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NEI Research News

Thanks to the work of NEI scientists and grantees, we’re constantly learning new information about the causes and treatment of vision disorders. Get the latest updates about their work — along with other news about NEI.

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224 items
Doctor giving eye exam

Woman who lost vision to diabetes shares experience to raise awareness

It was Labor Day 2015 when Rosetta Ivey-Foster, a 67-year-old retired bank clerk, learned first-hand how quickly diabetes can deteriorate vision.
Grantee News

Culprit identified as a major cause of vision loss

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a pathway involved in harming rods and cones and have found a way to halt that damage.
Artist’s rendering of neural activity in the retina. Light that enters the eye activates rod and cone photoreceptors, which then activates retinal ganglion cells. A signal travels to the brain via the retinal ganglion cell axons. Photo credit: National Eye Institute

Six teams seek to identify biological factors that influence neural regeneration

The National Institutes of Health will fund six projects to identify biological factors that affect neural regeneration in the retina.
Retinal degeneration in mice

Drugs already on market prevent light-induced retinal degeneration in mice

Combinations of Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs protect against the loss of cells required for vision in a mouse model of blinding retinal diseases.
Grantee News

Handheld Device Takes High-Resolution Images of Children's Retinas

Engineers and physicians at Duke University have developed a handheld device capable of capturing images of a retina with cellular resolution.
James W. Gollady, Jr., Right Eminent Department Commander (right), presents Hotaling with a check from the Knights Templar Eye Foundation. “I think this award is extremely important to pave a pathway for me in medical research,” said Hotaling.  (Joe Balintfy, NEI)

NEI Scientist Receives Research Grant from Knights Templar Eye Foundation

NEI research fellow Nathan Hotaling, PhD, has been awarded a $65,000 grant from the Knights Templar Eye Foundation to develop a stem cell-based system to study Best disease, a genetic disorder that can cause progressive vision loss.
Grantee News

Pain medicine helps preserve vision in model of inherited retinal degeneration

A pain medicine that potently activates a receptor vital to a healthy retina appears to help preserve vision in an animal model of severe retinal degeneration, NEI-funded scientists at Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University report.
Rods and Cones image

NIH Vision Scientists Test Theory of How Rods in our Retina Originated

Retinas from our earliest vertebrate ancestors had cone-like photoreceptors, presumably allowing them to see in daylight, but little ability to see at night.
Dr. Emily Chew of the National Eye Institute examines a patient’s eyes. Photo credit: National Eye Institute.

Eye Study Underscores the Long-lasting Benefits of Controlling Diabetes

People with type 2 diabetes who intensively controlled their blood sugar level were found to have cut their risk of diabetic retinopathy in half.
Patient undergoes and eye exam. Courtesy National Eye Institute.

Age-related macular degeneration before and after the era of anti-VEGF drugs

In a study of nearly 650 people with the eye disease age-related macular degeneration (AMD), half still had vision 20/40 or better after five years of treatment with anti-VEGF drugs that are injected into the eye.