Combined Therapies May Help Restore Vision Loss From Glaucoma

Past studies have shown that high-contrast visual stimulation can help damaged retinal neurons regrow optic nerve fibers. By combining that knowledge with new research showing that increased activity of a protein called mTOR promotes optic nerve regeneration, scientists are hoping for a way to restore sight lost to glaucoma and other optic neuropathies. So far, [Read More]

Is Blindness The "Worst Ailment"?

by Dan Roberts A recent online nationwide poll (1) has joined similar past studies in revealing that people consider vision loss to be the “worst ailment that could happen to them relative to losing memory, speech, hearing, or a limb.” The researchers’ intent was to “underscore the importance of focusing on preservation of eye health and the [Read More]

Finally, A Promising Breakthrough For Dry AMD

Genentech, Inc., a leading pharmaceutical developer, is currently conducting two phase III trials studying the drug lampalizumab as a potential treatment for advanced dry macular degeneration, also known as geographic atrophy (GA). Patients who have been diagnosed with GA are encouraged to participate in the trials, which are being conducted at hundreds of locations in [Read More]

Lions Center for the Blind Needs Support

The Lions Center for the Blind (LCB), a nonprofit organization with offices in Oakland and Fairfield, CA, has announced that it will cease operations effective August 31, 2016, unless significant additional funding is received prior to that date. The 74-year-old service organization will have to close its doors due to a lack of funding unless new sources [Read More]

Anti-depressant Drugs May Someday Help Prevent Macular Degeneration

Tests in a mouse model of macular degeneration have shown that anti-depressant drugs already on the market prevent damage to the light cells in the retina. In a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a University of Wisconsin—Madison research team pinpoints how immune abnormalities beneath the retina result in macular degeneration. [Read More]