Windows To The MindThe eyes are the window into the soul - or at least the mind, according to a new paper published in Perspectives on Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. Measuring the diameter of the pupil, the part of the eye that changes size to let in more light, can show what a person is paying attention to...
Researchers Develop Gene Therapy That Could Correct A Common Form Of BlindnessA new gene therapy method developed by University of Florida researchers has the potential to treat a common form of blindness that strikes both youngsters and adults. The technique works by replacing a malfunctioning gene in the eye with a normal working copy that supplies a protein necessary for light-sensitive cells in the eye to function...
Retinitis Pigmentosa In Dogs Cured By Gene TherapyMembers of a University of Pennsylvania research team have shown that they can prevent, or even reverse, a blinding retinal disease, X-linked Retinitis Pigmentosa, or XLRP, in dogs. The disease in humans and dogs is caused by defects in the RPGR gene and results in early, severe and progressive vision loss. It is one of the most common inherited forms of retinal degeneration in man...
How Protein In Teardrops Annihilates Harmful BacteriaA disease-fighting protein in our teardrops has been tethered to a tiny transistor, enabling UC Irvine scientists to discover exactly how it destroys dangerous bacteria. The research could prove critical to long-term work aimed at diagnosing cancers and other illnesses in their very early stages...
Risk Of Blindness Halved Over Last DecadeAge-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most frequent cause of blindness in the Western World. A report from the University of Copenhagen and Glostrup Hospital in Denmark shows the number of new cases of blindness and severe visual loss in Denmark has been halved during the last ten years...
Extended Pain Relief For Laser Eye Surgery Patients Via Contact LensesScientists are reporting development of contact lenses that could provide a continuous supply of anesthetic medication to the eyes of patients who undergo laser eye surgery - an advance that could relieve patients of the burden of repeatedly placing drops of medicine into their eyes every few hours for several days. Their report appears in ACS' journal Langmuir...
Glaucoma Origins May Lead Potential CureGlaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness. Nearly 4 million Americans have the disorder, which affects 70 million worldwide. There is no cure and no early symptoms. Once vision is lost, it's permanent...
Brain Circuits For Visual Categorization Revealed By New ExperimentsHundreds of times during a baseball game, the home plate umpire must instantaneously categorize a fast-moving pitch as a ball or a strike. In new research from the University of Chicago, scientists have pinpointed an area in the brain where these kinds of visual categories are encoded...
Glaucoma Measurements Can Be Affected By Contact LensesA study about how wearing contact lenses affects glaucoma measurements has been named the top presentation at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine's annual St. Albert's Day research symposium. First author of the study is Marie Brenner, a fourth-year student at Stritch School of Medicine...
Age-Related Blindness May Be Warded Off By GrapesCan eating grapes slow or help prevent the onset of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a debilitating condition affecting millions of elderly people worldwide? Results from a new study published in Free Radical Biology and Medicine suggest this might be the case. The antioxidant actions of grapes are believed to be responsible for these protective effects...
Increasing Need For Rehabilitation For Eye DiseaseVisual rehabilitation will continue to increase in importance in the near future, particularly because the number of older patients is rising. Susanne Trauzettel-Klosinski summarizes the present state of knowledge in the current issue of the Deutsches Arzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2011; 108[51/52]: 871-8)...