Researchers discover new forms of retinal blindness

Scientists from the University of Leeds have discovered six new forms of inherited blindness, each one resulting from mutations in a different gene important in eye development and vision.

Hydrogels boost ability of stem cells to restore eyesight

Scientists and engineers in Toronto have made a breakthrough in cell transplantation using a gel-like biomaterial that keeps cells alive and helps them integrate better into tissue. In two early lab trials, this has already shown to partially reverse blindness and help the brain recover from stroke.

FDA approves medical device that helps patients monitor their vision

Vital Art and Science Inc. has a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance to market myVisionTrack, a prescription-only medical device that enables patients with retinal diseases to monitor their vision function between regular visits to their eye-care professional to help ensure they obtain timely care and treatments.

Salicylates may improve retinal function and reduce insulin resistance in retina of type 2 diabetics

Research led by scientists at Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, published in PLoS One in April 2015, has demonstrated that salicylate may improve retinal function by enhancing insulin signaling in the retina of type 2 diabetic animal models and in cultured retinal cells.

Autologous choroidal transplantation may lead to successful results in select AMD cases

Autologous choroidal transplantation may lead to successful outcomes in select patients with age-related macular degeneration who are refractory to anti-VEGF therapy.

Is the red-green color blindness gene therapy cure ready for humans?

Researchers at the Eye Institute of the University of Washington have successfully used gene therapy to cure color blindness in adult monkeys. In the photo on the left (photo credit), a squirrel monkey, who was treated for red-green color blindness, is seen enjoying a feast of colored fruits and vegetables. The image was digitally altered to simulate what the scene would look like to a person (or monkey) with red-green color blindness. 

Advancements in Retinal Detachment Research Pave the Road to Better Visual Recovery

Editor's notes:

To read more about what is Retinal Detachment, how is it caused, what are the symptoms, and what are the suggested things to do, click here.

Retinal detachment was the first retinal pathology that could be managed with a surgical intervention. Dr Jules Gonin (pictured on the left - credit) came up with a solution to treat this condition. Before that, all patients with retinal detachment were doomed to blindness. His work from 1902 to 1921, when he recognized that a retinal break was the cause of a retinal detachment - and not a consequence as was largely believed those days - helped kickstart the specialty of retinal disease management. Though his technique, referred to as "ignipuncture", is now obsolete, his pioneering work laid the important foundation. Though his work did not gain recognition for quite some time, and was even opposed by many, he finally got his due in 1929 at the International Ophthalmology Congress in Amsterdam. Since then, his legacy has lived on in the eye hospital in Lausanne that bears his name, in the Gonin Medal awarded by the International Council of Ophthalmology, the Club Jules Gonin, and in a street named after his, the very street that he used to walk from home to the hospital every day.