Eyesight and Eye Health

Two vision correction techniques look comparable

2010-08-27T12:00:12Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Two forms of laser vision correction sometimes used as an alternative to LASIK seem to have similar results for people with nearsightedness, a new research analysis finds. The findings, published in the journal Ophthalmology, confirm results from smaller studies suggesting that patients fare about as well with either of the procedures -- namely, photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) and LASEK, a rel...

Restoring sight with new type of artificial cornea

2010-08-25T15:45:25Z

Small first study finds bioartificial cornea coaxes regrowth of eye's cells, improves vision

Scientists have created a new kind of artificial cornea, inserting a sliver of collagen into the eye that coaxes its own natural corneal cells to regrow and restore vision. It worked in a first-stage study of 10 patients in Sweden, researchers reported Wednesday. And while larger studies are needed, it's a step toward developing ...

Scientists use synthetic corneas to restore vision

2010-08-25T11:30:48Z

LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists in Canada and Sweden have used laboratory-made biosynthetic corneas to restore vision to patients in a small human trial, and shown for the first time that they can help to repair damaged eye tissue. The scientists, whose work was published Wednesday in the Science Translational Medicine journal, said their...

Japan blind-school teacher in drag arrested for panty theft

2010-08-25T09:16:05Z

A teacher at a school for the blind in Japan has been arrested for allegedly stealing a woman's underpants from a laundromat while dressed in a miniskirt and wearing a blonde wig, police said Wednesday. Police later confiscated some 150 female garments, including more underwear and knee-high boots, from the home of Tsuyoshi Hirano, 43, a teacher at a prefectural school for the visually...

Ulcers of the eye may be on the rise

2010-08-10T07:15:12Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Ulcers of the cornea -- the transparent front layer of the eye -- may be twice as common in the U.S. as previously thought, likely owing to the recent rise in contact lens use, suggests a new study. Based on more than a million people in northern California, researchers...

Glenn Beck: Doctor says eye disease could blind me

2010-07-20T12:00:21Z

Fox News Channel's Glenn Beck says he's been diagnosed with eye disease that could blind him

Fox News Channel's Glenn Beck says he's been diagnosed with an eye disease that could eventually blind him. The conservative commentator told an audience attending his "American Revival" tour over the weekend in Reuters Health) - A study of medical school graduates applying for ophthalmology residencies is the latest to show that some students may be tempted to doctor parts of their application to get ahead of the competition. "Ophthalmology is a very competitive field," Dr. Michael Wiggins, the study's author and the associate residency program director at th...

Driving while blind? Maybe, with new high-tech car

2010-07-02T07:15:19Z

That driver must be blind! Someday he may be; group to show high-tech car the blind can drive

Could a blind person drive a car? Researchers are trying to make that far-fetched notion a reality. The National Federation of the Blind and Virginia Tech plan to demonstrate a prototype vehicle next year equipped with technology that helps a...

Group to show car that can be driven by the blind

2010-07-02T00:30:11Z

Their 'moon shot': Blind organization to showcase vehicle that can be driven by the blind

Could a blind person drive a car? Researchers are trying to make that far-flung notion a reality. The National Federation of the Blind and Virginia Tech plan to demonstrate a prototype vehicle next year equipped with technology that helps a blind...

Stem-cell corneas last up to a decade: study

2010-06-24T08:30:24Z

BOSTON (Reuters) - Italian doctors reported long-term success on Wednesday with a technique of fixing burn-related eye damage using corneas grown from stem cells. They used stem cells plucked from the thin ring around the iris to make a clear cornea that allowed vision for at least 10 years. Usually the cornea repairs itself using these cells from the limbus. But in some burn patients, the limbus is destroyed and the corne...

Stem cells reverse blindness caused by burns

2010-06-23T14:17:03Z

The stuff of miracles: Stem cell transplants reverse blindness caused by chemical burns

Dozens of people who were blinded or otherwise suffered severe eye damage when they were splashed with caustic chemicals had their sight restored with transplants of their own stem cells — a stunning success for the burgeoning cell-therapy field, Italian researchers reported Wednesday. The treatment worked completely in 82 of 107 eyes and partially in 14 others, with bene...

Genentech says Lucentis gets added FDA approval

2010-06-23T07:30:09Z

Lucentis gets FDA approval as treatment for vision loss caused by blocked retinal veins

The Food and Drug Administration has approved the eye drug Lucentis as a treatment for vision loss caused by blocked veins in the retina, Genentech said Wednesday. Genentech, a part of...

Nepal's blind cricketers bat to dispel prejudice

2010-06-17T00:16:09Z

Pawan Acharya, a major in the Nepalese army, only became aware of the difficulties faced by blind people after he lost his own sight in an ambush by Maoist rebels during the country's civil war. Ten years later, he is waging a campaign to revolutionise perceptions of disability in this deeply traditional Hindu country and has organised a series of cricket tournaments for blind players -- including women. Blind people often face discrimination and even persecution in

Why don't more nearsighted Chinese kids wear glasses?

