Articles tagged with Vision
A new study published in JAMA Ophthalmology found that vision problems are more common in older adults with dementia. The study of nearly 3,000 older adults showed that even mild vision issues were associated with a higher risk of dementia.
A study published in PLOS Biology reveals that the inferolateral occipitotemporal cortex selectively encodes object shape in both sighted and early blind individuals. This finding suggests that the brain is organized as operators executing a function regardless of input senses.
University of Melbourne researchers have discovered that T cells patrol the human eye, protecting it from pathogens and inflammation. The study uses a new imaging technique to capture dynamic behavior of these cells in response to different stimuli.
A new study reveals that reptiles demonstrate spontaneous associations between visual and auditory information, including tortoises associating low sounds with large shapes and high pitch sounds with small shapes. This discovery shows how brains are prepared to predict visuo-acoustic correspondences likely to occur in the natural world.
This survey study found that all types of visually impairing eye conditions are associated with increased dementia risk. Prioritizing vision health may be crucial for maintaining cognitive function in older adults.
A team of scientists at Harvard Medical School has identified six chemical cocktails that can restore cellular aging and rejuvenate human cells. The study builds upon the discovery of Yamanaka factors, which can convert adult cells into induced pluripotent stem cells, raising hopes for treating age-related diseases and injuries. The im...
A recent study found that older Americans living in warmer regions are more likely to experience serious vision impairment. The odds of severe vision impairment were 14% higher for temperatures between 50-54.99°F, 24% higher for 55-59.99°F, and 44% higher for those above 60°F.
In 2021, 9.6 million Americans had diabetic retinopathy and 1.84 million had vision-threatening forms. The number of people living with diabetes-related eye disease has grown since the last prevalence estimate in 2004.
Researchers created a small device that captures, processes, and stores visual information in a similar way to humans. This technology uses analog processing, reducing energy consumption and enhancing performance, with potential applications in bionic vision, autonomous operations, and advanced forensics.
Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital identified distinct brain network connections for visual and motor anosognosia, as well as a shared network for awareness of deficits. The study found that the hippocampus and precuneus play a key role in memory-based recognition of neurological deficits.
A new clinical trial found that low-dose atropine eye drops are effective in slowing the progression of nearsightedness in children. The treatment showed significant improvements in limiting eyeglass prescription changes and inhibiting elongation of the eye, with a daily drop in each eye being enough to make a difference.
Researchers have found that stimulating a specific bile acid receptor, FXR, may help prevent retinopathy of prematurity in premature babies. By targeting this receptor, the study aims to develop earlier and more effective treatments to protect their vision.
A new study by Anglia Ruskin University found that people with sight loss in the UK are confused by a 'disjointed' certification system, creating barriers to accessing support and benefits. The research highlights inconsistencies in the process, long waiting lists, and lack of clarity around entitlements.
Researchers devise a simpler way to mimic aspects of human vision by extracting key optical measurements from computer models of the human eye and designing a simple optical system. The new design achieves similar image quality to the human visual system without requiring aspherical components, paving the way for more efficient devices.
Researchers found that temporary blindness caused by occluding one eye for two hours led to increased sensitivity to auditory input when the other eye was monitored. The brain's neural response to sound was selectively enhanced, indicating a high degree of plasticity and interdependence between senses.
Researchers found that older children can learn visual tasks and exhibit increased white matter plasticity after surgery to remove congenital cataracts. This suggests that the window of brain plasticity extends beyond childhood and that all children may benefit from treatment.
Biologists found that underfed jumping spiders lose photoreceptors, key to their vision. The study suggests nutrition affects retinal and neuronal health, potentially leading to breakthroughs in treating macular degeneration.
Researchers have found a new target and drug combination that appears to stop the destruction of vision in premature newborns. By blocking ACAT1, an enzyme that converts cholesterol into smaller pieces, scientists can prevent the formation of leaky blood vessels and inflammation in the retina.
Researchers have built a new model to examine Usher Syndrome, a leading cause of combined deafness and blindness. The model replicates the visual problems not addressed by previous models, offering insight into strategies for designing therapeutic interventions.
A research team from Université Laval has identified a method to save corneal cells from death using healthy mitochondria, reducing mortality rates from 60% to 10%. This approach demonstrates high therapeutic potential for mitochondrial injection, which could maintain vision without transplantation if diagnosed at an early stage.
