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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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New research assesses naturalistic driving techniques to link vision impairment and traffic accidents

New research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham has used naturalistic driving techniques to link vision impairment in older drivers to at-fault crashes and near-crashes.
city street at night as seen by a person with normal vision

A new theory for what’s happening in the brain when something looks familiar

University of Pennsylvania researchers propose a new theory for how the brain understands the level of activation expected from a sensory input and corrects for it, leaving behind the signal for familiarity.

Neural Implant Monitors Multiple Brain Areas at Once, Provides New Neuroscience Insights

Researchers at UCSD have developed a neural implant that monitors the activity of different parts of the brain at the same time, from the surface to deep structures.
Photoreceptor precursor cells (red) are shown with extended axons toward bipolar cells.

Audacious projects develop imaging technology to aid eye tissue regeneration

As regenerative therapies for blinding diseases move closer to clinical trials, the NEI's functional imaging consortium is pioneering noninvasive technologies to monitor the function of the retina’s neurons and their connections to the brain.

Micro-molded ‘ice cube tray’ scaffold is next step in returning sight to injured retinas

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin have developed a micro-molded scaffolding photoreceptor “patch” designed to be implanted under a damaged or diseased retina.

Treatment not always needed to prevent vision loss in patients with elevated eye pressure

More than 20 years after the launch of a landmark clinical trial, follow-up examinations and analyses found that not all patients with elevated eye pressure need pressure-lowering treatment to prevent vision loss from glaucoma.
Doctor examines patient's eye using slit lamp

Citicoline protects against glaucoma without reducing fluid pressure in eye

A new study showed that ingesting the compound citicoline restored optic nerve (neural) signals between the brain and eye to near-normal levels in the study rats.

Gene therapy shows promise in treating rare eye disease in mice

A gene therapy protects eye cells in mice with a rare disorder that causes vision loss, especially when used in combination with other gene therapies, shows a study published in eLife.
photoreceptors and retinal ganglion cells are shown on a video play button.

An artificial retina engineered from ancient protein heads to space

LambdaVision, the Farmington, Connecticut-based biotech firm that developed the artificial retina, is exploring optimizing production of an artificial retina in space, in a series of missions to the International Space Station.

University of Maryland School of Medicine study identifies new mechanism that may cause blindness in older adults

Using laboratory-grown roundworms as well as human and mouse eye tissue, researchers have identified a new potential mechanism for age-related macular degeneration—the leading cause of blindness among older adults.