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An experimental drug is showing promise against an untreatable eye disease that blinds older adults — and intriguingly, it seems to work in patients who carry a particular gene flaw that fuels the damage to their vision. Age-related macular degeneration, or AMD, is the leading cause of vision loss among seniors, gradually eroding crucial central vision. There are different forms but more than 5 million people worldwide, and a million in the U.S., have an advanced type of so-called "dry" macular degeneration that has no treatment. First patients may notice blurriness when they look straight ahead. Eventually many develop blank...

A new Harvard study has discovered a high incidence of vision problems among men and women who drank three or more cups of coffee a day. The research, published in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, http://www.iovs.org/content/53/10/6427.abstract?sid=9dd04ef5-beba-4204-b980-19a9afd4a3aa linked heavy consumption of caffeinated coffee with increased likelihood of developing exfoliation glaucoma, an eye disorder that affects about 10 percent of adults over age 50 and can lead to vision loss or blindness. Specifically, the researchers reported that adults who drank three or more cups of coffee daily were 34 percent more likely to develop exfoliation glaucoma, compared to those who abstained from...

Corneas made in the laboratory have successfully restored the sight of 10 Swedish patients with significant vision loss.Produced entirely from synthetic collagen, the implants offer the tantalising possibility for a replacement to human donor tissues. The custom-made corneas work by prompting regeneration of the nerves and cells in the eye. This is the first time vision has been restored in this way. > The patients all recovered their sight as well as if they had received human donor corneas. In some respects, recovery of the eye was better than when compared to a human graft. "Nerve regeneration was faster in...

NEW DELHI: Age-related degeneration of vision has been a common problem, which so far has no cure. However, an ongoing stem cell study at AIIMS might just provide a solution. For about six months now, Dr Rajender Prasad Centre for Opthalmic Sciences at AIIMS has been studying the effect of stem cells in patients who suffer from degenerative vision disorders — the patients taken in the Phase I of study can’t see beyond 3 metre and according to the WHO classification are termed ‘blind’. The study is being conducted on patients who have age-related vision loss or are affected by...

The Implantable Miniature Telescope (IMT), invented by Israeli doctor Isaac Lipshitz is offering hope to the eight million Americans who suffer vision loss due to age-related macular degeneration, known as AMD. In clinical trials, VisionCare's revolutionary device drastically improved the vision of almost 200 patients, with the results paving the way for its imminent FDA approval.