Copyright 2009 Medical News Today Latest Eye Health / Blindness News From Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/eye_health/ admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin) editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors) en-us Sun, 05 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156315.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156315.php Home remains the likeliest place to suffer an eye injury, according to a survey conducted by the American Academy of Ophthalmology (Academy) and the American Society of Ocular Trauma (ASOT). The annual Eye Injury Snapshot, a clinical survey of eye injuries across the U.S., conducted from May 17 to May 24 this year, found that nearly half (47.6 percent) of the 2. Eye Health / Blindness Sun, 05 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156316.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156316.php Two studies that may influence clinical treatment of serious eye conditions are reported in the July issue of Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. One correlates the incidence of silent cerebral infarcts (SCI) and visual field loss in patients with normal-tension Eye Health / Blindness Sun, 05 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156320.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156320.php Independence Day and fireworks often go hand-in-hand. And even though fireworks have long been a tradition during this holiday, the American Optometric Association (AOA) cautions that they also carry the risk of serious injury to the eyes. Each year, fireworks are responsible for thousands of injuries to adults and children. Many injuries affect eyesight, causing permanent damage and in some cases blinding the victims. According to the most recent data from the U.S. Eye Health / Blindness Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156441.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156441.php ETH Zurich researchers have successfully created an optical transistor from a single molecule. This has brought them one step closer to an optical computer. Internet connections and computers need to be ever faster and more powerful nowadays. However, conventional central processing units (CPUs) limit the performance of computers, for example because they produce an enormous amount of heat. Eye Health / Blindness Sat, 04 Jul 2009 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156426.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156426.php Video from portable cameras is analysed to calculate the distance of obstacles and predict the movements of people and cars. This information is then transformed and relayed to a blind person as a three-dimensional 'picture' of sound. The concept is apparently simple and two prototypes have been successfully tested. Laser and digital video cameras become the eyes for the blind man and see the objects and activity going on around him. Eye Health / Blindness Sat, 04 Jul 2009 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156432.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156432.php Genentech, Inc. announced today that the Phase III study BRAVO showed Lucentis® (ranibizumab injection) improved vision, as measured by the primary endpoint of mean change from baseline in best-corrected visual acuity at six months, in patients with macular edema due to branch retinal vein occlusion. The safety profile of Lucentis was consistent with previous experience and no new adverse events related to Lucentis were observed in the study. Eye Health / Blindness Sat, 04 Jul 2009 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156434.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156434.php Bausch & Lomb Vision Care announces a renewed focus on its ReNu® brand of lens care solutions through a U.S. consumer need-based rebranding effort that introduces eye care practitioners and consumers to ReNu® Fresh Lens Comfort™ and ReNu® Sensitive Eyes®. Additionally, the company has recently established a dedicated U.S. Eye Health / Blindness Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156354.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156354.php Researchers at the Peninsula Medical School in Plymouth and Exeter have received a grant of £9,600 from the Northcott Devon Medical Foundation to continue its research into the genetic causes of eye movement disorders. Last year, the team - along with colleagues from the Children's Hospital in Boston (USA) and King's College London - identified a gene that, when mutated, causes Duane syndrome. Eye Health / Blindness Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156402.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156402.php Researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center have found a way to use a natural compound to stop one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States. The research appears online this month in the journal Diabetes, a publication of the American Diabetes Association. Eye Health / Blindness Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156217.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156217.php University of Minnesota Medical School researcher Michael Mauer, M.D., has found a treatment that significantly slows the progression of eye injury in people with type 1 diabetes, a common complication caused by this disease. By administering an antihypertensive, medication commonly prescribed to treat high blood pressure, Mauer and colleagues were able to slow progression of diabetic eye damage in more than 65 percent of participants involved in the study. Eye Health / Blindness Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156230.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156230.php The July issue of Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, includes two studies that may influence clinical treatment of serious eye conditions. One study reports on silent cerebral infarcts (SCI) incidence and visual field loss in patients with normal-tension glaucoma; the other correlates inflammation biomarkers with corneal transplant rejection in herpes simplex patients. Eye Health / Blindness Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156073.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156073.php A clinical trial is being launched in three African countries of a drug that could eliminate onchocerciasis, or river blindness, one of the leading infectious causes of blindness across Africa. The drug, moxidectin, is being investigated for its potential to kill or sterilize the adult worms of Onchocerca volvulus, which cause onchocerciasis. Eye Health / Blindness Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156048.