Neural Receptor Controls Retinal Destructive Stress

"A receptor that is already a target for treating neurodegenerative disease also appears to play a key role in supporting the retina, scientists report." That's the word from a Medical News Today post. "Without sigma 1 receptor, the Müller cells that support the retina can't seem to control their own levels of destructive oxidative stress, and consequently can't properly support the millions of specialized neurons that enable us to transform light into images, scientists report in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine. Without support, well-organized layers of retinal cells begin to disintegrate and vision is lost to diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma, said Dr. Sylvia Smith, retinal cell biologist and Chairwoman of the Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University." Read more.

Designer of a Field's Test for Drivers with Glaucoma Wins Award

Glaucoma damages the visual field, and if the loss is severe, an individual can loss driving privileges. At present, no objective, office-based tests accurately estimates the impact of visual field loss on driving. So, Dr. Hannes Devos at Georgia Regents University has worked on a project entitled "Performance-Based Visual Field Testing to Detect Driving Impairments in Individuals with Glaucoma." For his efforts, Fight forSight and Prevent Blindness named as the recipient of the new “Fight for Sight-Prevent Blindness Public Health Award,” which comes with a one-time $20,000 grant for a year of full-time research.

According to the 2014 “The Future of Vision: Forecasting the Prevalence and Costs of Vision Problems” report from Prevent Blindness, more than 2.8 million Americans ages 40 and older have glaucoma, with glaucoma and disorders of the optic nerve costing $6.1 billion annually.  Read more.