https://medicalxpress.com/ophthalmology-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Ophthalmology Children exposed to opioids before birth may face increased risks of difficulties with vision, attention, behavior and learning during their school years, according to a new study. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-links-prenatal-opioid-exposure-term.html Wed, 22 Jul 2026 08:00:14 EDT news703922881 An international study co-led by The University of Western Australia has created the equivalent of infant growth curve charts for children's eyes to help clinicians identify warning signs of myopia. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-children-eyes-global-myopia-epidemic.html Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:40:09 EDT news703843502 For adults with irregular corneas, a four-zone scleral lens demonstrates high effectiveness in improving visual performance, according to a study published in the September issue of Eye Discovery. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-zone-scleral-lens-visual-irregular.html Mon, 20 Jul 2026 18:00:05 EDT news703780999 For the first time, Northwestern Medicine scientists have detailed how fall and spring daylight saving time transitions affect a person's risk of developing retinal vascular disease. The study is published in Scientific Reports. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-daylight-eye-smallest-blood-vessels.html Mon, 20 Jul 2026 13:40:10 EDT news703772545 Many of the world's leading causes of irreversible blindness, including glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration, share a common problem: the buildup of fluid, waste and inflammatory debris in the back of the eye. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-eye-hidden-cleanup.html Sun, 19 Jul 2026 13:44:47 EDT news703687437 An NSAID-related compound called ampyrone appears to safely boost production of the pigment melanin in human skin, according to a preclinical study led by Weill Cornell Medicine and National Eye Institute investigators. The discovery could lead to the development of an ampyrone-derived treatment for hypopigmentation disorders. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-discovery-drug-therapy-hypopigmentation-conditions.html Sun, 19 Jul 2026 09:30:01 EDT news703255463 An estimated 27% of U.S. adults with diabetes are using glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs)—a type of medication that mimics the GLP-1 hormone—to lower blood sugar and support weight loss. Some research has suggested that their use can reduce the risk of developing other diseases. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-semaglutide-glp-drugs-linked-degenerative.html Fri, 17 Jul 2026 11:40:06 EDT news703505994 Faculty members at the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine are working together across academic departments to learn more about how menopausal hormone therapy, sometimes referred to as hormone replacement therapy, affects women's bodies. Among their many focuses is eye health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-potential-menopausal-hormone-therapy-ocular.html Fri, 17 Jul 2026 08:20:01 EDT news703485242 Blinding diseases caused by the degeneration of photoreceptors, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and retinitis pigmentosa (RP), affect 200 million people worldwide and represent the leading causes of visual impairment and blindness. Beyond the personal impact on quality of life and independence, vision loss places a global economic burden estimated at more than $400 billion per year in health care costs and lost productivity. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-drugs-sight-mice.html Wed, 15 Jul 2026 12:10:02 EDT news703329275 Often called the silent thief of sight, glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that gradually damage the optic nerve, often without warning signs. It is linked to increased pressure (ocular hypertension) inside the eye and, if left untreated, can lead to permanent vision loss. Even with ongoing treatment, some people still face the risk of progressive vision loss. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-vitamin-b3-silent-thief-vision.html Wed, 15 Jul 2026 09:40:07 EDT news703319084 Researchers at Technion have uncovered a surprising natural mechanism through which the body repairs itself: Contrary to what was previously believed, mature, aged cells retain an extraordinary ability to "turn back time" and revert to active stem cells that regenerate damaged tissue. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-mature-eye-cells-stem-injury.html Tue, 14 Jul 2026 15:00:03 EDT news703255351 A breakthrough combination of new silicone materials and advanced 3D printing technology developed by University of Waterloo researchers could transform how contact lenses are manufactured. The study, "Patient-specific hard contact lenses fabricated by vat photopolymerization printing and non-contact fluidization coating," was published in Materials & Design. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-patient-specific-3d-contact-lenses.html Tue, 14 Jul 2026 11:40:08 EDT news703245679 Cerebral (or cortical) visual impairment (CVI) is a brain-based visual disorder that is the leading cause of pediatric visual impairment in developed countries. Unfortunately, because of low awareness, CVI is often misdiagnosed as other conditions—such as autism, ADHD or a learning disability. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-peer-cvi-range-valid-reliable.html Tue, 14 Jul 2026 06:30:02 EDT news703228321 A target trial emulation found that people with type 2 diabetes who started glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) therapy had a slightly higher risk of ischemic optic neuropathy (ION), a rare condition involving reduced blood flow to the optic nerve that can cause sudden vision loss, compared with those initiating sodium–glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) or dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP4is); however, absolute risk was very low. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-glp-ra-drugs-small-ischemic.html Mon, 13 Jul 2026 17:00:03 EDT news703143986 Modern, human-made environments that feature certain design elements can overload the brain, causing visual discomfort and stress, according to a new University of Stirling study. Visual discomfort refers to the unpleasant feelings or strain people experience when viewing certain images or environments. This can range from eyestrain to migraine, difficulty reading, or feelings of being overwhelmed in situations where others experience no issues at all. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-good-bad-modern-strain-brain.html Thu, 09 Jul 2026 16:00:11 EDT news702818162 New, previously unpublished clinical data have been presented at ISSCR 2026 demonstrating that transplanted human neural progenitor cells survived for at least one year following subretinal transplantation in patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), while maintaining a favorable safety profile. