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NEI Research News

Thanks to the work of NEI scientists and grantees, we’re constantly learning new information about the causes and treatment of vision disorders. Get the latest updates about their work — along with other news about NEI.

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blueprint eye

NIH launches competition to develop human eye tissue in a dish

The National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, has opened the first stage of a federal prize competition designed to generate miniature, lab-grown human retinas.
Artist's rendering of photoreceptor signaling a retinal ganglion cell

Moving future regenerative therapies for blinding eye diseases to the clinic

A new report outlines steps to bringing future regenerative therapies for blinding diseases of the retina to patients. The retina is the light-sensitive tissue in the back of the eye. When stimulated, retinal neurons send visual information to the brain.
Infocard

NEI’s Healthy Vision Month 2017 puts spotlight on women

May is Healthy Vision Month when the National Eye Institute (NEI) encourages everyone to make eye health a priority.
Corneal section from a person with Fuchs dystrophy shows the presence of ATP1B1 in the corneal endothelium.

NIH-funded team identifies genetic underpinnings of Fuchs dystrophy

An international study of more than 5,417 people helps pinpoint the genetic risk factors associated with Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy, the most common disorder requiring corneal transplantation.
Eye

Helping the retina regenerate

A new report gives recommendations for regenerating retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), crucial neurons in the back of the eye that carry visual information to the brain.

NIH-Funded Scientists Home in on Molecular Causes of Secondary Cataract

Four to 12 percent of people undergoing cataract surgery to replace a cloudy lens with a clear artificial one develop posterior capsule opacification (PCO).
Image of a mouse retina

NIH scientists deploy CRISPR to preserve photoreceptors in mice

Silencing a gene called Nrl in mice prevents the loss of cells from degenerative diseases of the retina, according to a new study. The findings could lead to novel therapies for preventing vision loss from human diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa.
Xu Wang with Wai Wong in lab

Breast cancer drug dampens immune response, protecting light-sensing cells of the eye

The breast cancer drug tamoxifen appears to protect light-sensitive cells in the eye from degeneration, according to a new study in mice.
Sequence of five images, spanning 28 days, shows how regeneration happens in the zebrafish retina. Rods are shown in green, regenerating cells are shown in red, and all other cells are labeled with blue. As the rods die, regenerating cells increase and replace the lost rods.

NIH-funded study helps explain how zebrafish recover from blinding injuries

Researchers at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, have discovered that in zebrafish, decreased levels of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) cue the retina, the light-sensing tissue in the back of the eye, to produce stem cells
Grantee News

Fighting Blindness: TSRI Scientists Bring a Key Protein into Focus

NEI-funded scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have discovered how a protein called α2δ4 establishes proper vision.

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