Surgery becoming preferred method for correcting strabismus in adults, article says.

The Chicago Tribune (7/29, Channick) reports that strabismus “a disease generally associated with children,” is now affecting an increasing number of adults. An “imbalance of the ocular muscles, strabismus causes crossed eyes, lazy eye and double vision, conditions that affect about four percent of the population, according to the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and [...]

Sunbeds elevated to top cancer risk level: WHO

The International Agency for Research on Cancer announced Wednesday that it had elevated sunbeds, used by tens of millions of people for tanning, to its highest cancer risk category.
Classified in 1992 and a “probable” cancer agent, research since then has left no doubt that soaking up UV rays at tanning salons significantly enhances the chances [...]

Article discusses scotopic sensitivity

A BBC News (7/25, Elliott) article discussed “scotopic sensitivity, a type of visual disturbance, which can easily be overcome or dramatically improved with the simple use of colored filters.” According to London optometrist Prakash Rughani, “scotopic sensitivity is thought to affect half of all children with learning difficulties, amounting to around a million children in [...]

Study suggests intensive diabetes therapy may help cut rates of vision loss, kidney damage, heart disease

Bloomberg News (7/28, Ferrer) reports that, according to a study published July 27 in the Archives of Internal Medicine, “type 1 diabetics cut their rates of vision loss, kidney damage, and heart disease when they maintained long-term, intensive insulin therapy.”  In fact, “patients who got three or more insulin shots per day reduced their incidence [...]

Article details miniature glass telescope for patients with severe AMD

The New York Times (7/19, BU4, Eisenberg) reported that a miniature “glass telescope, the size of a pea, has been successfully implanted in the eyes of people with severely damaged retinas, helping them to read, watch television, and better see familiar faces.” The device is intended for “people with an irreversible, advanced form of “age-related [...]

Optometrist advises parents to protect children’s eyes against UV rays.

Utah’s Standard-Examiner (7/17, Park) reported that “July is ‘UV Awareness Month,’ and besides protecting children from sunburns, adults also need to protect the eyes of children from the sun’s ultraviolet rays.” Optometrist Renny Knowlton, OD, advised parents to exercise “good judgment and common sense.” Children who “spend a good deal of time in the sun” [...]

Researchers developing new understanding of glaucoma.

In the New York Times (7/15) Times Essentials: Reporter’s File, Peter Jaret observed that “a new paradigm for understanding glaucoma has emerged. Glaucoma isn’t simply an eye disease, experts now say, but rather a degenerative nerve disorder, not unlike Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease.” While “researchers still recognize high pressure within the eye as a leading [...]

New implantable contact lenses may offer vision correction for people with moderate to severe myopia, study suggests

WebMD (7/13, Warner) reported that, according to a study published in the July issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology, “a new type of implantable contact lens (ICLs) may offer an alternative to glasses or regular contacts for people with moderate to severe nearsightedness (myopia).” The study demonstrated that the Visian ICLs “made of a collagen-like [...]

Researchers say humans can develop echolocation to “see” their surroundings.

HealthDay (7/8, Preidt) reported that, according to a study published in the current issue of the journal Acta Acustica united with Acustica, “humans can develop echolocation, a system of acoustic signals used by dolphins and bats to ’see’ their surroundings.” In the study, researchers from Spain’s University of Alcala de Henares “analyzed the properties of [...]

NIH unveils final stem-cell research funding rules

USA Today (7/7, Vergano) reports that the NIH “unveiled final rules Monday designed to unlock the restrictions on federal funding of research on human embryonic stem cells.” The rules are meant to “finance research on stem cells donated by fertility clinic patients ‘who gave voluntary written consent for the human embryos to be used for [...]