Researchers at Duke-NUS Medical School have achieved significant vision recovery in experimental models of damaged retinas using stem cells. The study marks a promising step towards potentially restoring vision in eye diseases characterized by photoreceptor loss.
Researchers generated a POLDIP2 knockout ARPE-19 cell line and found reduced mitochondrial superoxide levels, consistent with upregulated SOD2. The study demonstrates a potential role of POLDIP2 in regulating oxidative stress in AMD.
A recent study revealed the key to a protein that commonly causes blindness, including its role in transporting toxic compounds out of the eye. Mutations in this protein can cause vision loss in diseases like Stargardt disease, which affects approximately 30,000 people nationwide.
A study by Karolinska Institutet found that blind individuals have a heightened ability to sense signals from their inner body, with an average accuracy of 0.78 for counting heartbeats. This enhanced sensitivity may also impact emotional processing and perception.
Researchers have successfully restored vision in mice with retinitis pigmentosa using a new CRISPR-based genome editing technique. The PE SpRY system corrected genetic mutations and restored normal electrical responses to light, preserving vision into old age. This breakthrough offers potential for treating inherited blindness.
UVA scientists have discovered a new contributor to abnormal blood vessel growth in the eye, which could lead to new treatments for macular degeneration and other vision loss conditions. The discovery identifies a key protein that determines VEGF levels, blocking it has reduced VEGF levels significantly without unwanted side effects.
A new nonhuman primate model of Usher syndrome has been confirmed, providing hope for the development of a treatment for this leading cause of blindness-deafness. The model, created using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, exhibits symptoms similar to those experienced by humans with the condition.
Researchers at Virginia Tech aim to understand the role of fatty acid deficiency in optic nerve hypoplasia. A recent grant supports studies on arachidonic acid supplementation as a potential treatment for the disease.
A research team led by Dr. Eddie Ma Chi-him identified a therapeutic small molecule M1 that increases mitochondrial dynamics and sustains long-distance axon regeneration, restoring visual functions in mice. Regenerated axons elicited neural activities and survived for four weeks after optic nerve injury.
Researchers compared two methods of corneal transplant tissue preparation, finding the new DMEK EndoGlide technique to be safe and effective while providing a faster process. The study suggests this method may lead to better long-term outcomes for patients with Fuchs' dystrophy.
Researchers at Boston Medical Center discovered that Black and Hispanic patients had significantly worse vision outcomes after surgical treatment for retinal detachment compared to their White counterparts. The study suggests higher rates of proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) may contribute to these findings.
More than one-quarter of U.S. adults aged 71 and older had vision impairment in 2021, according to a nationally representative survey study. The prevalence of vision impairment was associated with factors such as older age, lower education and income, non-white race, and Hispanic ethnicity.
Mount Sinai researchers discovered that age-related macular degeneration (AMD) may be caused by two distinct types of deposits in the retina: drusen and subretinal drusenoid deposits (SDDs). Early intervention with vitamin supplements can slow down drusen formation, while SDDs pose a greater threat to advanced AMD.
Meta-Optics is transforming science and technology, enabling novel applications in the Internet of Things, autonomous cars, wearable devices, and augmented reality. However, challenges remain to be solved, such as scaling up industrial processes and creating tunable metamaterials.
Researchers have developed mini eyes, or organoids, from stem cells donated by patients with Usher syndrome. These mini eyes allow scientists to study light-sensing cells and understand the development of blindness in the disease.
A new study from Mount Sinai Hospital finds a strong association between age-related macular degeneration and severe forms of heart disease, including heart failure, heart attacks, and stroke. The study highlights the importance of increased screening for eye disorders to diagnose undetected heart disease.
Researchers identified five genetic variants that progressively increase the risk of becoming nearsighted with more schooling, especially for university-level education. These findings provide new insights into biological pathways causing nearsightedness and its interaction with lifestyle factors.
A new report explores how to leverage low-cost methods to enable people with visual impairment to move through public, urban indoor and outdoor spaces. Tactile maps were found to be a very useful resource, while an accessible mobile app also showed promise as an orientation and mobility aid.
Scientists discovered the first direct evidence that Stargardt-related ABCA4 gene mutations affect a layer of cells in the eye called the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). The study suggests a therapeutic strategy for the disease, which currently lacks treatment.
