Eye Care News

Researchers show that brain organoids — clumps of lab-grown neurons — can integrate with rat brains and respond to visual stimulation like flashing lights.

Engineers have developed a contact lens prototype that is specially designed to prevent contact lens-induced dry eye (CLIDE). The lens alleviates this condition by facilitating tear flow in response to normal eye blinking. This can relieve the discomfort, visual impairment, and risk of inflammation experienced by millions of CLIDE sufferers.

People with diabetes who experience periods of low blood sugar — a common occurrence in those new to blood sugar management — are more likely to have worsening diabetic eye disease. Now, researchers say they have linked such low blood sugar levels with a molecular pathway that is turned on in oxygen-starved cells in the eye.

New findings contradict previous notions about sugar’s role in the onset of diabetic cataracts. Using an animal model that more closely recapitulates type 2 diabetes in humans, the research team found early signs of damage in the eye before the onset of type 2 diabetes, suggesting that diabetic complications may start during the pre-diabetic state.

Traumatic injury to the brain, spinal cord and optic nerve in the central nervous system (CNS) are the leading cause of disability and the second leading cause of death worldwide. CNS injuries often result in a catastrophic loss of sensory, motor and visual functions, which is the most challenging problem faced by clinicians and research scientists. Neuroscientists have recently identified and demonstrated a small molecule that can effectively stimulate nerve regeneration and restore visual functions after optic nerve injury, offering great hope for patients with optic nerve injury, such as glaucoma-related vision loss.