NEI Research News

The drug minocycline, an antibiotic that also decreases inflammation, failed to slow vision loss or expansion of geographic atrophy in people with dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to a phase II clinical study.

The technique, known by the research team as a “monocyte factory,” makes possible a theoretically limitless source of human immune cells for research and the development of therapies for a variety of conditions including eye disease.

Findings from a National Eye Institute-supported study show for the first time that when babies look at photos of unfamiliar everyday scenes, such as an office or a lab, they tend to fixate on the same regions where adults find meaning.

NEI researchers improved a crucial step in the production of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), a tissue they grow in the lab from patient blood cells and are testing in a clinical trial as treatment for AMD.

The National Institutes of Health sponsored its first-ever workshop on cerebral visual impairment (CVI), an umbrella term for subnormal vision resulting from brain injury during development.

The September 14 workshop brought together multidisciplinary experts in extracellular vesicles – cell-secreted nanoparticles that mediate cell-cell communication.

About 50 participants took part in the virtual event, designed to raise awareness of the U.S.- Ireland R&D Partnership Program.

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.

This year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Syfovre (pegcetacoplan) and Izervay (avacincaptad pegol), the very first drugs for treating geographic atrophy (GA), also known as late-stage “dry” age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

The National Eye Institute (NEI) has chosen Richard Lee, M.D., Ph.D., as the institute’s clinical director, overseeing clinical research and serving as clinical policy advisor for NEI.