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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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18 items
Diagram of the eye showing location of the lens.

FAU lands $1.9 million NIH grant for novel way to treat degenerative disease

Florida Atlantic University researchers Lisa A. Brennan and Marc Kantorow will determine the novel mechanisms that convert immature eye lens precursor cells into functional transparent cells.
Decorative

Researchers discover new role of immune cells in eye health

A new study reveals how the eye resolves inflammation in the eye disease autoimmune uveitis.
Image shows eye globe, optic nerve, lens, cornea, pupil, meshwork, angle, and where fluid forms and exits the front of the eye.

Cataract surgery in infancy increases glaucoma risk

Children who undergo cataract surgery as infants have a 22% risk of glaucoma 10 years later, whether or not they receive an intraocular lens implant. The findings come from the National Eye Institute (NEI)-funded Infant Aphakic Treatment Study.
aisle in grocery store as seen by a person with normal vision

Novel population of neurons identified that control binocular eye movements in 3D space

University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers have discovered a previously undescribed population of neurons that help control our eyes as they view in three-dimensional space.
Microscopy image of lens and zone fibers stained red, blue and green.

New research on Marfan syndrome focuses on eyes

New NEI-supported research provides insight into the eye conditions associated with Marfan syndrome, where weakened zonule fibers cause vision problems.
Kantorow and Brennan

Florida Atlantic Scientists land NEI grant for tissue engineering approach

The Kantorow Laboratory and research program have been continually funded by the NIH’s National Eye Institute for almost two decades.
Grantee News

Insight to the Eye Lens

U. Delaware's Salil Lachke identifies new mechanism essential for eye lens development.
Brunescent nuclear cataract

NEI charts a clearer future for cataract prevention and treatment

Research funded by the National Eye Institute aims to reverse progression of cataracts—the most common cause of blindness worldwide—or to prevent them from forming altogether.

NIH-Funded Scientists Home in on Molecular Causes of Secondary Cataract

Four to 12 percent of people undergoing cataract surgery to replace a cloudy lens with a clear artificial one develop posterior capsule opacification (PCO).
The level of alpha-crystallin in the eye declines as cataract progresses. Left: The eye of a patient with an early cataract. Right: After 20 months, the same eye has a clinically significant cataract. During that period, the level of alpha-crystallin decreased by more than 94 percent.

Space Lab Technology May Help Researchers Detect Early Signs of Cataract

As we age, proteins in the lenses of our eyes start misbehaving: They unfold and congregate in clusters that block, scatter and distort light as it passes through the lens.