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Vision
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Showing Vision Stories 1 through 10 of 38.
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Get the picture
Researchers discover mechanism that helps humans see in bright and low light
Oct. 13,
2009 --
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| Cells in the retina quickly adjust to darkness by way of an intricate process. |
Ever wonder how your eyes adjust during a blackout? When we go from light to near total darkness, cells in the retina must quickly adjust. Vision scientists at the School of Medicine have identified an intricate process that allows the human eye to quickly adapt to darkness. The same process also allows the eye to function in bright light.
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Chemist receives funding to unravel tricks of neuronal wiring
Midline crossing
Dec. 22,
2008 --
Joshua Maurer, Ph.D., assistant professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has received a four-year, $1,216,000 grant from the National Institute of Mental Health for research titled, "Unraveling Development: New Materials for Understanding Neuronal Wiring." Maurer's long term objective is to develop methodology that allows the study of a variety of neuronal wiring processes. He is starting by unscrambling a phenomenon known as midline crossing using zebrafish. During development, neurons from the right eye cross the midline of the brain to make a connection in the left hemisphere.
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Predicting the previously unpredictable for MS patients
MRI scans can predict effects of MS flare-ups on optic nerve
Dec. 16,
2008 -- One of the most pernicious aspects of multiple sclerosis (MS) — its sheer unpredictability — may finally be starting to yield to advanced medical imaging techniques. Researchers from the School of Medicine report online in the journal Neurology that an approach known as magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) allowed them to estimate three months in advance the chronic effects of inflammation of the optic nerve.
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Making homes low-vision friendly
Washington University program helps people cope with low vision
Dec. 1,
2008 --
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| (Dawn Majors/P-D) |
| Consuelo Washington, left, gets help labeling her microwave from occupational therapist Monica Perlmutter. |
Making sense of all the buttons on microwaves, dishwashers and coffee makers is hard enough when you can see them. For people with impaired vision, the gadgets can become more barrier than convenience. A program sponsored by Washington University helps people with poor eyesight maintain their independence by modifying their homes to make them more useful and safe.
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Three diseases that cause blindness traced to common root
Cause of vision loss in macular degeneration also plays role in diabetic retinopathy, other retinal diseases
Oct. 10,
2008 -- Scientists at the School of Medicine have determined that the same factors play key roles in three different diseases that can lead to blindness. In age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and retinopathy of prematurity, abnormal blood-vessel growth threatens vision. Reporting in the journal PLoS One, Washington University vision scientists say that although the mechanisms are a bit different, all three retinal diseases involve the same immune-system factors.
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Battling blindness
Immune cell age plays role in retinal damage in age-related macular degeneration
Nov. 1,
2007 --
Studying a mouse model of age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in older Americans, scientists at the School of Medicine have found age is key in determining whether damaging blood vessels will form beneath the retina and contribute to vision loss. The scientists, led by principal investigator Rajendra Apte, discovered that specific immune cells called macrophages play a role in the disease process in older mice by failing to block the development of abnormal, leaky blood vessels behind the retina.
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Treating the blind
Study identifies new gene therapy tools for inherited blindness
July 25,
2007 -- An improved approach to gene therapy may one day treat some of the nearly 200 inherited forms of blindness, scientists at the School of Medicine suggest this week. In a paper published online by Public Library of Science ONE, researchers take initial steps toward filling a gap in the toolkit for treating blindness by identifying DNA elements that control when and where genes linked to blindness are turned on.
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Eye exams
Screenings help detect eye problems early
July 18,
2007 -- Experts recommend routine eye screening in all infants before they leave the hospital and at all well-child visits. Pediatricians look for abnormalities in the reflex of the eye, the alignment of the two eyes and how well a child responds visually to light or to objects. If your child's physician suspects a problem, he or she will refer you to a pediatric ophthalmologist for a complete eye exam.
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Mind's eye
Vision finding could benefit Alzheimer's treatment
April 2,
2007 --
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| d'Avossa |
One of the primary visual areas in the brain that tracks motion has surprised scientists: Instead of directly mapping objects by the way their image falls on the retina, it is the first visual area to map them in a representation of the space surrounding the viewer. The finding, published in Nature Neuroscience by lead author Giovanni d'Avossa, could be important for treatment of visual complications of Alzheimer's disease and for understanding how the brain assembles a stable picture from the perpetual jerky scanning movements the eyes make.
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Seeing eye diet
Researchers study supplements to limit damage from macular degeneration
March 14,
2007 -- A team of investigators at the School of Medicine and other centers around the United States is evaluating dietary supplements to determine if they can prevent some of the damage from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness in Americans over the age of 65.
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