Free Republic

Dick Bramer, 76, likes to watch birds. But for two years he couldn't see them well enough to identify the various species. Bramer suffered what doctors diagnosed as an ocular stroke (they said a small particle of plaque must have blocked blood flow to the optic nerve) in one eye. A friend happened to tell about Low Vision Restoration in Blaine, Minnesota. Optometrist Chris Palmer prescribes devices that can help improve people's vision when other glasses can't. Palmer fitted Bramer with the devices, which are like miniature binoculars or telescopes affixed to regular glasses. Bramer tried them out and suddenly...

When neurologists first found a way to regrow damaged optic nerves in mammals 5 years ago, they weren't sure exactly how the procedure worked. Now, a team of researchers has identified the molecule responsible and achieved significant regeneration of optic nerves in rats without the harmful side-effects seen with some previous techniques. The optic nerve connects the eye to the brain. Injuries or diseases such as glaucoma can damage it, and once severed, nerve fibers projecting from the retina via the optic nerve don't regrow. In the past, scientists have achieved modest sprouting of these neurons in rats by inducing...