Blindness

Vanderbilt researchers, in collaboration with investigators from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the Delft University of Technology, University Hospital Bonn, and Molecular Horizon have developed new protocols to study which molecular pathways might be important in the aging retina and what might cause the formation of deposits in the eye that confer high risk for age-related macular degeneration. Read More

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. Read More

A drug that targets multiple pathogenic steps in diabetic retinopathy may be an ideal therapeutic strategy for the disease, Vanderbilt researchers report. Read More

New findings highlight microRNAs — molecules that regulate gene expression — that are differentially expressed in glaucoma and could be candidate biomarkers or targets for therapy. Read More

An imaging probe developed at Vanderbilt detects retinal inflammation early and may allow therapeutic intervention to prevent blindness. Read More

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. Read More

Certain protein factors have been identified as attractive targets for treating diabetic retinopathy, a major cause of blindness in adults. Read More

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. Read More

A person’s mitochondrial gene “signature” could predict risk for diabetic retinopathy and guide early intervention strategies. Read More

Understanding the cellular and molecular responses of the eye to blast injury could guide new treatment development. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers are studying how mutations in the receptor for light, rhodopsin, cause light blindness. Read More

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. Read More

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has been chosen as one of 12 sites in the United States to offer the first FDA-approved bionic eye for the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Read More

Glaucoma-causing mutations in the gene for myocilin reduce secretion of the protein into the aqueous humor, suggesting a new option for treatment. Read More

Research to Prevent Blindness has awarded a grant of $100,000 to Vanderbilt’s Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences to support research into the causes, treatment and prevention of blinding diseases. Read More