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156048.php A team of researchers from the University of Alcalá de Henares (UAH) has shown scientifically that human beings can develop echolocation, the system of acoustic signals used by dolphins and bats to explore their surroundings. Producing certain kinds of tongue clicks helps people to identify objects around them without needing to see them, something which would be especially useful for the blind. Hearing / Deafness Wed, 01 Jul 2009 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155942.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155942.php Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation (AGTC), a privately-held, clinical stage biotechnology company developing novel systems to deliver human therapeutics, announces that AGTC has entered into an agreement with the National Neurovision Research Institute (NNRI), the clinical trial support org Eye Health / Blindness Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155939.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155939.php The General Optical Council (GOC) is today reminding all optical businesses, students and supervisors to ensure their current arrangements for professional supervision of students meet the requirements outlined by the GOC, and examination or assessment bodies. This follows the recent Fitness to Practise (FTP) hearing involving Boots Opticians Ltd (a GOC-registered business); Trevor Burgess, a registered student dispensing optician; and Richard Simmons, a registered dispensing optician. Eye Health / Blindness Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155871.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155871.php To be properly diagnosed, retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), the leading cause of childhood blindness in the United States and worldwide, requires a time intensive process and significant coordination between ophthalmologist and NICU staff. A recent study examining ROP diagnosis speed using indirect ophthalmoscopy versus telemedicine, remote medical consultation, is featured in the July issue of the American Journal of Ophthalmology, published by Elsevier. Eye Health / Blindness Tue, 30 Jun 2009 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155810.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155810.php Each Fourth of July, thousands of people are injured from using consumer fireworks. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 9,000 fireworks-related injuries happen each year. Of these, nearly half are head-related injuries with nearly 30 percent of these injuries to the eyes. One-fourth of fireworks eye injuries result in permanent vision loss or blindness. Eye Health / Blindness Tue, 30 Jun 2009 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155811.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155811.php At the annual meeting of the American Optometric Association (AOA), members voted Friday 1,126 to 887 in favor of establishing the American Board of Optometry (ABO) as the entity to develop and implement the framework for board certification and maintenance of certification. Eye Health / Blindness Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155643.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155643.php Research lead by Dr. Nicolas Bazan, Boyd Professor and Director of the Neuroscience Center of Excellence at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, identifying an enzyme that makes neuroprotectin D1 which specifically and selectively protects retinal cells key for vision, was published in the June 26, 2009 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry. Dr. Eye Health / Blindness Sun, 28 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155557.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155557.php A multi-institutional team of researchers, led by the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University, will begin a five-year, $2.9 million National Institutes of Health-funded study. They will examine the lives of patients with both cataracts and Alzheimer's disease (AD) to document how restored vision improves everyday life for people with dementia. Alzheimer's / Dementia Fri, 26 Jun 2009 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155454.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155454.php Vision loss costs Canadian society a staggering $15.8 billlion per year - significantly higher than previously estimated, according to new research study released on June 23, 2009, by CNIB and the Canadian Ophthalmological Society (COS). The study's proponents say these costs, which are expected to increase dramatically in the years ahead, underscore the urgent need for Canada to develop a comprehensive national vision health plan. The $15. Eye Health / Blindness Fri, 26 Jun 2009 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155413.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155413.php ThromboGenics NV (Euronext Brussels: THR), a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of innovative treatments for eye disease, vascular disease and cancer, announces that its lead product microplasmin, which is in Phase III trials for the treatment of vitreomacular adhesion, is progressing according to schedule. All protocol-specified, interim masked analyses by the independent Data Monitoring Committee (DMC) have been completed. Eye Health / Blindness Fri, 26 Jun 2009 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155421.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155421.php Like many diseases, causes for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) can be categorized as either "nature" or "nurture". Researchers think these factors, when used in the proper model, can be strong predictors of the disease. AMD is the leading cause of vision loss in Americans 60 years of age and older. Eye Health / Blindness Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155281.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155281.php Acucela, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing new treatments for blinding eye diseases, announced today that data on the company's novel visual cycle modulator, ACU-4429, a potential oral treatment for dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), will be featured at the Aegean Retina XI Meeting being held in Crete, Greece from July 3 to 5, 2009. Eye Health / Blindness Thu, 25 Jun 2009 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155277.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155277.php Adding to its line up of complete total digital imaging and workflow management solutions for eyecare professionals, Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in medical imaging, today introduced the CR-1 Mark II Digital Non-Mydriatic Retinal Camera. The CR-1 Mark II can achieve extremely detailed, high-resolution diagnostic images of the retina and enables a full 45-degree view angle to help the eyecare professional detect and monitor ocular conditions. Eye Health / Blindness