Scripps Research Scientist Identifies Critical Role For Night Blindness Gene

A scientist from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute has determined how a particular gene makes night vision possible The study, which was published in the August 10, 2011 edition of The Journal of...

Construction Of Moving Objects By The Visual System

Although our eyes record the word as millions of pixels, "the visual system is fantastic at giving us a world that looks like objects, not pixels," says Northwestern University psychologist Steven L. Franconeri..

Childhood Eye Tumor Made Up Of Hybrid Cells With Jumbled Development

A research team led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists has identified a potential new target for treatment of the childhood eye tumor retinoblastoma. Their work also settles a scientific debate by showing...

Eye Health / Blindness News

The latest Eye Health News & Blindness News articles published daily. Includes news on vision problems and eye disorders, visual pathways in the brain, areas surrounding the eye, age related macular degeneration (AMD) and much more.

Researchers Discover Antibody That May Help Detect Ovarian Cancer In Its Earliest Stages

Using a new approach to developing biomarkers for the very early detection of ovarian cancer, researchers at Rush University Medical Center have identified a molecule in the bloodstream of infertile women that could one day be used to screen for those at high risk for the disease or even those with early-stage ovarian cancer.

The molecule, an antibody that the human body manufactures, is an autoimmune response to mesothelin. This well-studied protein is found in abundance on the surface of ovarian cancer cells but present only in limited amounts in normal human tissue.

The study is published in the online version issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, published by the American Society for Cancer Research.

"The finding is extremely important because at present medical tests are unable to detect ovarian cancer in its early stages, which is why death rates from this disease are so high," said Judith Luborsky, PhD, professor of pharmacology, obstetrics and gynecology and preventive medicine at Rush and lead author of the study.

"Our approach to discovering cancer biomarkers was unique in this study. Instead of investigating molecules specific to ovarian cancer alone, we asked what molecules women with a risk of ovarian cancer and those with ovarian cancer had in common," Luborsky said.

Thyroid Cancer Radio Iodine Treatment; Who Is Receiving It And Why?

Radioactive iodine usage after thyroid surgery for different stages of thyroid cancer is up, but there are few guidelines outlining proper dosages and usage. So what is it and what do patients and health providers need to know?

First, your thyroid gland absorbs nearly all of the iodine in your blood. When a large enough dose of radioactive iodine (RAI), also known as I-131, is taken into the body, it can destroy the thyroid gland and any other thyroid cells (including cancer cells) that take up iodine, with little effect on the rest of your body.

Between 1990 and 2008 its use has increased among patients with all tumor sizes, and there was wide variation in use of this treatment among hospitals according to a new study released this week which states:

Big Tobacco Balks At New Graphic Label Mandate; Sue The Feds

Four of the five largest U.S. tobacco companies have sued the federal government this week saying that nine new cigarette packaging warning labels made mandatory for the industry by the FDA, violate their free speech rights.