Sheila Nirenberg of Cornell University has been trying to work out how the retina in your eye communicates with your brain — and judging by a recent talk at TEDMED, it seems like she’s actually cracked it. Nirenberg produced mathematical equations that, with startling accuracy, encode images into neuron pulses that can be understood by an animal …
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Scientists Develop Animal Model for TB-Related Blindness
Tuberculosis experts at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere have closely mimicked how active but untreated cases of the underlying lung infection lead to permanent eye damage and blindness in people.Lead study investigator and Johns Hopkins infectious disease specialist Petros Karakousis, M.D., says the new animal model should hasten development of a badly needed, early diagnostic test for the …
Retinitis Pigmentosa Treatment: Retina Implants To Restore Sight Undergo Human Trials
Promising treatments for those blinded by an often-hereditary, retina-damaging disease are expanding throughout Europe and making their way across the pond, offering a ray of hope for the hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. left in the dark by retinitis pigmentosa. The disease—which affects about one in 4,000 people in the U.S. and about 1.5 million people worldwide—kills the retina's …
Magnetic stimulation as retinal treatment
Brainsway Ltd. has announced interim results from an animal study being conducted at the Sheba Medical Center to explore the effects of the company's transcranial magnetic stimulation device on age-related macular degeneration. A short-lasting improvement in the retina's response to light was observed following this stage of the study, with the rats who received the magnetic stimulation displaying …
Mayo Clinic work shows possible Lucentis side effect
At the Amercian Academy of Opthalmology 115th Annual Meeting, findings were presented from a retrospective study conducted after a Mayo Clinic opthalmologist noticed an increase in intraoccular pressure (IOP) in her patients using Genentech' (Roche) Lucentis (ranibizumab), an FDA-approved drug for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). MARINA (Minimally Classic/OccultTrial of …
Retinal microvascular changes associated with disability in daily activities among older adults
Retinal microvascular changes appear to be associated with development of disability in performing activities of daily living among older adults, and retinal signs may be useful in predicting outcomes among this population, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Ophthalmology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-retinal-microvascular-disability-daily-older.html …
Regular Eye Exams Can Detect Diabetes
"People with diabetes are 10 to 20 times more likely to go blind than someone without the condition, due to diabetic retinopathy. However, if this condition is detected early through an eye examination and treated, blindness can be prevented in 90% of cases" http://www.irishhealth.com/article.html?id=20014 …
Adolescents with Diabetes Experiencing Decrease in Retinopathy
A long-term study from Australia has claimed that there has been a significant reduction in the number of cases of retinopathy among young patients with type 1 diabetes who have had intensive glycaemic control therapy. http://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2011/Oct/adolescents-with-diabetes-experiencing-decrease-in-retinopathy-95087803.html …
Retinopathy Prevalence Decreasing in Diabetic Adolescents
A 20-year observational study has chronicled notable declines in retinopathy for young patients with type 1 diabetes who receive intensive glycemic control therapy, confirming earlier findings that found a link between normalized blood glucose levels and the slower progression of eye, kidney, and nerve damage. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/752133 …
Why Contract Research Organizations Are So Hot
With more drugmakers outsourcing more trials to contract research organizations, few should be surprised that the CRO sector is generating investor interest. The attention-grabbing deal announced this week in which two private equity firms – Carlyle Group and Hellman & Friedman – agreed to pay $3.9 billion in cash to buy Pharmaceutical Product Development is no random …