Low Vision
NIH-funded study proposes blurry vision in babies may guide brain development
Shortly after birth when the world is a blur, babies may be learning to identify patterns. According to a new study funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI), the initial phase of blurry vision may be fundamental to the development of normal...
Study suggests maintaining good vision may stave off cognitive decline
During aging, loss of vision and cognition often coincide. In a new study, researchers funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI) and the National Institute on Aging (NIA) have found that vision loss precedes loss of mental capacity. The findings...
Low vision research shifts into overdrive
Tim Goetz drives about 200,000 miles each year. Remarkably, Goetz is legally blind. Research funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI) is helping Goetz and others like him get or stay behind the wheel while keeping roads safe for everyone.
...NIH discovery brings stem cell therapy for eye disease closer to the clinic
Scientists at the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, report that tiny tube-like protrusions called primary cilia on cells of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)—a layer of cells in the back of the eye—are...
Helping the retina regenerate
A new report gives recommendations for regenerating retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), crucial neurons in the back of the eye that carry visual information to the brain. Authored by Monica Vetter, Ph.D., University of Utah, and Peter Hitchcock, Ph.D...
Five innovations harness new technologies for people with visual impairment, blindness
During Low Vision Awareness Month, the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, is highlighting new technologies and tools in the works to help the 4.1 million Americans...
Visual impairment, blindness cases in U.S. expected to double by 2050
With the youngest of the baby boomers hitting 65 by 2029, the number of people with visual impairment or blindness in the United States is expected to double to more than 8 million by 2050, according to projections based on the most recent census...
Two NEI Grantees Awarded Helen Keller Prize
Two researchers funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI), both pioneers in the study of low vision, received the Helen Keller Prize for Vision Research on May 5, in Denver. The Helen Keller Foundation for Research and Education, and BrightFocus...
Baltimore Hosts Two Exhibits on Vision From the National Institutes of Health
Did you know that because most people blink every 5 seconds, our eyes are actually closed for nearly 30 minutes of our waking hours every day? Do you know that what we call “eyesight” is actually a complex process in which light is converted to...
Help Now Available for People with Low Vision
For about 14 million Americans–one of every 20–the inability to see well makes doing things difficult. They have trouble recognizing the faces of friends. Seeing the television and checking price tags becomes harder. Reading mail becomes an...