All Articles Tagged As: eyes

Gene Therapy Improves Vision in Patients with Congenital Retinal Disease (5/1/2008)

Patients' Vision Improved from Detecting Hand Movements to Reading Lines on Eye Chart ...> Full Article

Scientists successfully awaken sleeping stem cells (3/20/2008)

New hope for regenerating the human retina damaged by disease or injury ...> Full Article

Scientists test the safety of experimental drug for vision loss (1/6/2008)

In a first-of-its-kind safety research study, University of Florida researchers have injected an anti-inflammatory compound into the eye of a person with a sight-robbing disease. ...> Full Article

Gene therapy safety trial for childhood blindness under way (11/26/2007)

Three decades have passed since gene therapy pioneer William W. Hauswirth and his colleagues at the University of Florida began work on a virus that could safely deliver corrective genes into living animals. ...> Full Article

Researchers find signal that switches on eye development - Could lead to 'eye in a dish' (10/26/2007)

A British research team discovered signal that triggers eye development. ...> Full Article

Scientists Eye Secrets of Retinal Regeneration (9/15/2007)

Peering at microscopic changes within the retina, scientists in the Department of Ophthalmology at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, have discovered a key mechanism driving eye health and eye disease. ...> Full Article

Gene Variant Increases Risk Of Blindness (7/24/2007)

Researchers have found a gene variant that can more than double the risk of developing the degenerative eye disease, age-related macular degeneration. ...> Full Article

A New Method Of Adult Stem Cell Growth Efficacious In Treatment Of Disorders Of The Cornea (7/23/2007)

A new method of adult stem cell growth, designed in the Area of Cellular Therapy of the University Clinic (University of Navarra), has demonstrated its efficacy for its capacity to grow cornea stem cells. So Ana Fernández Hortelano, ophthalmologist at the Hospital demonstrated on applying the growth technique in treating diseases of the cornea, using stem cells, in 70 test animals (rabbits). The aim of the procedure was to regain the damaged epithelium and thus restore transparency to the cornea. ...> Full Article

Can Blindness Be Prevented Through Diet? (7/2/2007)

Increasing intake of the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA, found in popular fish-oil supplements, may protect against blindness resulting from abnormal blood vessel growth in the eye, according to a study published online by the journal Nature Medicine on June 24. The study was done in mice, but a clinical trial at Children's Hospital Boston will soon begin testing the effects of omega-3 supplementation in premature babies, who are at risk for vision loss. ...> Full Article

Study Maps Road To Cure For Inherited Eye Diseases (6/29/2007)

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have identified proteins in the rod and cones of the eye that could lead to the discovery of the genetic causes of a host of inherited eye diseases. The investigators hope to gain a clearer understanding of what goes wrong at the most basic level in these diseases that cause blindness and other disorders. ...> Full Article

Promising Protein May Prevent Eye Damage In Premature Babies (6/23/2007)

A protein long thought to be one of the body's supporting players has quietly been taking a lead role in healthy eyesight, a discovery that could rapidly lead to treatments for babies born before their eyes are finished growing, University of Florida and Harvard Medical School researchers have found. ...> Full Article

New Gene Discovery Offers Further Hope For Childhood Blindness (6/14/2007)

An international research team has discovered a gene that, when mutated, causes one of the most common forms of inherited blindness in babies. Scientists at the University of Leeds, working in collaboration with experts from other centres around the world, identified the gene, which is essential to photoreceptors in the eye, the cells that "see" light. ...> Full Article

Scientists Set Their Sights On Cure For AMD (6/7/2007)

A groundbreaking surgical therapy capable of stabilising and restoring vision in the vast majority of patients who currently suffer blindness through Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is to be taken to clinical trial by scientists and clinicians at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, Moorfields Eye Hospital and the University of Sheffield. The therapy, using cells derived from human embryonic stem cells to replace the faulty retinal cells that cause AMD, will be developed by the London Project to Cure AMD, a collaborative project launched today bringing together some of the leading specialists in the field. ...> Full Article

Researchers Awaken Vision Cells In Blind Mice (5/24/2007)

University of Florida researchers used gene therapy to restore sight in mice with a form of hereditary blindness, a finding that has bearing on many of the most common blinding diseases. ...> Full Article

Bone Marrow Stem Cells May Cure Eye Disease (5/14/2007)

Adult bone marrow stem cells may help cure certain genetic eye diseases, according to UC researchers. ...> Full Article