2010-06-16T10:30:21Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - It's estimated that up to 60 percent of school-age children in rural China need glasses to see clearly, but most either don't have them or don't wear them if they do. A new study suggests that misinformation about wearing glasses and the inconvenience of getting them -- not cost -- may be at least partly to blame. Children with myopia (also called nearsi...

Drugs linked to cataracts, behaviors can delay them

2010-06-14T13:45:36Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The bad news: Commonly used drugs known to make people more sensitive to sunlight may slightly increase the risk of a certain kind of cataract, according to a new study. The good news: Eating a healthy diet loaded with fruits and vegetables may delay the development of cataracts, according to another study out this week. Cataracts, in which a clear lens becomes cloudy, are the leading cause of i...

Paul lashes out over medical certification issue

2010-06-14T12:30:12Z

Paul calls certification questions attack on his livelihood; created rival board a decade ago

Kentucky Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul says questions about whether he is a board-certified eye doctor are an attack on his ability to make a living. The libertarian-leaning Paul said Monday that he challenged one of his profession's most powerful groups a decade ago over its certification policy. Paul told

Laser pointer damaged teen's eyesight: BMJ

2010-06-09T01:15:44Z

A teenage boy damaged his eyes while playing with a handheld laser pointer that he had bought over the Internet, according to a case reported on Wednesday by the British Medical Journal (BMJ). The lad suffered dark spots, known as central scotomas, and loss of image sharpness after shining the green diode laser beam into his eyes, a trio of specialists from the

Are implantable lenses safer than laser surgery?

2010-05-13T10:01:18Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Implantable lenses could be a safer alternative to laser surgery for moderately nearsighted people, a British review of earlier research suggests. Laser surgery - for example, LASIK -- is the standard procedure for nearsighted people who don't want to depend on glasses or contact lenses. It strips off cells from the cornea, the clear tissue covering the eye, thereby flattening it and allowing vi...

Project puts 1M books online for blind, dyslexic

2010-05-06T08:30:12Z

San Francisco organization makes more than 1 million books available online to blind, dyslexic

Even as audio versions of best-sellers fill store shelves and new technology fuels the popularity of digitized books, the number of titles accessible to people who are blind or dyslexic is minuscule. A new service being announced Thursday by the nonprofit Internet Archive in San Francisco is trying to change that....

Pilot with poor vision blamed in fatal Ohio crash

2010-04-19T17:01:19Z

NTSB: 86-year-old pilot with poor eyesight to blame for Ohio crash that killed 5 passengers

An 86-year-old pilot with poor vision was to blame for a crash that killed himself and five passengers at a charity event, the National Transportation Safety Board said. A report issued Thursday said former state lawmaker ...

NYC exhibit tells the fuller story of Helen Keller

2010-04-19T14:19:47Z

NYC exhibit of letters, photographs and artifacts tells story of activist Helen Keller

"Cat, cat, cold, cold, doll, doll" were Helen Keller's first handwritten words, and they represent an important moment in the remarkable life of a woman who helped bring about meaningful change for the disabled by writing incessantly to state Legislatures, Congress a...

Canadian publishes porn for the blind

2010-04-17T09:15:56Z

Photographer Lisa Murphy believed the blind lacked access to our "much sexualized" world, so she decided to create a new kind of pornography, with tactile images, the first designed especially for the blind. "When I had the idea, I started looking around and I realized there were no nude books out there for the blind," the Canadian artist told AFP. "We live in a society that is much sexualized -- just look at advertising," she said by...

Most kids with form of 'cross-eyes' become nearsighted

2010-04-13T10:30:54Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children with a particular variation of strabismus -- commonly referred to as "cross-eyes" -- appear highly likely to develop nearsightedness by adulthood, according to a new study. In the study, published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology, researchers reviewed the medical records of 135 Minnesota children with intermittent exotropia -- wh...

Australia reveals prototype 'bionic' eye

2010-03-30T10:18:25Z

Australia on Tuesday unveiled a prototype bionic eye designed to restore sight to those with failing vision which supporters hope could be the biggest breakthrough since the Braille alphabet. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, whose government committed 42 million dollars (almost 39 million US) to the project, said the device could be "on...

Nepalese doc is God of Sight to poor

2010-03-20T21:30:21Z

Nepalese doc brings sight to poor worldwide with 'assembly line' cataract surgery

Raj Kaliya Dhanuk sits on a wooden bench, barefoot, with a tattered sari covering thin arms as rough as bark. Thick clear tears bleed from her eyes, milky saucers that stare at nothing. For nearly a year, cataracts have clouded out all sight from the 70-year-old grandmother's world. With no money, she assumed she'd die alone in darkness. But now she waits quietly outside the operatin...

Skiing Umsteads make Paralympics a family affair

2010-03-20T12:15:31Z

Every time American ski racer Danelle Umstead charges down Whistler Mountain at the Paralympics, her husband's voice directs her every move down the treacherous course. Like all of the racers in visually-impaired events, Umstead skis behind a...

Blind walk picket line in Canada

2010-03-15T16:15:52Z

Guided by dogs for the blind and with white sensing canes in hand, staff at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) and their visually-impaired clients hit the picket line on Monday. Talks between the non-profit organization's Winnipeg branch in Western Canada<...

