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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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Artistic image shows Müller glia-derived rod photoreceptors.

NIH-funded researchers reverse congenital blindness in mice

Researchers funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI) have reversed congenital blindness in mice by changing supportive cells in the retina called Müller glia into rod photoreceptors.
James Golladay and Aman George hold up grant award check

Knights Templar Eye Foundation awards research grant to NEI scientist

National Eye Institute (NEI) Postdoctoral Fellow Aman George, Ph.D., has received a $65,000 grant from the Knights Templar Eye Foundation to identify new drug treatments for vision impairment in children with a type of albinism.
Glaucoma causes the loss of peripheral vision. This photo shows two boys in the center surrounded by blackness to depict the tunnel vision that can occur as the disease progresses.

NEI funded researchers identify 133 genetic variants that predict glaucoma risk

Researchers funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI) have identified 133 genetic variants that predict with 75-percent accuracy a person’s risk for developing glaucoma related to elevated pressure within the eye.
Ground squirrel curled up in a nest

NIH researchers develop 'hibernation in a dish' to study how animals adapt to the cold

Researchers at the National Eye Institute have discovered cellular mechanisms that help the 13-lined ground squirrel survive hibernation.
capsules

Omega-3s from fish oil supplements no better than placebo for dry eye

Omega-3 fatty acid supplements taken orally proved no better than placebo at relieving symptoms or signs of dry eye, according to the findings of a well-controlled trial funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health

Immune cells in the retina can spontaneously regenerate

Immune cells called microglia can completely repopulate themselves in the retina after being nearly eliminated, according to a new study in mice from scientists at the National Eye Institute (NEI).
A fundus photo of a patient with reticular pseudodrusen shows a giraffe-like macular pattern.

NIH launches international study of AMD progression

A new clinical study led by the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, will follow 500 people over five years to learn more about the natural history of early age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Driving simulators enable researchers to study potentially dangerous driving situations

Low vision research shifts into overdrive

Tim Goetz drives about 200,000 miles each year. Remarkably, Goetz is legally blind.
Retina organoids mimic the structure and function of the human retina to serve as a platform to study underlying causes of retinal diseases, test new drug therapies, and provide a source of cells for transplantation. credit: David Gamm, M.D., Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison

NIH solicits next-generation retina organoids in prize competition

A competition for radical ideas in the fight against blindness will move to its next phase by challenging participants to build functioning human retina prototypes.
Aqueous humor flows out of the anterior chamber through the open angle where the cornea meets the iris. The open angle consists of two routes: the conventional, trabecular pathway, which includes a spongy layer called the trabecular meshwork, and the non-conventional, uveoscleral pathway, through the ciliary muscle that controls the eye’s focusing mechanism. The majority of fluid flows out via the trabecular pathway, which acts like a one-way valve. About a third of the fluid exits through the uveoscleral p

NEI support paved early pathway for novel glaucoma therapies

The recent approval of two novel medications for glaucoma – the first new medications for the disorder in nearly 18 years – are fruit borne from decades of foundational scientific research supported by the National Eye Institute (NEI).