Feature Channels: Vision

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May is Healthy Vision Month when the National Eye Institute (NEI) encourages everyone to make eye health a priority. This message is especially important for women, who make up two-thirds of all people living with blindness or visual impairment from diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma, and cataract.1 Among women age 40 and older in the U.S., 2.7 million are blind or visually impaired.2

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Researchers from the Byers Eye Institute at Stanford University have found a way to use artificial intelligence to fight a complication of diabetes that affects the eyes.

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Approximately 14 million Americans have age-related macular degeneration, and a new study suggests it may be underdiagnosed in primary eye care settings.

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Glaucoma in developing countries represents a significant health crisis. The great majority of people in developing countries aren’t ever tested for glaucoma, so diagnosis and treatment are rare. And if they are diagnosed, they often can’t pay for medication, assuming medications are available.

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Using the gene-editing tool CRISPR/Cas9, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Shiley Eye Institute at UC San Diego Health, with colleagues in China, have reprogrammed mutated rod photoreceptors to become functioning cone photoreceptors, reversing cellular degeneration and restoring visual function in two mouse models of retinitis pigmentosa.

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Cell-based therapy company jCyte is launching a Phase 2b clinical trial to study the effectiveness of its developmental therapy for retinitis pigmentosa.

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New research by Adam Anderson, professor of human development at Cornell University’s College of Human Ecology, reveals why the eyes offer a window into the soul. According to the recent study, in Psychological Science, we interpret a person’s emotions by analyzing the expression in their eyes – a process that began as a universal reaction to environmental stimuli and evolved to communicate our deepest emotions.

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Why do animals that live in caves become blind? Charles Darwin originally suggested that eyes could be lost by “disuse” over time. Now, Reed Cartwright, an ASU evolutionary biologist in the School of Life Sciences and researcher at the Biodesign Institute, wants to get to the heart of the matter—and in a recent publication in the journal BMC Evolutionary Biology, may be proving Darwin wrong.

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Thanks to Greg Dootz, an ocularist at the University of Michigan’s Kellogg Eye Center, more than 3,000 patients have received prosthetic eyes that are every bit as beautiful — and complex — as the real thing.

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Engineers funded by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) have developed glasses with liquid-based lenses that “flex” to refocus on whatever the wearer is viewing.

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A team led by Massachusetts Eye and Ear researchers has identified a novel therapeutic target for retinal neovascularization, or abnormal blood vessel growth in the retina, a hallmark of advanced diabetic eye disease (proliferative diabetic retinopathy). According to a report published online in Diabetes, the transcription factor RUNX1 was found in abnormal retinal blood vessels, and by inhibiting RUNX1 with a small molecule drug, the researchers achieved a 50 percent reduction of retinopathy in preclinical models.

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When “the dress” went viral in 2015, millions were divided on its true colors: gold and white or black and blue? In a new study, an NYU neuroscientist concludes that these differences in perception are due to our assumptions about how the dress was illuminated.

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Research conducted at the University of Adelaide has discovered that bees have much better vision than was previously known, offering new insights into the lives of honey bees, and new opportunities for translating this knowledge into fields such as robot vision.

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A light-sensing pigment found in everything from bacteria to vertebrates can be biochemically manipulated to reset itself, an important therapeutic advantage, according to new research out of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

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A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore's Faculty of Engineering has developed a novel lens for super-resolution imaging which breaks resolution limitations in microscopy and has potential applications in high precision failure inspection and biological research.

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A simple marker on eye examination may help vision care professionals predict which patients will have a higher or lower rate of problems after starting extended-wear contact lenses, reports a study in the April issue of Optometry and Vision Science, the official journal of the American Academy of Optometry. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

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In honor of AHA’s National Walking Day on April 5, Dr. Laura Sperazza, Director of Low Vision Services at Lighthouse Guild in NY, offers tips for walking a Monday Mile for individuals with low vision. The Monday Mile, an initiative of The Monday Campaigns, encourages people from all walks of life to walk for their health by using Monday as the starting day.

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A new report gives recommendations for regenerating retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), crucial neurons in the back of the eye that carry visual information to the brain.

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Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues at Case Western University, Duke University, the National Institutes of Health and elsewhere, have identified three novel genomic loci — distinct stretches of genetic material on chromosomes — linked to Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD), which often clusters in families and is roughly 39 percent heritable.

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A first-of-its-kind, potentially groundbreaking new option for treating a form of eye cancer is now in its first phase-1 clinical research trial at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia.

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An international study helps pinpoint the genetic risk factors associated with Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy, the most common disorder requiring corneal transplantation. The discovery of gene variants illuminates the biological mechanisms for the disorder, which affects 4 percent of people age 40 and older. The study appears in Nature Communications and was funded by the National Eye Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health.

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Capturing high-resolution images of a patient's eye and retina are vital to ensure good vision for people with diabetes. It takes patience and attention to detail for ophthalmology technicians to produce high-quality images that trained experts at Harris Health System can use to spot vision loss/problems.

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In a new study, scientists find that the growth factor TGF-beta may play a role in the formation of secondary cataract, suggesting a direction for research into strategies to prevent it. The study appears in Molecular Biology of the Cell and was funded by the National Eye Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health.

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Connecting pieces of information by finding a common thread often takes glaucoma researchers in unexpected directions. Zinc is one such thread that joined together different experts at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

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The brains of those who are born blind make new connections in the absence of visual information, resulting in enhanced, compensatory abilities such as a heightened sense of hearing, smell and touch, as well as cognitive functions (such as memory and language) according to a new study led by Massachusetts Eye and Ear researchers.