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-year-survival-stem-cell-derived.html Thu, 09 Jul 2026 08:30:12 EDT news702712297 Mild COVID-19 can cause severe and long-lasting eye problems, according to a study from Linköping University, Sweden. The study also explains why it has been difficult for sufferers to get help: The abnormal eye behavior cannot be detected by standard methods. The researchers have developed a diagnostic model to detect COVID-related eye problems. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-diagnostic-covid-eye-problems.html Wed, 08 Jul 2026 05:00:03 EDT news702630361 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Lumvoa (veligrotug-vvze) for the treatment of thyroid eye disease (TED). Approval was granted to Viridian Therapeutics. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-fda-treatment-thyroid-eye-disease.html Tue, 07 Jul 2026 07:40:02 EDT news702626911 Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible visual impairment worldwide. Because the disease often progresses without symptoms for years, many patients are diagnosed only after permanent damage to the optic nerve has already occurred. Earlier detection through targeted screening could help prevent vision loss. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-genetic-onset-glaucoma.html Sun, 05 Jul 2026 11:00:01 EDT news702217598 A nationally representative Australian study published in The Lancet Global Health has found that vision impairment remains almost three times more prevalent among Indigenous Australians ages 50 and older than non-Indigenous Australians, while younger Indigenous adults experience substantially higher rates of moderate or worse hearing impairment. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-persistent-vision-health-gap-indigenous.html Thu, 02 Jul 2026 10:40:05 EDT news702206522 Biomedical engineers at Duke University have used induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to grow specialized blood vessel cells critical to retinal health for the first time. When injected into mouse models of retinal disease, these "retinal endothelial cells" integrated into the damaged tissue to regenerate blood vessels and restore retinal function. Researchers also demonstrated the cells' ability to form functional retinal vascular tissue in a lab-grown environment, providing a pathway to model and research various eye diseases. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-lab-grown-retinal-cells-eye.html Tue, 30 Jun 2026 05:00:05 EDT news701943001 In the U.S., Hispanic/Latino populations are disproportionately at risk for eye diseases like glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy, or vision loss tied to diabetes. But the association between heart and eye health in Hispanic/Latino people remains underresearched, says Dr. Charlotte Joslin, University of Illinois at Chicago professor of ophthalmology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-cardiovascular-disease-vision-loss-latino.html Mon, 29 Jun 2026 21:40:03 EDT news701964422 Adelaide University researchers have carried out the first in-human trial of a new type of treatment for a leading cause of blindness in working age adults, with promising results. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-photoswitch-drug-early-sensitivity-severely.html Mon, 29 Jun 2026 17:30:03 EDT news701971201 A new study presents an artificial intelligence system that scans images of the retina to detect signs of diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, gout, osteoporosis and thyroid disease in seconds. The program—called Reti-Pioneer—is a step toward being able to diagnose many different conditions from a scan of the eye, providing people a quicker diagnosis for common conditions and increasing access to crucial testing. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-ai-analyses-eye-scans-diseases.html Mon, 29 Jun 2026 13:40:09 EDT news701956081 Diabetes opens people to other noncommunicable diseases like obesity, retinopathy and cardiovascular diseases like heart attacks and hypertension. A recent study by researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine sought to understand how common high blood pressure (BP) was among people with diabetes. They measured the BP of 172 adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes and asked for their opinions on being screened during their eye exams. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-routine-eye-exams-reveal-stage.html Mon, 29 Jun 2026 11:20:03 EDT news701945776 Struggling to read more than six lines on an eye chart with fading letters may serve as a visual "yellow light" for older adults—raising red flags that routine exams sometimes fail to detect. A new University of Michigan study, published in JAMA Ophthalmology, shows that this threshold on a Pelli-Robson chart might indicate everyday vision problems that standard eye tests may miss. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-letters-early-clue-aging-eyes.html Mon, 29 Jun 2026 08:20:01 EDT news701939649 The environment experienced by young zebrafish influences both the shape and electrical activity of the neurons in the eye, which affects subsequent behavior. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-vr-zebrafish-biology-eye.html Sun, 28 Jun 2026 10:00:01 EDT news701447571 Integration of smartphone-based imaging and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven diagnostics provides an effective strategy for screening for rare ocular malignancies, according to a study published online June 4 in JAMA Ophthalmology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-smartphone-based-screening-ocular-surface.html Thu, 25 Jun 2026 16:00:08 EDT news701612786 One-third of the world's population is infected with the Toxoplasma parasite, which can cause ocular toxoplasmosis, an eye infection that can damage the retina and result in permanent vision loss. Although often seen as an unavoidable part of everyday human-animal interaction, toxoplasmosis is preventable and controllable. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-global-threat-toxoplasmosis.html Thu, 25 Jun 2026 14:00:09 EDT news701596009 The retina of the human eye contains 6–7 million cone cells. These cells contain light-sensitive proteins known as cone opsins. They enable us to perceive our surroundings in detail in daylight. They allow us to see the world in thousands of colors: red strawberries, green leaves, the blue sky. They also enable us to see all the objects around us clearly. And they allow us to perceive fast movements, such as the rush of a train or the flight of a dragonfly. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-3d-views-human-cone-opsins.html Thu, 25 Jun 2026 14:00:07 EDT news701596014