Visual Impairment News and Research

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The definition of vision impairment by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says a visually impaired person’s eyesight cannot be corrected to a “normal level”.

NSL Complex Regulates Intraciliary Transport Genes in Multiple Cell Types

The non-specific lethal (NSL) complex is a chromatin-associated factor that has been shown in both fruit flies and mammals to regulate the expression of thousands of genes. Abrogation of the NSL genes causes the organism to die, which gives rise to the complex’s unusual name.

28 Aug 2023

FDA-approved compound promotes photoreceptor survival in lab models of inherited retinal ciliopathy

A National Eye Institute-led team has identified a compound already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that keeps light-sensitive photoreceptors alive in three models of Leber congenital amaurosis type 10 (LCA 10), an inherited retinal ciliopathy disease that often results in severe visual impairment or blindness in early childhood.

30 Mar 2023

Blending multiple maps uncover new genetic causes of blindness

In a new study, Ran Elkon and Ruth Ashery-Padan of Tel Aviv University, Israel, and colleagues discovered a new genetic risk factor for adult-onset macular degeneration (AMD) by combining a map of gene regulatory sites with disease-associated loci.

18 Jan 2023

Genetics and extensive schooling likely cause nearsightedness in children

Researchers have discovered five genetic variations that, the longer a person attends school, increase their risk of developing nearsightedness. These results were published on November 17th, 2022 in the open-access journal PLOS Genetics by a team at Cardiff University in the United Kingdom, led by Jeremy Guggenheim.

21 Nov 2022