Skip to content

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.

Source
852 items
Grantee News

The Brain’s Gardeners: Immune Cells ‘Prune’ Connections Between Neurons

A new study by at the University of Rochester shows that cells normally associated with protecting the brain from infection and injury also play an important role in rewiring the connections between nerve cells.
Grantee News

A day in the life of a synapse reveals new facets of the adult brain

A new study, funded in part by NEI, sheds light on the innate plasticity of the adult brain at its most fundamental level — the synapse.
Grantee News

Ambati Laboratory Discovers New Antibody Function

An NEI-funded researcher at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine discovered with an international team a previously unrecognized function for antibodies.
Grantee News

CRISPR Used to Repair Blindness-causing Genetic Defect in Patient-derived Stem Cells

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) and University of Iowa scientists have used a new gene-editing technology called CRISPR to repair a genetic mutation responsible for retinitis pigmentosa (RP), an inherited condition.
Moderate hyperopia, if not treated, may affect reading ability and grade school readiness among preschoolers. Credit: Joe Balintfy, NEI.

Uncorrected Farsightedness Linked to Literacy Deficits in Preschoolers

A study funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, has shown that uncorrected farsightedness (hyperopia) in preschool children is associated with significantly worse performance on a test of early literacy.
Grantee News

Researchers Uncover “Predictive Neuron Orchestra” Behind Looking and Reaching Movements

A new study from NYU enhances our understanding of the decision-making process, potentially offering insights into different forms of mental illness in which this dynamic is typically impaired.
Eye Exam

Researchers Discover Three Glaucoma-Related Genes

An analysis funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, has identified three genes that contribute to the most common type of glaucoma.
The researchers developed a technique to study live cells in patches of retina, shown here by confocal microscopy. After 2 hours, the vast majority of the cells are alive (green); only a few cells at the perimeter have died (stained red with a dye).

Retinal Cells Work with Little Reserve Energy; May Explain Vulnerability to Eye Diseases

Our eyes are especially demanding when it comes to energy: Along with our brain, they require a substantial amount of power to keep them functioning and healthy.
Grantee News

Gene Editing Technique Improves Vision in Rats with Inherited Blindness

A new technique that has the potential to treat inherited diseases by removing genetic defects has been shown for the first time to hinder retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative eye disease with no known cure that can lead to blindness.
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.