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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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Schematic showing SREDs bind to G-protein coupled receptors to promote cell survival

UCI researchers discover new drugs with potential for treating world’s leading causes of blindness

May 8, 2023

In a University of California, Irvine-led study, researchers have discovered small-molecule drugs with potential clinical utility in the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy (DR), and retinitis pigmentosa (RP).
Rods and Cones image

Early study shows cones in retinal degeneration, thought to be dormant, may retain visual function

March 27, 2023

New UCLA research in mice suggests that “dormant” cone photoreceptors in the degenerating retina are not dormant at all, but continue to function, producing responses to light and driving retinal activity for vision.

Employee Offers Personal Account of NIH-Supported Clinical Research

July 22, 2022

Dr. David Kosub shares a first-hand experience of participating in the National Ophthalmic Disease Genotyping and Phenotyping Network (eyeGENE).
Multicolored image of photoreceptors and their long connecting processes, called axons, within a stem cell-derived retinal organoid

U. Wisconsin eye research uncovers how stem cell photoreceptors reach their targets

June 15, 2022

A new study reveals how photoreceptors grown from stem cells might extend biological wires, known as axons, to contact existing neurons.
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NEI researchers discover cellular events that precede neurodegenerative eye disease

April 21, 2022

Molecular and cellular changes in rod photoreceptors are detectable in a mouse model of retinal degeneration several days prior to observable morphological changes, according to researchers at the National Eye Institute.
Stained image of retina

Correcting night blindness in dogs

March 22, 2022

University of Pennsylvania researchers have developed a gene therapy that restores dim-light vision in dogs with a congenital form of night blindness, offering hope for treating a similar condition in people.
Green retinal ganglion cell spreads dendrites in all directions.

Antabuse may help revive vision in people with progressive blinding disorders

March 18, 2022

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have found that a drug once widely used to wean alcoholics off of drinking helps to improve sight in mice with retinal degeneration.
mouse retina

UCI researchers discover cause, develop pharmacological treatment for reducing retinitis pigmentosa vision loss

January 26, 2022

Inhibiting ceramide accumulation in the retina helps preserve the retina’s structure and function, and improves vision.
Rod outer segment showing connector

UC Irvine researchers reveal molecular mechanisms of eye disease using cryo-electron tomography

January 4, 2022

Understanding the key structural determinants of a highly specialized membrane in the eye could lead to new treatments.
Mother and her daughter smile for the camera

Genomic Study Revealing Among Diverse Populations with Inherited Retinal Disease

October 19, 2021

International effort identified new and different causative gene variants for a group of diseases that can lead to severe vision loss or blindness.