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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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62 items
Grantee News

Promising treatment for disease that destroys eye tissue

Researchers at the University of North Texas Health Science Center have shown that the MDM2 inhibitor class of drugs can treat uveitis in mice.
Physician examines patient's eye

Therapy applied directly inside the eye best for treating uveitic macular edema

Delivery of corticosteroids directly into the eye is more effective than injections adjacent to the eye, according to results from a comparative clinical trial of macular edema in patients with noninfectious uveitis.
Grantee News

Study suggests glaucoma may be an autoimmune disease

Research from MIT and Massachusetts Eye and Ear points to an autoimmune response as the driver of optic nerve damage in a mouse model of glaucoma.
Grantee News

Immune Response Likely Culprit in Eyelid Gland Condition That Causes Dry Eye

Mouse, human data suggest inflammation tips immune response, which disrupts oil glands.
Grantee News

Gene regulator may contribute to protein pileup in exfoliation glaucoma

Scientists have evidence that variants of the same gene that enables us to make connective tissue by crosslinking proteins is associated with unusual glaucoma.

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).
Grantee News

Macular Degeneration: UVA Discovers Trigger That Leads to Vision Loss for Millions

In a major step forward in the battle against macular degeneration, researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have discovered a critical trigger for the damaging inflammation that ultimately robs millions of their sight.
Eyes with autoimmune uveitis show increased inflammatory cells in the eye (indicated by arrows). Treatment with p35 reduces this inflammatory response.  Credit: Charles Egwuagu.

NIH researchers unleash therapeutic potential of IL-35

NIH scientists have simplified manufacturing and dosing of a potential drug candidate for the autoimmune eye disease uveitis—a vision-threatening condition that accounts for about 15 percent of blindness in the U.S.
Grantee News

Researchers at UIC identify master molecule behind corneal inflammation

NEI funded researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have identified an enzyme present in the cornea that trigger inflammation during–and even after–a herpes virus infection. Their results are published in the journal Cell Reports.
C. mast is a commensal bacterium living on the surface of the eye

Eye microbiome trains immune cells to fend off pathogens in mice

Bugs in your eyes may be a good thing. Resident microbes living on the eye are essential for immune responses that protect the eye from infection, new research shows.