FDA approves first retinal implant for rare eye disease

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first artificial retina, an implanted device that replicates some of the function of the retina, helping to restore vision to people blinded with a rare genetic disorder. The device is intended to replace the function of light-sensing cells in the retina destroyed by retinitis pigmentosa, an…

No Link Found Between Genetic Risk Factors and Two Top Wet AMD Treatments

New findings from a landmark clinical trial show that although certain gene variants may predict whether a person is likely to develop age-related macular degeneration (AMD), these genes do not predict how patients will respond to Lucentis™ and Avastin™, the two medications most widely used to treat the “wet” form of AMD. This new data…

Why Face Recognition Can Be Difficult with Central Vision Loss

Diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, cone-rod dystrophy and Stargardt disease cause scotomas, or blind spots, which often have devastating effects on central vision. They cause gaps in a person’s visual field, making it difficult to see words in a book, images on a computer monitor or TV and the features of someone’s face. A…

Rosemary Compound Shown To Help Fight Macular Degeneration In Mouse Model

A new study led by the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute reports that carnosic acid, found in the herb rosemary, actually promotes eye health. Led by Dr. Stuart A. Lipton, the team found that carnosic acid protects the retina from degeneration and toxicity in cell culture and in rodent models of light-induced retinal damage. This suggests…

Telemedicine Doubles Screening Rates for Retinopathy

  The use of telemedicine helped a primary care clinic more than double the percentage of diabetic patients undergoing screening for retinopathy over the course of a year, according to a research letter published this month in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The researchers, based out of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,…

eyecro’s First Published Article in Molecular and Cellular Biology

Retinol-Binding Protein 4 Induces Inflammation in Human Endothelial Cells by a NADPH Oxidase- and Nuclear Factor Kappa B-dependent and Retinol-Independent Mechanism  Krysten M. Farjoa,#,    Rafal A. Farjob,    Stacey Halseya,    Gennadiy Moiseyeva and    Jian-xing Maa  aDepartment of Physiology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma beyecro LLC, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma ABSTRACT Serum retinol-binding protein…

Preparation of anti-tumor nanoparticles using tiger milk mushroom

A recent breakthrough from Hong Kong Polytechnic University uses tiger milk mushroom to prepare anti-tumor nanoparticles is bringing us one step closer. A natural compound found in mushrooms may hold the key to a new class of cancer drugs. In Tiger Milk mushrooms from Africa, Dr Wong Ka-hing, Associate Director of the Food Safety and…

Fat gives nanoparticles a fighting chance

Inhalable and thermo-responsive, fat-encased nanoparticles have been developed by researchers at the University of Sydney as possible treatment for lung cancer. The team has recently designed inhalable, targetable particles that can attack tumors but leave healthy cells undamaged, reducing the side effects of cancer treatment. The particles consist of a drug encased in a lipid…

Biodegradable nanoparticles slip through mucus

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) have created biodegradable, ultra tiny, nanosized particles that can easily slip through the body’s sticky and viscous mucus secretions to deliver a sustained-release medication cargo. The interdisciplinary team of researchers, led by Justin Hanes of the JHU Center for Nanomedicine, developed the nanoparticles so that they not only penetrate…