Lab Grown Organoids
For over 50 years, organ transplants has helped people with various diseases get a new lease on life. While retinas can be transplanted, the eye itself can’t be transplanted. That means that persons with retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration and certain kinds of eye injuries have to deal with compromised vision or eventually blindness. Of […]
Night Vision Tests and AI Part One
The two forms of age-related macular degeneration progress at different rates. The wet form of the disease progresses faster than the dry form. Still regardless of the type, once someone is diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration, that person can expect a decline in vision to take place gradually over the course of five years. In […]
Detecting & Fixing Eye Diseases
In eye diseases like retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration and Leber congenital amaurosis, things are going on in the cellular level that occur before anything is detected by way of a test or observation. It would be great if these changes could be detected sooner and if there was a way to stop the deterioration […]
Stem Cells, Protein & The Ways Research Are Learning More About Them
As always, research shines a light on the eye and vision. Case in point, wouldn’t it be nice if people experiencing vision diseases, like a retinal disorder or age-related macular degeneration could receive treatments that were derived from either stem-cells or from a specific protein and vision would improve. Well, we will spotlight stem-cell based […]
The (Donor) Eyes Have It
Most people know that donor organs save lives. What many don’t realize is that donating organs can help with bio-medical research. Two research projects, one was conducted at the National Eye Institute (NEI), which is part of the National Institutes of Health and another at John A. Moran Eye Center at the University of Utah […]
Good News About Supplements and Macular Degeneration
Many agree that taking supplements can benefit your health. Now you can add slowing the progression of age-related macular degeneration to the list of supplement benefits. First reported in 2001, the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) showed that persons who were at high risk of developing advanced stages of age-related macular degeneration lower their risk […]
Stopping Degeneration in its Tracks Part Two
GARP2 and GARP1 aren’t the only things that can negatively affect vision. Runt-related transcription factor 1 (RUNX1) can lead to too many blood vessels in the eye, also known as neovascularization. This leads to vision loss in persons with diabetic retinopathy and plays a role in age-related macular degeneration. Anti–vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) drugs […]
Good for One, Bad for Another
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) is a protein that our bodies produce to promote the growth of new blood vessels. This is a good thing since more blood vessels mean more oxygen goes to the tissues. The lungs have VEGF because blood flow is so important. Of course, what’s good for one organ isn’t good […]
Regeneration in the Retina
The human body has an amazing ability to heal itself. If you get a paper cut, the cut heals in seven to ten days. If you get a bruise, it heals within two to four weeks. If you get a broken bone, it takes three to ten weeks to heal. An injury to the retina […]
Retina Patterns Tell a Story
No one has to sell eye doctors on how cool the human eye is. One interesting area of the eye that is being researched is the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). This is the layer of cells that is next to the retina. It acts as a conduit between the photoreceptors of the retina and the […]