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Nearly 10 million Americans are at risk for blindness from diabetic retinopathy, a study finds. In 2021, an estimated 9.6 million people in the United States—26% of those with diabetes—had the eye illness and nearly 2 million had the most severe form, "vision-threatening diabetic retinopathy" (VTDR), researchers say. That's 5% of those with diabetes. Diabetic retinopathy affects small blood vessels in the eye, explained Dr. Talia Kaden. "The small vessels in the eye can become damaged and abnormal, you can have a loss of blood supply to parts of the eye that can result in swelling in the back of...

Repeat treatment with corticosteroid injections improved vision in people with persistent or recurrent uveitis-related macular edema better than two other therapies, according to results from a clinical trial. Compared with methotrexate or ranibizumab intravitreal (in-the-eye) injections, the corticosteroid treatment achieved greater reductions in retinal swelling and was the only therapy in the study that improved vision. Uveitis is a collection of inflammatory conditions that affect the internal tissues of the eye. Inflammation in the eye can lead to fluid buildup in the central part of the eye's light-sensing retina, known as the macula, and decrease vision. This fluid buildup, called...

The next time you're sipping your favorite hot beverage, consider what it Dr. Lisa Zhuoting Zhu has found a positive link between coffee and tea consumption and the thickness of our macular retinal nerve fiber layer. The macula is the central part of the retina at the back of the eye that gives us sharp central vision. The retinal nerve fiber layer is a thin layer of nerve cells that transmit visual information from the eye to the brain. "Our findings indicate if we consume two to three cups of coffee or more than four cups of tea per day,...

For the first time, researchers have developed a form of the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) that is capable of crossing into the eye's retina to ward off visual declines related to Alzheimer's disease, diabetes and other disorders. The DHA found in fish oil capsules is called triacylglycerol (TAG) DHA. Although TAG-DHA has benefits in other parts of the body, it does not reach the eyes. For the study, researchers created a new lysophospholipid form of DHA, or LPC-DHA. In studies using mice, LPC-DHA successfully increased DHA in the retina and reduced eye problems associated with Alzheimer's-like processes. In...

A pilot, "look-back" study of information about 106 patients with "wet" age-related macular degeneration (AMD) has revealed that nearly half of patients treated with aflibercept could safely stop eye injection therapy after one year without further vision loss. Only 17% of patients taking another commonly used wet AMD therapy, bevacizumab, were able to safely wean from the drug at a year. The findings build on evidence from a previous study that found potentially a third of patients with wet AMD could safely pause therapy after one year of monitoring by a physician. "Our results suggest that many patients with macular...

Clinical trial results suggest that a specific step strategy, in which patients with diabetic macular edema start with a less expensive medicine and switch to a more expensive medicine if vision does not improve sufficiently, gives results similar to starting off with the higher-priced drug. The main complication of diabetic macular edema, fluid build-up in the retina that causes vision loss, is commonly treated with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) drugs. Results of the trial, which examined a stepped regimen of anti-VEFG drugs Avastin (bevacizumab) and Eylea (aflibercept), were published today. "Our study showed that switching treatments when needed is...

Glaucoma is group of eye diseases that cause progressive vision loss through damage to the optic nerve. It is the second-leading cause of blindness. Fruits and veggies are good sources of vitamins A and C, as well as the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin. These can protect against oxidative stress associated with damage to the optic nerve and other tissues of the eye in glaucoma. A study that included 584 Black women found that those who consumed three or more fruit or juice servings daily were 79% less likely to have glaucoma than those who had less than one. Research has...

The two drugs have been declared equivalently miraculous. Tested side by side in six major trials, both prevent blindness in a common old-age affliction. Biologically, they are cousins. They’re even made by the same company...

Drawing heavily upon nature for inspiration, a team of researchers has created a new artificial lens that is nearly identical to the natural lens of the human eye. This innovative lens, which is made up of thousands of nanoscale polymer layers, may one day provide a more natural performance in implantable lenses to replace damaged or diseased human eye lenses, as well as consumer vision products; it also may lead to superior ground and aerial surveillance technology. This work, which the Case Western Reserve University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, and PolymerPlus team describes in the Optical...

Gene Therapy Transforms Eyesight Of 12 People With Rare Visual Defect A single injection in a patient's eye brings 'astounding' results. The findings may offer hope for those with macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa. Thomas H. Maugh II October 24, 2009 Pennsylvania researchers using gene therapy have made significant improvements in vision in 12 patients with a rare inherited visual defect, a finding that suggests it may be possible to produce similar improvements in a much larger number of patients with retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration. The team last year reported success with three adult patients, an achievement that was...

People with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) should eat oily fish at least twice a week to keep their eye disease at bay, say scientists. Omega-3 fatty acids found in abundance in fish like mackerel and salmon appear to slow or even halt the progress of both early and late stage disease. The researchers base their findings on almost 3,000 people taking part in a trial of vitamins and supplements. The findings are published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

Enlarge ImageMisidentified. An eye with iritis. Credit: Tariq Aslam/Moorfields Eye Hospital In the futuristic film Minority Report, an eye scanner gives actor Tom Cruise access to the secure police facility where he works. Even in today's world, eye scanners have begun cropping up in airports and at border patrols. Although the technology is billed as much more accurate than fingerprinting, scientists have worried about a potential flaw: If you have an eye infection--or an eye disease--will these scanners still recognize you as you? Scanners take a picture of the entire eye and then filter out everything but the iris,...

Buenos Aires, Argentina — Current research suggests that melatonin therapy may help treat uveitis, a common inflammatory eye disease. The related report by Sande et al., "Therapeutic Effect of Melatonin in Experimental Uveitis," appears in the December issue of The American Journal of Pathology. People with uveitis develop sudden redness and pain in their eyes, and their vision rapidly deteriorates. Untreated, uveitis can lead to permanent vision loss, accounting for an estimated 10-15% of cases of blindness in the US. Uveitis has a wide variety of causes, including eye injury, cancer, infection, and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and...

Overweight and obese people should be aware that their unhealthy lifestyle could put their eyesight at risk, scientists say. It is common knowledge that expanding waistlines are linked to conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. But research shows that obesity is also linked to eye problems, which could lead to loss of eyesight. Two Israeli ophthalmologists are now warning that the prospect of eye disease should also be a powerful incentive to lose weight. Professor Michael Belkin and Dr Zohar Habot-Wilner, from the Goldschleger Eye Institute at the Sheba Medical Centre, reviewed more than 20 studies involving thousands...