blindness Archives
Genetic clues in eye birth defect
Feb. 18, 2021—Sabine Fuhrmann and colleagues have discovered a novel underlying cause of coloboma — a birth defect that causes missing tissue in the eye and accounts for up to 10% of childhood blindness.
Insights on diabetic retinopathy
Jan. 23, 2020—A drug that targets multiple pathogenic steps in diabetic retinopathy may be an ideal therapeutic strategy for the disease, Vanderbilt researchers report.
Novel methods to treat glaucoma
Nov. 8, 2018—Increasing a certain signaling molecule prevents the degeneration of retinal cells that are lost in glaucoma, suggesting a new way to treat this disease.
Aqueous humor, microRNAs and glaucoma
Apr. 10, 2018—New findings highlight microRNAs — molecules that regulate gene expression — that are differentially expressed in glaucoma and could be candidate biomarkers or targets for therapy.
Imaging probe for retinal disease
Oct. 12, 2016—An imaging probe developed at Vanderbilt detects retinal inflammation early and may allow therapeutic intervention to prevent blindness.
Building intestinal brush borders
Feb. 8, 2016—Studies of the molecular complex that helps build specialized cellular surfaces could shed light on the mechanisms underlying a genetic deaf-blindness syndrome accompanied by intestinal disease.
New targets for diabetic retinopathy
Jan. 21, 2016—Certain protein factors have been identified as attractive targets for treating diabetic retinopathy, a major cause of blindness in adults.
In a zebrafish’s eye
Jul. 29, 2015—Vanderbilt investigators demonstrate that a certain eye lens protein is evolutionarily conserved between zebrafish and rat, suggesting that zebrafish can be used as a model system to understand eye lens disorders such as cataracts.
Biomarker for diabetic eye disease
Sep. 26, 2014—A person’s mitochondrial gene “signature” could predict risk for diabetic retinopathy and guide early intervention strategies.
Keeping an eye on blast trauma
Aug. 19, 2014—Understanding the cellular and molecular responses of the eye to blast injury could guide new treatment development.
Shining a light on night blindness
Oct. 24, 2013—Vanderbilt researchers are studying how mutations in the receptor for light, rhodopsin, cause light blindness.
Metabolic profiling of vision loss
Sep. 27, 2013—A panel of metabolites – small molecules that are part of metabolic processes – that are unique to macular degeneration will shed light on the disease and aid diagnosis.
