict the enlargement rate in the fellow eye, according to a study published online April 2 in JAMA Ophthalmology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-variable-geographic-atrophy-enlargement-fellow.html Tue, 07 Apr 2026 14:40:04 EDT news694785453 In eye clinics and clinical trials, doctors increasingly rely on patients' own reports of how eye disease and treatment affect daily life. Yet these patient questionnaires are often long, repetitive and difficult to use in real-time care, limiting their value in both research and care improvement. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-ai-driven-patient-feedback-vision.html Tue, 07 Apr 2026 13:00:01 EDT news694784281 A California company has recalled more than 3.1 million bottles of lubricating eye drops because it had not properly tested—and thus could not prove—whether the products were sterile. These products are sold under several names at major retailers across the country. The company, K.C. Pharmaceuticals, initiated the recall on March 3, 2026. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-massive-eye-recall-ongoing-issues.html Tue, 07 Apr 2026 12:40:03 EDT news694783142 The human eye functions like an exceptionally precise, high-end camera, one with a resolution of around 576 megapixels. What makes it intriguing is that although our eyes can focus on light at only one wavelength at a time, the result isn't fragmented or blurry. What we see feels seamlessly sharp and rich in details. This raises the question of which color it chooses to focus on when the scene we are looking at has multiple colors. A recent study published in Science Advances presents a mechanism that guides the choice. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-eye-focuses-sharpness.html Tue, 07 Apr 2026 07:50:01 EDT news694752973 Some blind people use returning echoes from their own mouth clicks to perceive external surroundings, or echolocation. New from eNeuro, Haydee Garcia Lazaro and Santani Teng, from Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, explored how the human brain creates representations of external surroundings using echolocation. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-people.html Mon, 06 Apr 2026 13:00:01 EDT news694428481 More than 3 million bottles of over-the-counter eye drops are being recalled after officials raised concerns about the product's safety. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-million-eye-recalled-sterility.html Mon, 06 Apr 2026 11:10:01 EDT news694692001 From hospital leaflets to spoken answers in dozens of languages, new research from the University of East London (UEL) suggests artificial intelligence could dramatically improve how patients learn about serious eye conditions. A research team led by UEL's Dr. Mohammad Hossein Amirhosseini and Dr. Fatima Kalabi from Queen's Hospital in London, in collaboration with Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, and Inselspital University Hospital of Bern in Switzerland, has developed a multilingual, voice-enabled AI chatbot designed to help people understand retinal detachment—a sight-threatening condition that often requires urgent surgery. The system allows patients to ask questions in natural language and receive clear, clinically grounded answers drawn from trusted medical sources. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-ai-patient-eye.html Sun, 05 Apr 2026 10:30:01 EDT news694274744 The human eye can see with exceptional detail, allowing people to read fine print, recognize faces across the room, and take in the features in nature. Scientists have long debated how this sharp vision works at the cellular level and whether the brain and eyes work together to make it possible. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-reveals-sharp-vision-cone-cells.html Sat, 04 Apr 2026 10:20:03 EDT news694516237 Imagine being able to assess how healthy the front of our eyes are not only in hospitals, but also in remote eye-screening camps, elderly-care facilities, pharmacies, or even train stations. That is the future a research team led by Professor Toru Nakazawa at the Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University is working toward with a newly developed portable AI-powered scanning slit-light device. This convenient device hopes to make ophthalmic care more accessible, so patients can be assessed any place and any time. The findings are published in Scientific Reports. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-ai-powered-portable-eye-scanner.html Thu, 02 Apr 2026 09:40:02 EDT news694341301 Getting past the barrier surrounding the eye is a difficult but necessary part of treating retinoblastoma (RB)—a form of eye cancer that is more common in children. Once the barrier is penetrated, RB responds well to treatment. However, current methods, such as injections, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, are painful and often cause vision loss and other serious side effects. But, a new method, described in a study published in Science Advances, might offer a safer, more effective way to treat RB. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-effective-delivery-method-eye-cancer.html Tue, 31 Mar 2026 13:40:01 EDT news694177788 A new system that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to assess cardiovascular risk based on images of the eye captured during eye exams demonstrated strong correlation with a standard cardiovascular risk assessment, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session (ACC.26). Researchers said using AI to screen for heart disease risk during routine eye exams could help more people become aware of their risk and facilitate referrals for preventative care. