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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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NEI study points to ‘ground zero’ for AMD development

National Eye Institute researchers studying human retinas discovered 87 target genes where a mix of environmental factors likely influence one’s risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of vision loss.

NEI study shows how genes in retina get regulated during development

Researchers at the National Eye Institute have mapped the 3D organization of genetic material of key developmental stages of human retinal formation, using intricate models of a retina grown in the lab.

Extremely rare gene variants point to a potential cause of age-related macular degeneration

A study from the National Eye Institute (NEI) identified rare genetic variants that could point to one of the general mechanisms driving age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a common cause of vision loss in older adults.
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FDA-approved drug shows promise in lab models for blinding childhood disease 

A National Eye Institute-led team has identified a compound already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that keeps light-sensitive photoreceptors alive in three models of Leber congenital amaurosis type 10 (LCA 10).
Florescent photo of mouse rod photoreceptor, next to photoreceptor schematic showing cell body, inner and outer segments.

Scientists shine light on how eyes adapt to the dark

A basic research study from the National Eye Institute (NEI) explains how the molecule transducin moves within light-sensing rod photoreceptors in mouse retina to help the eye quickly adapt from bright to low light and back.

3D map reveals DNA organization within human retina cells

National Eye Institute researchers mapped the organization of human retinal cell chromatin, the fibers that package 3 billion nucleotide-long DNA molecules into compact structures that fit into chromosomes within each cell’s nucleus.
Kiam Preston

NEI’s Preston teaches, inspires young scientists

A graduate student at the National Eye Institute, Preston volunteered this summer as a virtual instructor in the 8-week-long Journal of Emerging Investigators Mini Ph.D. Program.
Retinal organoid with green photoreceptor outer segments.

NIH researchers develop gene therapy for rare ciliopathy

Researchers from the National Eye Institute (NEI) have developed a gene therapy that rescues cilia defects in retinal cells affected by a type of Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), a disease that causes blindness in early childhood.

NEI researchers discover cellular events that precede neurodegenerative eye disease

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.

Researchers use patients’ cells to test gene therapy for rare eye disease

Scientists at the National Eye Institute (NEI) have developed a promising gene therapy strategy for a rare disease that causes severe vision loss in childhood.

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