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Researchers at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, have identified a new molecule that induces the formation of abnormal blood vessels in the eyes of diabetic mice. The study, “Secretogranin III as a disease-associated ligand for antiangiogenic therapy of diabetic retinopathy,” which will be published March 22 in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, suggests that inhibiting this molecule may prevent similarly aberrant blood vessels from damaging the vision of not only diabetics, but also premature infants.

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The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) urges Congressional leaders to reject the U.S. administration’s recent FY18 budget proposal, which seeks to drastically cut National Institute of Health funding by nearly $6 billion, or 20%. These cuts would be devastating to the current and future efforts of the eye and vision research community and to patients who desperately count on the efforts of researchers and clinicians to save their sight.

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Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine and Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School have developed a cheap, portable camera that can photograph the retina without the need for pupil-dilating eye drops.

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A study published recently in the journal Psychology and Behavior unveils the potential to use changes in saccadic eye movements - the rapid repositioning of the eye to focus on a target - as a reliable biomarker for pilot fatigue. Professors Stephen Macknik, PhD, and Susana Martinez-Conde, PhD of SUNY Downstate Medical Center were co-authors in the study.

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Silencing a gene called Nrl in mice prevents the loss of cells from degenerative diseases of the retina, according to a new study. The findings could lead to novel therapies for preventing vision loss from human diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa. The study was conducted by researchers at the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and was published online today in Nature Communications.

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Glaucoma Research Foundation (GRF) marked World Glaucoma Week today by announcing $1.3 million in research grants. Glaucoma Research Foundation is funding eight researchers at prestigious universities and medical research centers with one-year Shaffer Grants, as well as the four principal investigators engaged in the multi-year “Catalyst for a Cure” biomarker initiative.

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A team of engineers at the University of California San Diego and La Jolla-based startup Nanovision Biosciences Inc. have developed the nanotechnology and wireless electronics for a new type of retinal prosthesis that brings research a step closer to restoring the ability of neurons in the retina to respond to light. The researchers demonstrated this response to light in a rat retina interfacing with a prototype of the device in vitro.

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The breast cancer drug tamoxifen appears to protect light-sensitive cells in the eye from degeneration, according to a new study in mice. The drug prevented immune cells from removing injured photoreceptors.

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College of Optometry’s new EyeVan

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Research into retinal regeneration in zebrafish has identified a signal that appears to trigger the self-repair process, raising the possibility that human retinas can also be induced to regenerate, naturally repairing damage caused by degenerative retinal diseases and injury, including age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa.

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Researchers at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee have discovered that in zebrafish, decreased levels of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) cue the retina, the light-sensing tissue in the back of the eye, to produce stem cells. The finding sheds light on how the zebrafish regenerates its retina after injury and informs efforts to restore vision in people who are blind.

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Specific cells in the retina trigger inflammation and vision impairment associated with diabetes, according to new research out of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

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Pacific University's College of Optometry will dedicate its new EyeVan and for the ceremony and tours of the EyeVan.

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If intelligent life without sight exists on some distant planet in our galaxy, these lifeforms would still explore the universe; how? This is a guiding question for Innovators Developing Accessible Tools for Astronomy (IDATA), a new research initiative supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation.

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Johns Hopkins researchers report that in-home occupational therapy appears to reduce the rate and severity of depression in people at higher risk for the disorder because of seriously impaired vision.

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Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have discovered how a protein called α2δ4 establishes proper vision.

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Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of vision loss among older adults in the United States, is often associated with psychological stress. A simple stress rating scale (the Perceived Stress Scale) is a valid and useful way to evaluate the connection between stress and progressive vision loss from AMD, according to a study in the March issue of Optometry and Vision Science, the official journal of the American Academy of Optometry. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

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Researchers have developed a new way to identify and sort stem cells that may one day allow clinicians to restore vision to people with damaged corneas using the patient’s own eye tissue.

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It is no secret that the issues associated with current glaucoma medications can be problematic. Systemic medications carry the risk of side effects, while the current medical treatment of choice, eye drops, has its own drawbacks. Studies show that half of patients stop taking their prescription glaucoma eye drops after a year, leaving them vulnerable to vision loss

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A study published in Obstetrics and Gynecology suggests that pre-eclampsia may be associated with retinal disease in the mother later in life. Pre-eclampsia is a pregnancy complication characterized by high blood pressure and large amounts of protein in the urine. According to this study, more severe and earlier-onset pre-eclampsia was associated with even higher risk.

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A Florida State University researcher will lead a joint U.S.-Russia project that will examine the effect of space travel on astronauts’ vision, an ongoing problem that NASA has been eager to solve.

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Researchers from Queen's University Belfast collaborate with Guide Dogs NI on a new research study to understand the impact of sight loss on how early movement develops in children with a vision impairment.

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NeuroVision Imaging LLC (“NeuroVision”) today announced its participation in a new substudy with investigators at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine (UC San Diego) and the University of Southern California (USC) to be part of the landmark Anti-Amyloid Treatment in Asymptomatic Alzheimer’s (or “A4”) clinical trial. The purpose of the A4 study is to test whether a new investigational treatment that may reduce beta-amyloid accumulation in the brain can also slow memory loss caused by Alzheimer’s disease.

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