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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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Photo shows microscopy image of exosomes in green surrounding rentinal ganglion cells in yellow and orange.

Stem cell secretions may protect against glaucoma

A new study in rats shows that stem cell secretions, called exosomes, appear to protect cells in the retina, the light-sensitive tissue in the back of the eye.
Two women panelists look at male colleague as he speaks

Reconnecting Eye to Brain

Michael Crair, Yale University, and Carol Mason, Columbia University, have co-authored a report published online today in the Journal of Neuroscience.
Artist’s rendering of neural activity in the retina. Light that enters the eye activates rod and cone photoreceptors, which then activates retinal ganglion cells. A signal travels to the brain via the retinal ganglion cell axons. Photo credit: National Eye Institute

Six teams seek to identify biological factors that influence neural regeneration

The National Institutes of Health will fund six projects to identify biological factors that affect neural regeneration in the retina.
Regenerating mouse retinal ganglion cell axons (magenta and green) extending from site of optic nerve injury (left). Photo courtesy of Andrew D. Huberman.

Use it or Lose it: Visual Activity Regenerates Neural Connections Between Eye and Brain

A study in mice funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) shows for the first time that high-contrast visual stimulation can help damaged retinal neurons regrow optic nerve fibers, otherwise known as retinal ganglion cell axons.
Rods and Cones image

NIH Vision Scientists Test Theory of How Rods in our Retina Originated

Retinas from our earliest vertebrate ancestors had cone-like photoreceptors, presumably allowing them to see in daylight, but little ability to see at night.
Grantee News

USC Eye Institute researchers discover a way to improve image sharpness for blind people with retinal implants

Retinal implants that deliver longer pulses of electrical current may noticeably improve image sharpness for individuals who have lost their sight due to retinitis pigmentosa, according to a new study.
Grantee News

Researchers Grow Retinal Nerve Cells in the Lab

Johns Hopkins researchers have developed a method to efficiently turn human stem cells into retinal ganglion cells, the type of nerve cells located within the retina that transmit visual signals from the eye to the brain.
Image of gene therapy preserved vision in a study involving dogs.

Gene Therapy Staves Off Blindness from Retinitis Pigmentosa in Canine Model

Gene therapy preserved vision in a study involving dogs with naturally occurring, late-stage retinitis pigmentosa, according to research funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health.
A pronghorn antelope in the Grand Teton National Park captured by a DSLR camera using the image stabilization function (left). The image on the right was artificially blurred to simulate one’s vision without the work of direction-sensitive ganglion cells. Photo is courtesy of Lu O. Sun, Johns Hopkins Medicine.

The Brain’s Autofocus System Helps Stabilize Vision Despite Motion

Much like the automatic focus of a camera, our eyes and brains must constantly recalibrate so that we can get a clear view of the changing—and always moving—world around us.
Grantee News

Mind Over Matter

Through a clinical collaboration, a 34-year-old paralyzed from the neck down is the first person in the world to have a neural prosthetic device implanted in a region of the brain where intentions are made.

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