blindness

Researchers uncover new findings on genetic risks of chronic inflammatory disorder Behçet's disease
02/15/2013 - 10:27

Researchers don’t know the exact cause of Behçet's disease, a chronic condition that leads to oral and genital sores and serious complications such as blindness, but new research brings better understanding to what makes some people more susceptible to being affected. Study identifies regions of genes linked to Behçet’s, a poorly understood condition that causes painful and serious symptoms, including ulcers and brain inflammation.

 

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Study Sheds Light on the Complexity of Gene Therapy for Congenital Blindness
01/22/2013 - 14:52

Independent clinical trials, including one conducted at the Scheie Eye Institute at the Perelman School of Medicine, have reported safety and efficacy for Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), a congenital form of blindness caused by mutations in a gene (RPE65) required for recycling vitamin A in the retina. Inherited retinal degenerative diseases were previously considered untreatable and incurable.

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Aspirin Therapy Associated with Increased Risk of Macular Degeneration
12/19/2012 - 16:01

People who regularly took aspirin 10 years prior to examination had a small but statistically significant increase in the risk of a subtype of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to a study by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers.

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NIH Study Links Genes to Common Forms of Glaucoma
04/27/2012 - 11:26

Results from the largest genetic study of glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness and vision loss worldwide, showed that two genetic variations are associated with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), a common form of the disease. The identification of genes responsible for this disease is the first step toward the development of gene-based disease detection and treatment.

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‘Positive stress’ helps protect eye from glaucoma
04/03/2012 - 22:54

Working in mice, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have devised a treatment that prevents the optic nerve injury that occurs in glaucoma, a neurodegenerative disease that is a leading cause of blindness.

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Gene Therapy for Inherited Blindness Succeeds in Patients' Other Eye
02/09/2012 - 13:53

Gene therapy for congenital blindness has taken another step forward, as researchers further improved vision in three adult patients previously treated in one eye. After receiving the same treatment in their other eye, the patients became better able to see in dim light, and two were able to navigate obstacles in low-light situations. No adverse effects occurred.

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