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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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116 items
diagram of the eye

Temple Scientists Regenerate Neurons in Mice with Spinal Cord Injury and Optic Nerve Damage

New research by scientists at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine Temple University (LKSOM) shows that gains in functional recovery from optic nerve injuries may be possible, thanks to a molecule known as Lin28, which regulates cell growth.
photoreceptors

Researchers restore sight in mice by turning skin cells into light-sensing eye cells

Researchers have discovered a technique for directly reprogramming skin cells into light-sensing rod photoreceptors used for vision. The lab-made rods enabled blind mice to detect light after the cells were transplanted into the animals’ eyes.
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.
Eye chart for testing vision

Therapy could improve, prolong sight in those suffering vision loss

Millions of Americans are progressively losing their sight as cells in their eyes deteriorate, but a new therapy developed by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, could help prolong useful vision and delay total blindness.
Mouse retinal blood vessels

‘Primitive’ Stem Cells Shown to Regenerate Blood Vessels in The Eye

Researchers turn back the biological hands of time, making adult cells revert to a primitive state with the potential to replace and repair retinal blood vessels.
Image of retina

Scientists successfully test new way to deliver gene therapy​

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have used a unique method to safely deliver gene therapy to fight a rare, but irreversible, genetic eye disorder known as Stargardt disease.
Brad Gelfand, Ph.D., in the laboratory

Potential Way to Halt Blinding Macular Degeneration Identified

Researchers at the University of Virginia have successfully treated age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in mice after finding an unexpected link between the two main forms of the blinding eye disease.
Schematic showing how to produce iPS cells

NIH launches first U.S. clinical trial of patient-derived stem cell therapy to replace and repair dying cells in retina

Researchers at the National Eye Institute (NEI) are launching a clinical trial to test the safety of a novel patient-specific stem cell-based therapy to treat geographic atrophy, the advanced “dry” form of age-related macular degeneration.
Image of scanning electron micrograph

NIH, NIST researchers use artificial intelligence for quality control of stem cell-derived tissues

Researchers used artificial intelligence (AI) to evaluate stem cell-derived “patches” of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) tissue for implanting into the eyes of patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness.
Rhesus macaque monkey

Discovery in monkeys could lead to treatment for blindness causing syndrome

Oregon National Primate Research Center at OHSU reports first-ever nonhuman primate model for Bardet-Biedl Syndrome