The Standard Care vs. Corticosteroid for Retinal Vein Occlusion Trial (SCORE)
Central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) is an eye condition in which a blood clot slows or stops circulation in a large vein within the light-sensitive retinal tissue. Reduced retinal blood flow frequently triggers the growth of abnormal blood vessels. These vessels leak blood into the macula, the central part of the retina, causing it to swell, a damaging complication called macular edema. Macular edema is the most common cause of vision loss from CRVO. Retinal laser photocoagulation therapy is used to prevent further blood vessel growth but does not eliminate edema. Until now, there has not been an effective treatment for ...
Source: News from NEI - September 20, 2010 Category: Opthalmology Tags: News and Events Source Type: news
Elimination of Blinding Trachoma Unexpectedly Reduces Childhood Mortality
Trachoma is a leading cause of blindness in the developing world and affects an estimated 8 million people. Children are most susceptible to this infectious disease that is caused by exposure to Chlamydia trachomatis, a microorganism which spreads through contact with other infected people and through transmission by flies. After years of repeated infection, the inside of the eyelid becomes severely scarred, causing the eyelid to turn inward. The eyelashes then scrape against the normally transparent cornea, leading to irreversible corneal opacities and blindness. Trachoma is endemic in crowded areas with poor personal hyg...
Source: News from NEI - September 20, 2010 Category: Opthalmology Tags: News and Events Source Type: news
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSC) Are Used to Prevent Vision Loss in Rodent Model of Retinal Degeneration
Retinal neurodegenerative diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), are the leading cause of irreversible vision loss in older Americans. AMD involves degeneration and destruction of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), a thin layer of tissue that supports and nourishes the light-detecting photoreceptor cells in the neural retina. Replacing damaged RPE cells using normal, functioning RPE cells is not yet possible. However, the recent discovery that stem cells can be created from adult, rather than embryonic cells, provides a new approach to generate RPE cells for replacing damaged tissue. (Source: News from NEI)
Source: News from NEI - September 17, 2010 Category: Opthalmology Tags: News and Events Source Type: news
KLF Family Members Regulate Intrinsic Axon Regeneration Ability
Glaucoma is a family of neurodegenerative diseases that can lead to death of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), which results in progressive vision loss and ultimately blindness. RGCs are neurons in the optic nerve that relay visual impulses from the retina to the brain where final visual processing occurs. Although the causes of RGC degeneration are not completely understood, axon loss is an early component in the disease. Axons are the fiber-like extensions of a neuron which transmit electrical signals to other neuronal cells. Developing neurons can regenerate new axons; however, adult neurons cannot. (Source: News from NEI)
Source: News from NEI - September 17, 2010 Category: Opthalmology Tags: News and Events Source Type: news
Clinical Trial Network Demonstrates Comparative Effectiveness of Lucentis for Reversing Some Vision Loss Caused by Diabetes
Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of blindness in the U.S. The condition results from the growth of abnormal blood vessels in the back of the eye that leak fluid and serum in to the retina. As a result, the retina swells, damaging photoreceptor cells. If left untreated, diabetic retinopathy can cause severe visual impairment and blindness. (Source: News from NEI)
Source: News from NEI - September 13, 2010 Category: Opthalmology Tags: News and Events Source Type: news
NEI Neuroscientist Robert H. Wurtz, Ph.D., Awarded Gruber Neuroscience Prize
The National Eye Institutes Robert H. Wurtz, Ph.D., has been awarded the 2010 Neuroscience Prize from The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation for his pioneering work in establishing and advancing the field of cognitive neuroscience. He is being honored for his initial studies on brain structures that contribute to visual processing and initiate eye movements. This basic research knowledge has laid a foundation for scientists to better understand how brain organization contributes to physical behaviors, and has made possible all current visual cognition studies, on topics including attention, motion perception and motivati...
Source: News from NEI - September 13, 2010 Category: Opthalmology Tags: News and Events Source Type: news
Join the NIH on the National Mall for the Inaugural USA Science and Engineering Festival!
On October 23-24, 2010, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will join over 400 science and engineering organizations from across the country in a 2-day Expo on the National Mall and surrounding area to provide interactive and fun science activities for kids of all ages. All events are free and open to the public. The purpose is to stimulate interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), inspiring the next generation to enter these exciting fields. (Source: News from NEI)
Source: News from NEI - September 9, 2010 Category: Opthalmology Tags: News and Events Source Type: news
2010 NEI/FDA Glaucoma Clinical Trial Design and Endpoints Symposium: Measures of Structural Change and Visual Function
The National Eye Institute (NEI) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) invite you to help develop definitions and standards to describe structural changes in the glaucomatous optic nerve and functional changes in vision that could constitute "approvable" endpoints for new glaucoma therapeutics. (Source: News from NEI)
Source: News from NEI - September 9, 2010 Category: Opthalmology Tags: News and Events Source Type: news
NEIs Dr. Rachel R. Caspi Receives Friedenwald Award
On May 4, Rachel Caspi, Ph.D., chief of the NEIs Immunoregulation Section in the Laboratory of Immunology, received the 2010 Friedenwald Award. The Friedenwald Award is presented each year for outstanding contributions to basic or clinical research in ophthalmology by the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO). (Source: News from NEI)
Source: News from NEI - September 3, 2010 Category: Opthalmology Tags: News and Events Source Type: news
ACCORD Eye Study Finds Two Therapies Slow Diabetic Eye Disease Progression
In high-risk adults with type 2 diabetes, researchers have found that two therapies may slow the progression of diabetic retinopathy, an eye disease that is the leading cause of vision loss in working-age Americans. (Source: News from NEI)
Source: News from NEI - September 3, 2010 Category: Opthalmology Tags: News and Events Source Type: news
NEI Mourns Jin H. Kinoshita
Jin H. Kinoshita, Ph.D., renowned vision researcher and former scientific director at the National Eye Institute (NEI), died on August 20 in San Jose, California, after a long illness. He was 89. (Source: News from NEI)
Source: News from NEI - August 25, 2010 Category: Opthalmology Tags: News and Events Source Type: news
Dr. Deborah Carper Appointed NEI Deputy Director
Deborah Carper, Ph.D., has been appointed to the position of deputy director of the National Eye Institute (NEI). She has served as the NEI acting deputy director since March 2009. She will be the first female deputy director in the NEI's 40-year history. (Source: News from NEI)
Source: News from NEI - May 21, 2010 Category: Opthalmology Tags: News and Events Source Type: news
U.S. Latinos Have High Rates of Developing Vision Loss and Certain Eye Conditions
Latinos have higher rates of developing visual impairment, blindness, diabetic eye disease, and cataracts than non-Hispanic whites, researchers found. These are the first estimates of visual impairment and eye disease development in Latinos, the largest and fastest growing minority population in the United States. (Source: News from NEI)
Source: News from NEI - April 29, 2010 Category: Opthalmology Tags: News and Events Source Type: news
Comparative-Effectiveness Study Confirms New Treatment for Diabetic Macular Edema
Researchers have shown that ranibizumab eye injections, often in combination with laser treatment, result in better vision than laser treatment alone for diabetes-associated swelling of the retina. (Source: News from NEI)
Source: News from NEI - April 27, 2010 Category: Opthalmology Tags: News and Events Source Type: news
Strategy Confirmed to Help Doctors Determine When to Treat Retinopathy of Prematurity
Scientists have shown that through an eye exam, doctors can identify infants who are most likely to benefit from early treatment for a potentially blinding eye condition called retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), resulting in better vision for many children. (Source: News from NEI)
Source: News from NEI - April 12, 2010 Category: Opthalmology Tags: News and Events Source Type: news