New CEO, chairman appointed at Bausch & Lomb

2010-03-15T10:00:41Z

Former Shering-Plough executives take charge at eye-care products maker Bausch & Lomb

Two former Schering-Plough Corp. executives have taken charge at Bausch & Lomb Inc., whose chief executive retired after guiding the optical products maker through the aftermath of a devastating recall of its flagship contact lens clean...

Allergan spent $310,000 lobbying in 4th qtr 2009

2010-03-11T13:32:47Z

Cosmetic drug, eye care maker Allergan spent $310,000 lobbying Congress in 4th qtr of 2009

Allergan Inc., which makes eye care products and Botox anti-wrinkle injections, spent $310,000 lobbying Congress in the last quarter of 2009, according to a disclosure form it filed recently with the House clerk's office. The Thailand (Reuters Life!) - Sujet Salee is a Thai boxing champion with an impressive fight record, but the 29-year-old also stands out among his peers for another reason: he's blind. Sujet, who was born blind, has won five consecutive matches and drew once since he has started his boxing career in October 2008 against opponents who are blindfolded during fights. Prize m...

Indian eye care group wins top world aid prize

2010-03-05T16:16:00Z

BOSTON (Reuters) - An Indian group that performs 300,000 free or subsidized eye surgeries a year for the poor will receive the world's largest humanitarian prize, jurors said on Friday. Aravind Eye Care System, the world's largest eye care provider, was chosen for the $1.5 million Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize, awarded annually to an organization that does ext...

Taxi signs get the finger on South African stamps

2010-03-04T08:17:03Z

From solid fists to raised victory signs, South Africa's unique finger-twisting hand signals used to hail the country's notorious minibus taxis have been inked into national postal stamps. The stamps, released in a blind-friendly raised-relief set of 10 by the South African Post Office, salute the unspoken language that ferries millions of commuters daily along fiercely competitive private taxi routes. "It was chosen because the han...

Inspire posts smaller loss as Azasite sales rise

2010-03-04T06:00:39Z

Inspire Pharma says 4th quarter narrowed due to boost in Azasite solution sales

Inspire Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Thursday it had a smaller loss in the fourth quarter, as sales of its pinkeye treatment Azasite climbed due to a shortage of a competing product. Inspire said Azasite solution sales rose 67 percent to $12.1 million as a shortage of erythromycin ointment gave sales a...

Swiss scanners to help blind in the kitchen

2010-04-16T07:00:23Z

Blind people in Switzerland will soon have help telling their ravioli from their tinned fruit in the kitchen as a new loud-speaking device able to decipher 50,000 products was launched Monday. "It is almost indispensable for a blind person who wants to live independently", the spokesman for the Swiss union for the blind that will sell the device, told AFP. "Being blind myself, I can tell you that if you are in the kitchen and you want...

Paterson's gov bid begins in Long Island hometown

2010-06-25T18:32:02Z

&lt;div id="subtitle"&gt;David Paterson returning to his hometown on Long Island to announce bid for governor&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;p&gt;Weeks after becoming the state's first black governor, David Paterson made a triumphant return to his childhood alma mater, Hempstead

Eye Problems and Eye Care Tips

2010-04-19T16:57:44Z

Author: Dr. Mital John

For children, an eye exam before the age of six is always the best. Most of the school screenings are very good but there are times that some subtle problems are present that can become much larger issues in the event that they are missed. The window of opportunity to fix any of those problems is known to close around the age of eight or nine. In the eve...

Bifocals may slow kids' nearsightedness progression

2010-04-16T07:29:31Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A prescription for bifocals may help children with rapidly worsening nearsightedness maintain better vision, a new study suggests. Children with nearsightedness, or myopia, have trouble seeing objects clearly at a distance, and for some, the condition progresses quickly. The tendency toward rapid progression is believed to be inherited, and it has been unclear whether anything can be done to slo...

Surf Therapy

2010-08-29T16:45:08Z

Samantha Ambrico, 15, is caught by John Luerssen as she loses her balance on a surf board in Long Beach, NY, Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2010. Ambrico is a camper at Camp Abilities, a sports camp for visually impaired or blind children. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Copyright 2010 Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Dr. May Griffith displays a biosynthetic cornea that can be implanted into the eye to repair damage and restore sight in Ottawa, Canada, in 2005. Scientists have created a new kind of artificial...

US Blind Drivers

2010-07-02T00:30:35Z

This handout photo, taken in 2009, provided by the National Federation of the Blind shows Addison Hugen, who is blind student participating in the 2009 YouthSlam, a science camp for blind students, in College Park, Md. The

MUSTARD GAS FIX

2010-06-08T19:18:06Z

CORRECTS spelling of conjunctivitis and modifies chatter; Diagram shows possible effects of mustard gas exposure

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Blind Fencing

2010-03-30T10:19:35Z

In this March 22, 2010 photo, Cory Kadlik, 19, of Medway, Mass., trains in the gym at Perkins School for the Blind in Newton, Mass. The Perkins school students are preparing for an upcoming match with fencers from the