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-ai-eye-images-window-cardiovascular.html Mon, 30 Mar 2026 16:50:01 EDT news694107241 Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered that light plays a key role in how animals perceive environmental threats, findings that have the potential to improve the understanding of risk avoidance behaviors and related disorders in humans, according to a study published in Nature Communications. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-impacts-brain-threats.html Mon, 30 Mar 2026 13:40:04 EDT news694094521 Scientists led by Botond Roska at the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel (IOB) and collaborators have identified genetic pathways and compounds capable of protecting cone photoreceptors from the degeneration that underlies conditions like age-related macular degeneration. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-lab-grown-human-retinas-reveal.html Mon, 30 Mar 2026 11:00:06 EDT news693829621 New-onset vitreous floaters, with or without flashes, confer an increased risk for retinal detachment (RD), according to a study published in the March issue of the Annals of Family Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-vitreous-floaters-confer-retinal-detachment.html Fri, 27 Mar 2026 21:20:01 EDT news693835385 The U.S. burden of blinding retinal conditions is high, according to a meta-analysis published online March 19 in JAMA Ophthalmology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-prevalence-retinal-conditions-high.html Tue, 24 Mar 2026 20:40:03 EDT news693574219 Getting a tattoo can be a thrilling, albeit painful, experience. About one-third of Australians have a tattoo, with many getting inked as a rite of passage. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-link-tattoos-vision-loss-optometrists.html Sun, 22 Mar 2026 12:30:01 EDT news692877232 The phrase "eye stroke" has recently appeared in news reports about a very rare side effect of weight-loss injections. It's not a formal medical diagnosis, but a shorthand used to describe a condition in which reduced blood flow damages the optic nerve and causes sudden vision loss. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-eye-linked-weight-loss.html Wed, 18 Mar 2026 13:20:06 EDT news693055622 Metformin use is associated with reduced odds of new-onset International Classification of Diseases (ICD) coding of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD), according to a study published online Jan. 30 in Ophthalmology Retina. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-metformin-linked-odds-onset-neovascular.html Tue, 17 Mar 2026 21:10:06 EDT news692975009 Arthritis is often associated with older age, but it also affects children. One of the most common forms is juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), an inflammatory condition that causes persistent joint swelling and pain. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-arthritis-children-threaten-eyesight.html Tue, 17 Mar 2026 13:40:06 EDT news692971861 Our eyes alone do not provide us with a continuous and stable view of the world. They jump several times each second in rapid movements called saccades. Because the eye projects the world onto the retina, we should see the world shift abruptly each time the eyes move; the visual scene should feel unstable. However, the brain uses sophisticated mechanisms that ensure it does not. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-ghosts-afterimages-clues-brains-stable.html Fri, 13 Mar 2026 14:00:07 EDT news692551081 Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide and often goes undiagnosed until vision loss is advanced. Population-wide screening has long been considered impractical, but recent advances in AI may provide a more viable option. According to a paper published in The Lancet Primary Care, a new AI-based screening tool reduces the number of unnecessary referrals for glaucoma by half, while maintaining a similar level of accuracy to eye doctor diagnoses. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-screening-ai-unnecessary-glaucoma-referrals.html Fri, 13 Mar 2026 08:40:01 EDT news692609941 A retinal image could help doctors quickly distinguish between similar neurodegenerative diseases, such as ALS and Alzheimer's disease, and with remarkable accuracy, according to new research published in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia. There is currently no objective diagnostic test for ALS or Frontotemporal Lobular Dementia (FTLD-TDP), in which the protein TDP-43 forms deposits in the spinal cord and brain, respectively. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-retinal-images-accurately-differentiate-als.html Wed, 11 Mar 2026 16:50:03 EDT news692440150 According to a recent multi-institute PLOS One study led by the Multisensory Research Lab at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins Medicine, time of hearing loss onset is a key determinant of patient confidence and self-reported sound localization abilities—the ability to perceive and locate objects in an environment—even in individuals who use hearing aids or who have received vision rehabilitation training. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-adults-concurrent-vision-loss-barriers.html Wed, 11 Mar 2026 12:20:01 EDT news692448104 Wegovy, a GLP-1 agonist for weight loss, may carry the highest risk of "eye stroke" (ischemic optic neuropathy) and sudden sight loss of the semaglutide drugs, finds an analysis of unintended side effect reports published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-wegovy-highest-eye-sight-loss.html Tue, 10 Mar 2026 18:30:08 EDT news692354473