Stem cell therapy shows promise for rescuing deteriorating vision (3/29/2007)

For the millions of Americans whose vision is slowly ebbing due to degenerative diseases of the eye, the lowly neural progenitor cell may be riding to the rescue. ...> Full Article

Genetic Studies Endow Mice with New Color Vision (3/23/2007)

Scientists with Howard Hughes Medical Institute and University of California have created a mouse with color vision by introducing a human gene into a mouse chromosome. ...> Full Article

Reconstructing an aging eye with Stem cells (3/20/2007)

Due to damage from injuries or disease, the ability of the eyes to produce replacement corneal epithelial cells may be impaired. The cornea becomes cloudy, the vision deteriorates and the patient experiences considerable discomfort. A new technique is being test to replace the stem cells in the eye, so that it can continue to regenerate. ...> Full Article

Biologists Trace Cause Of Early Blindness To Tissue Defect (3/15/2007)

Researchers at Texas A&M University are shedding light on a rare form of early blindness, identifying the cells involved and paving the way for possible therapies to treat or even prevent what is currently an incurable disease. ...> Full Article

Gene therapy for blindness clears hurdle in mice (3/14/2007)

University of Florida researchers have used an experimental therapy in mice to shut down a gene that plays a crucial role in a leading cause of inherited blindness ...> Full Article

Growing Eyes on Biomimetic Scaffolds (3/10/2007)

New sight for those who are blinded by macular degeneration may be moving closer to the list of medical miracles. In the young field of regenerative medicine, a UCSF scientist has invented unique microscopic scaffolds to support the growth of new cells to replace those lost to disease. ...> Full Article

Eye color due to multiple genes (3/8/2007)

A study by researchers from The University of Queensland's Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) and the Queensland Institute of Medical Research is the first to prove conclusively that there is no single gene for eye color. ...> Full Article

Genetic testing sheds light on degenerative eye disease (3/5/2007)

Genetic testing for eye disease is providing vital information about complex retinal diseases, especially when used to confirm a clinician’s diagnosis. ...> Full Article

Optobionics ASR retinal implant being tested on cats (1/11/2007)

Kristina Narfstrom, veterinary ophthalmologist, with the University of Missouri-Columbia has begun testing Optobionics ASR retinal implant on Abyssinian and Persian cats that are affected with hereditary retinal blinding disease. ...> Full Article

Retinal Cell Transplants Restore Vision (11/8/2006)

Scientists from the University College London Institutes of Ophthalmology and Child Health and Moorfields Eye Hospital transplanted retinal cells taken from newly born mice and implanted them into adult mice with genetically programmed vision problems. The result is that the adult mice showed significant vision improvement. ...> Full Article

Gene Test for Macular Degeneration Created (10/20/2006)

Scientists at the John A. Moran Eye Center with the University of Utah have created a genetic test to determine whether a person is at risk of developing Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD). ...> Full Article

Tranplanted Retinal Cells Help Blind Mice See (9/25/2006)

Researchers at Advanced Cell Technology (ACT) in Massachusetts have taken there stem cell technology to the next step by implanting its retinal cells into rats. ...> Full Article

Retinal implants first step to eye replacement (4/6/2006)

Researchers are hoping to implant replacement rentina's into approximately 25 million patients suffering from retinal disease. Several of the early versions of the implants are nearly ready to be brought to market. One such implant is a wireless retinal prosthesis designed by the Boston Retinal Implant Project with is affiliated with MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). ...> Full Article

Algae protein repairs degenerative sight problems (4/6/2006)

Scientists splice protein from green algae into mice eyes to help repair damage done from retinitis pigmentosa. Researchers from Wayne State University's School of Medicine used a virus to insert the green algae gene into genetically bred mice. The mice were bred to lose cones and rods, the light-sensitive tissues in the eyes, to simulate retinitis pigmentosa in humans. The gene controls the creation of a light-absorbing protein call ChR2. ...> Full Article

Stem Cells To Repair Eyes (9/26/2004)

Researchers at Advanced Cell Technology in Massachusetts have coaxed stem cells into becoming retinal cells. They used stem cells taking from human embryos created by a team at Harvard University. Dr. Robert Lanza, Advanced Cell Technology’s scientific director and his team were intrigued when the cells began to cluster into small globes that looked like little eyes. The technology is still several years away, but can offer hope to those suffering from degenerative retinal problems. ...> Full Article