Researchers found that individuals who underwent hemispherectomy surgery at a young age can still recognize differences between pairs of words or faces with remarkable accuracy. The study, published in PNAS, sheds light on brain plasticity and its limitations.
A study by Finnish researchers found that exposure to the herbicide glyphosate impairs bumblebees' fine color vision, affecting their ability to learn and remember connections between colors and tastes. This weakened color vision can severely impact bumblebees' foraging and nesting success.
Researchers found that increasing arginase 1 availability helps alleviate unhealthy responses and interrupt destructive inflammation in diabetic retinopathy and retinopathy of prematurity. This is achieved by reducing L-arginine levels, which in turn reduces inducible nitric oxide synthase activity.
A new study reveals less than half of people over 50 worldwide have received spectacles or contact lenses needed to correct refractive error. The World Health Organisation aims to increase treatment coverage by 40 percentage points by 2030.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have developed a gene therapy that rapidly restores night vision in adults with LCA, a common form of congenital blindness. The treatment has been shown to improve rod-based visual functions and correct severe visual deficits in patients.
Researchers at UCI School of Biological Sciences and Medicine found that the adult brain can partially recover visual function from inherited blindness. The treatment, administering synthetic retinoids, restored brain circuits involved in vision in adults with Leber congenital amaurosis.
Researchers in Cell Reports study neuronal responses to bright and dark surfaces, finding that large bright surfaces activate both light-ON and light-OFF neurons, increasing the combined response with surface brightness and size. This challenges the long-standing assumption that only surface edges drive strong cortical responses.
A recent study has found that people who wear reusable contact lenses are nearly four times as likely to develop a rare sight-threatening eye infection. The study identified multiple factors that increase the risk of Acanthamoeba keratitis, including reusing lenses or wearing them overnight or in the shower.
A new study published in Frontiers in Medicine found that around 30% of people with long COVID experience a decreased sense of smell, with 29.9% reporting persistent anosmia after 12 weeks. Researchers also discovered an elevated prevalence of blurred vision and hearing-related symptoms after three months.
Visual acuity testing at home and in a clinical setting have been compared for their accuracy and feasibility. The study found that both methods produced similar results, but the home-based test was faster and more convenient.
Researchers discovered that face centering, not saliency, plays a key role in guiding attention to faces in videos as people age. The findings have implications for children's television programming and the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder.
Researchers at Cornell University found connections between the brain's olfactory pathway and visual cortex in dogs, showing that olfaction is integrated with vision in terms of learning about the environment. This study corroborates clinical experiences with blind dogs who function remarkably well despite their condition.
A new study has discovered the neuronal changes that occur during learning to improve discrimination of closely related visual images. Researchers found that experience-driven changes in neural activity enhance discriminations relevant to task performance at the expense of other related discriminations.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of 16 studies involving 76,373 participants found a significant association between visual impairment and cognitive decline in older adults. The study highlights the need for further research on the effectiveness of treating sight problems to prevent cognitive impairment and dementia.
A new study reveals that dogs think about their toys by imagining different sensory features, such as the way they look or smell. Gifted Word Learner dogs were able to recall the name of a toy even in the dark, using a multisensory mental image.
Researchers at Aalto University have discovered a dedicated neural pathway in the retina that can detect even the dimmest shadows possible. This breakthrough could lead to unprecedented resolution in probing visual diseases.
Researchers revived photoreceptor cells in human macula, responding to bright and dim lights. The study restores communication between retinal cells, transforming brain and vision research.
A new study by the University of South Australia found that up to a quarter of people aged over 50 with undiagnosed visual problems like cataracts or AMD are misdiagnosed with mild cognitive impairment. Cognitive tests relying on vision-dependent tasks can skew results.
A new study found that half of older adults with both hearing and vision impairment have serious cognitive decline, compared to 28% with only vision impairment. The study highlights the importance of considering sensory impairments in identifying those at risk for cognitive decline.
Researchers found that fruit bats use echolocation during the day despite having excellent vision, suggesting a combination of both senses for enhanced navigation. This study highlights the importance of integrating different senses, like humans using visual and auditory information when crossing streets.
Researchers at State University of New York College of Optometry propose a general theory of cortical map formation that explains the diversity of visual maps in nature. The theory suggests that map diversity emerges from variations in thalamic afferent density sampling sensory space, leading to increased cortical areas and sorting of ...