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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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16 items
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

December 17, 2020

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

November 11, 2020

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

June 12, 2020

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

April 3, 2020

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

May 17, 2018

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

June 29, 2017

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

March 24, 2017

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

December 22, 2015

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.
Grantee News

Novel Mechanism Identified in Cells in Close Proximity

December 15, 2015

Researchers at Florida Atlantic University are the first to show that cells in close proximity to each other can sense when a cell is dying due to environmental stressors like UV light and smoke, and eat the cell before it becomes toxic.
Grantee News

Eye Drops Could Clear Up Cataracts Using Newly Identified Chemical

November 5, 2015

A chemical that could potentially be used in eye drops to reverse cataracts, the leading cause of blindness, has been identified by a team of scientists.