NEI Research News

Researchers have used fruit flies and mice to make novel discoveries about sensory physiology at both cellular and molecular levels that are important for light processing.

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed a novel mouse model for the vision disorder Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), and found that they can use gene therapy to improve visual function in the mice.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins and the University of Washington report new research that sheds light on how the retina sets its own biological rhythm using a novel light-sensitive pigment, called neuropsin, found in nerve cells at the back of the eye.

People with a genetic predisposition for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) significantly increased their odds of developing the blinding eye disorder if they had a history of smoking and did not exercise or eat enough fruits and vegetables.

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have elucidated a genetic interaction that may prove key to the development and progression of glaucoma.

When we move our head, the whole visual world moves across our eyes. Yet we can still make out a bee buzzing by or a hawk flying overhead, thanks to unique cells in the eye called object motion sensors.

The inflammatory eye disorder autoimmune uveitis occurs when a person’s immune system goes awry, attacking proteins in the eye.

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a pathway that leads to the formation of atypical blood vessels that can cause blindness in people with age-related macular degeneration.

Loss or defects of a protein previously shown to play a key a role in cataract, the clouding of the lens that commonly strikes people in their seventies, has now been shown to contribute to presbyopia.

Spider-like cells inside the brain, spinal cord and eye hunt for invaders, capturing and then devouring them. These cells, called microglia, often play a beneficial role by helping to clear trash and protect the central nervous system against infection.