Researchers develop easy and effective therapy to restore sight
June 12, 2013 by admin · Leave a Comment
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed an easier and more effective method for inserting genes into eye cells that could greatly expand gene therapy to help restore sight to patients with blinding diseases ranging from inherited defects like retinitis pigmentosa to degenerative illnesses of old age, such as macular degeneration.
New technique shows promise in restoring near vision without glasses
April 1, 2013 by admin · Leave a Comment
By middle age, most people have age-related declines in near vision (presbyopia) requiring bifocals or reading glasses. An emerging technique called hyperopic orthokeratology (OK) may provide a new alternative for restoring near vision without the need for glasses, according to a study, “Refractive Changes from Hyperopic Orthokeratology Monovision in Presbyopes“, appearing in the April issue of Optometry and Vision Science, official journal of the American Academy of Optometry. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins , a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.
Patent issued for technology that improves eyesight dramatically
October 3, 2012 by admin · Leave a Comment
A U.S. patent has been issued to the University of Rochester for technology that has boosted the eyesight of tens of thousands of people around the world to unprecedented levels and reduced the need for patients to undergo repeat surgeries.
An artificial retina with the capacity to restore normal vision
August 14, 2012 by admin · Leave a Comment
Two researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have deciphered a mouse’s retina’s neural code and coupled this information to a novel prosthetic device to restore sight to blind mice. The researchers say they have also cracked the code for a monkey retina ? which is essentially identical to that of a human ?and hope to quickly design and test a device that blind humans can use.
Chemical makes blind mice see; compound holds promise for treating humans
July 25, 2012 by admin · Leave a Comment
A team of University of California, Berkeley, scientists in collaboration with researchers at the University of Munich and University of Washington in Seattle has discovered a chemical that temporarily restores some vision to blind mice, and is working on an improved compound that may someday allow people with degenerative blindness to see again.
Study offers hope for more effective treatment of nearsightedness
June 4, 2012 by admin · Leave a Comment
Research by an optometrist at the University of Houston (UH) supports the continued investigation of optical treatments that attempt to slow the progression of nearsightedness in children.
Conducted by UH College of Optometry assistant professor David Berntsen and his colleagues from The Ohio State University, the study compared the effects of wearing and then not wearing progressive addition lenses, better known as no-line bifocals, in children who are nearsighted. With funding by a National Institutes of Health National Eye Institute training grant and support from Essilor of America Inc. and the American Optometric Foundation Ezell Fellowship program, the study examined 85 children from 6-11 years old over the course of two years. The results were published in Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, one of the most widely read journals in the field.
Fatty acid found in fish prevents age-related vision loss: U of A medical research
May 29, 2012 by admin · Leave a Comment
An omega-3 fatty acid found in fish, known as DHA, prevented age-related vision loss in lab tests, demonstrates recently published medical research from the University of Alberta.
Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry researcher Yves Sauve and his team discovered lab models fed DHA did not accumulate a toxic molecule at the back of the eyes. The toxin normally builds up in the retina with age and causes vision loss.
Prosthetic retina offers simple solution to restoring sight
May 16, 2012 by admin · Leave a Comment
A device which could restore sight to patients with one of the most common causes of blindness in the developed world is being developed in an international partnership.
Researchers from the University of Strathclyde and Stanford University in California are creating a prosthetic retina for patients of age related macular degeneration (AMD), which affects one in 500 patients aged between 55 and 64 and one in eight aged over 85.
New type of retinal prosthesis could better restore sight to blind, Stanford study says
Using tiny solar-panel-like cells surgically placed underneath the retina, scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have devised a system that may someday restore sight to people who have lost vision because of certain types of degenerative eye diseases.
New advances in treating inherited retinal diseases highlighted in Human Gene Therapy
May 7, 2012 by admin · Leave a Comment
—Gene therapy strategies to prevent and treat inherited diseases of the retina that can cause blindness have progressed rapidly. Positive results in animal models of human retinal disease continue to emerge, as reported in several articles published in Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The articles are available free on the Human Gene Therapy website at http://www.liebertpub.com/hum.
