NEI Research News

Scientists have revived light-sensing neuron cells in organ donor eyes and restored communication between them as part of a series of discoveries that stand to transform brain and vision research.

A new study indicates base editing may provide long-lasting retinal protection and prevent vision deterioration in patients with inherited retinal degeneration, specifically in Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) patients.

University of Pennsylvania researchers have developed a gene therapy that restores dim-light vision in dogs with a congenital form of night blindness, offering hope for treating a similar condition in people.

Researchers improved vision in a type 2 diabetes mouse model by reprogramming blood cells into endothelial cells with vessel reparative properties similar to endothelial colony forming cells.

A Stanford scientist and his colleagues show that patients fitted with a chip in their eye are able to integrate what the chip “sees” with objects their natural peripheral vision detects.

Researchers from the U. of Wisconsin have shown that a retinal cell type derived from human pluripotent stem cells is capable of the complex process of detecting light and converting that signal to electrical waves.

In a pair of papers on retinal structure, Duke University neurobiologists have shown that the rigors of natural selection and evolution have shaped the retinas in our eyes just as this theory of optimization would predict.

Researchers have developed a new gene therapy that could eventually provide an alternative treatment for Fuchs’ endothelial corneal dystrophy, a genetic eye disease affecting roughly one in 2,000 people globally.

Two translational studies at the Vanderbilt Eye Institute are targeting photoreceptors and retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) to restore vision through regeneration of the retina. The research is funded by the NEI Audacious Goals Initiative.

A form of gene therapy protects optic nerve cells and preserves vision in mouse models of glaucoma, according to research supported by NIH’s National Eye Institute. The findings suggest a way forward for developing neuroprotective therapies for glaucoma.