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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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48 items
Grantee News

New research unlocks a mystery of albinism

Newly published research provides the first demonstration of how a genetic mutation associated with a common form of albinism leads to the lack of melanin pigments that characterizes the condition.
Grantee News

Patient-Specific Stem Cells and Personalized Gene Therapy

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have created a way to develop personalized gene therapies for patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a leading cause of vision loss.
Individual cilia grow from the basal body of a cell with assistance from distal and subdistal appendages (Credit: Shobi Veleri, Ph.D., National Eye Institute)

NIH study reveals gene critical to the early development of cilia

Researchers at the National Eye Institute (NEI) have described the functions of a gene responsible for anchoring cilia — sensory hair-like extensions present on almost every cell of the body.
The retina has several layers of nerve cells. Photoreceptors (top, in green) are responsible for detecting light and converting it into electrical signals. Image courtesy of Wei Li, Ph.D., Unit on Retinal Neurophysiology, National Eye Institute.

Within sight: Light-activated drugs for restoring vision

Researchers have made progress toward an approach that would use light-sensitive drugs to stimulate cells in the retina and restore vision to people who are blind or visually impaired.
Group of 5 scientists in a laboratory.

Mechanism that allows bacteria to infect plants may inspire cure for eye disease

By borrowing a tool from bacteria that infect plants, scientists have developed a new approach to eliminate mutated DNA inside mitochondria—the energy factories within cells.
NIH National Eye Institute logo

NEI-Funded Device for People with RP Gets FDA Approval

On February 14, 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System, the first implanted device to treat adult patients with advanced retinitis pigmentosa (RP).
National Eye Institute logo.

A Tongue for an Eye: Device Challenges Conventional Vision

Erik Weihenmayer has climbed mountains around the world - the highest peaks, in fact, on every continent. One afternoon a few years ago, however, a climbing wall in a local gym served as the setting of a most memorable journey.
National Eye Institute logo.

Clinical Trial of Docosahexaenoic Acid in Patients with Retinitis Pigmentosa Receiving Vitamin A Treatment

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplementation at a dose of 1200 milligrams per day for four years did not, on average, slow the course of retinitis pigmentosa (RP) in adult RP patients already taking vitamin A supplements..