According to the 2012 update of the “Vision Problems in the U.S.” report, a study released today by Prevent Blindness America and the National Eye Institute, the number of those ages 40 and older with vision impairment and blindness has increased 23 percent since the year 2000. In addition, a preliminary update to the 2007…
Conventional cancer treatments are accompanied by a host of side effects such as nausea and vomiting. The intensity of the side effects is many a time so acute that it poses a deterrent to further treatment. The reason behind the side effects is that existing cancer treatment methods do not address just the cancerous cells,…
Ainhoa Lejardi, an engineer at the UPV/EHU, has created a new polymer material which could improve the preparation of nanospheres for their use as a method of controlling the release of pharmaceuticals, research which is currently ongoing at the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) (Spanish National Research Council) in Madrid. http://www.azonano.com/news.aspx?newsID=24876
Researchers believe that atomic-scale design of pharmaceuticals will be instrumental in producing more accurate and efficient drugs. Nanocarriers are engineered particles capable of holding tiny molecules inside their hollow interiors. Antibodies, which are bonded to the outer surface of these nanocarriers, function as markers to target specific cells or tissues or supply drugs to infected…
The first human genome sequencing was accomplished after 13 painstaking years of research at the cost of $3 billion. But recent advances in sequencing technology holds promise of rapid increase in speed of sequencing at the rate of 6 billion nucleotide bases every 6 h at a cost below $1000. http://www.azonano.com/news.aspx?newsID=24912
Interventions resulting in optic nerve regeneration restored some components of vision, according to the results of a mouse model study published online May 21 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. If these findings are confirmed and extended to other models, they may ultimately offer promise to patients with glaucoma or optic…
Experimental cell transplants can improve the sight of visually impaired mice, it has been widely reported. The Independent called the research behind the news a “major step towards cure for blindness”, while The Guardian said the work is “the first demonstration that cell transplants can restore useful vision”. During the research, scientists used mice bred…
Studies in mouse models of night blindness have demonstrated that vision can be restored by transplanting rod precursor cells taken from mouse neonates directly into the retina of recipient animals. The University College London (UCL) Institute of Ophthalmology-led team showed that the transplanted rod cells made synaptic connections with the existing retinal circuitry, were light…
Scientists at Trinity College Dublin have discovered that a part of the immune system called the inflammasome is involved in regulating the development of one of the most common forms of blindness, called Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD). They have discovered that controlling an inflammatory component IL-18, in cases of Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) could prevent…
Researchers increased the resistance of cells to damage by repeatedly exposing the mice to low levels of oxygen similar to those found at high altitudes. The stress of the intermittent low-oxygen environment induces a protective response called tolerance that makes nerve cells — including those in the eye — less vulnerable to harm. Stress is…