NEI Research News

Researchers have found that the brain makes new connections in those with early blindness (i.e. those born with or who have acquired profound blindness before the age of 3).

The formation of tumors in the eye can cause blindness. But, for some reason our corneas, the transparent layer that forms the front of our eyes, have a natural ability to prevent it.

NEI funded research experts at the University of Southern California Roski Eye Institute found that visual impairment in preschool children will increase 26 percent affecting almost 220,000 children over the next 45 years.

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

In mice genetically predisposed to glaucoma, vitamin B3 added to drinking water is effective at preventing the disease.

A tiny, transparent device that can fit into a contact lens has a bright future, potentially helping a range of scientific endeavors from biomedicine to geology.

NEI is funding a 5-year, 60-center clinical trial to evaluate new treatment protocols for herpes zoster ophthalmicus, a form of shingles that can seriously and permanently affect the eye.

NEI-funded researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have shown that vision loss associated with a form of retinitis pigmentosa can be slowed dramatically by reprogramming the metabolism of photoreceptors, or light sensors, in the retina.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a pathway involved in harming rods and cones and have found a way to halt that damage.

Engineers and physicians at Duke University have developed a handheld device capable of capturing images of a retina with cellular resolution.