Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

J Optom 2022 May 11. Epub 2022 May 11.

Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, USA. Electronic address:

Visual cues usually play a vital role in social interaction. As well as being the primary cue for identifying other people, visual cues also provide crucial non-verbal social information via both facial expressions and body language. One consequence of vision loss is the need to rely on non-visual cues during social interaction. Read More

Ophthalmol Glaucoma 2022 May 11. Epub 2022 May 11.

NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at Moorfields Eye Hospital and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, London, England.

Purpose: Angle-closure glaucoma is a major cause of blindness worldwide that carries an excess risk of severe, bilateral visual impairment. A common concern among clinicians is precipitating acute angle closure (AAC) attacks by mydriasis. We evaluated the risk of AAC after pharmacologic dilation in Chinese individuals classified as bilateral primary angle-closure suspects (PACS). Read More

J Clin Med 2022 Apr 28;11(9). Epub 2022 Apr 28.

Department of Ophthalmology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA.

Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is an optic neuropathy characterized by irreversible retinal ganglion cell damage and visual field loss. The global POAG prevalence is estimated to be 3.05%, and near term is expected to significantly rise, especially within aging Asian populations. Read More

J Clin Med 2022 Apr 25;11(9). Epub 2022 Apr 25.

Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy.

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate whether depression is associated with vision impairment (VI) in population-based studies in adults. MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched, from inception to June 2020. Studies were included if they provided two-by-two data for calculating the OR of association between VI and depression, or crude and/or an adjusted odds ratio (OR) with a corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) were reported. Read More

Nutrients 2022 Apr 19;14(9). Epub 2022 Apr 19.

Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Municipal Siaogang Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 812, Taiwan.

Cataract is the leading cause of blindness worldwide, and metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a known risk factor. In this study, we investigated the association between the risk of cataract with MetS and its components in a large-scale study. Data were derived from the Taiwan Biobank, and 121,380 individuals were included. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2022 Apr 28;23(9). Epub 2022 Apr 28.

Institute of Visual Neuroscience and Stem Cell Engineering, College of Life Sciences and Health, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430065, China.

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is genetically heterogeneous retinopathy caused by photoreceptor cell death and retinal pigment epithelial atrophy that eventually results in blindness in bilateral eyes. Various photoreceptor cell death types and pathological phenotypic changes that have been disclosed in RP demand in-depth research of its pathogenic mechanism that may account for inter-patient heterogeneous responses to mainstream drug treatment. As the primary method for studying the genetic characteristics of RP, molecular biology has been widely used in disease diagnosis and clinical trials. Read More

J Transl Med 2022 May 13;20(1):219. Epub 2022 May 13.

Tianjin Children's Hospital, Tianjin, 300134, China.

Objective: Diabetic retinopathy (DR), especially proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) is a common cause of blindness and visual impairment. Early prediction of its occurrence and progression is important to improved patient outcomes. Inflammation-related markers may play important roles, and the monocyte-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) can act as a novel inflammatory marker. Read More

Prog Retin Eye Res 2022 May 10:101065. Epub 2022 May 10.

Department of Ophthalmology, Medical Faculty, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany. Electronic address:

Neurodegenerative retinal diseases are a prime cause of blindness in industrialized countries. In many cases, there are no therapeutic treatments, although they are essential to improve patients' quality of life. A set of disease-causing genes, which primarily affect photoreceptors, has already been identified and is of major interest for developing gene therapies. Read More

Acta Biomater 2022 May 10. Epub 2022 May 10.

Aier Eye Institute, Changsha, Hunan Province, China; Aier School of Ophthalmology, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China; Key Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine, Ministry of Education, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China. Electronic address:

Corneal nerve wounding often causes abnormalities in the cornea and even blindness in severe cases. In this study, we construct a dorsal root ganglion-corneal stromal cell (DRG-CSC, DS) co-culture 3D model to explore the mechanism of corneal nerve regeneration. Firstly, this model consists of DRG collagen grafts sandwiched by orthogonally stacked and orderly arranged CSC-laden plastic compressed collagen. Read More

Drug Discov Today 2022 May 10. Epub 2022 May 10.

Henan Provincial Key Laboratory of Children's Genetics and Metabolic Diseases, Children's Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450018, China. Electronic address:

Retinopathy of prematurity is a noticeable retinal abnormality causing common blindness in children. An uncontrolled retinal vasculature in retinopathy of prematurity inflicts vision loss in numerous children despite the accessibility to a wide range of clinical treatments prescribed for retinopathy of prematurity. Apelin/APJ [class A (rhodopsin-like) G-protein-coupled receptor] signaling regulates retinopathy of prematurity augmented with uncontrolled angiogenesis. Read More

J Pediatr 2022 May 10. Epub 2022 May 10.

Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Objective: To evaluate changes in mortality or significant neurodevelopmental impairment (sNDI) in children born <29 weeks' gestation in association with national quality improvement initiatives.

Methods: This longitudinal cohort study included children born at 22 to 28 weeks' gestation who were admitted to Canadian NICUs between 2009 and 2016. Primary outcome was a composite rate of death or significant NDI (Bayley-III scores <70, severe cerebral palsy, blindness, or deafness needing amplification) at 18 to 24 months corrected age. Read More

FASEB J 2022 May;36 Suppl 1

Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Philadelphia, PA.

Introduction: Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) is the leading cause of blindness in children, affecting 50% of infants born prior to gestational week 32. ROP is the result of postpartum supplemental oxygen administered to compensate for underdeveloped lungs. However, hyperoxia inhibits proper development supplying the retina. Read More

FASEB J 2022 May;36 Suppl 1

Pediatrics, CHU Sainte-Justine, Montreal, QC.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the leading causes of irreversible blindness in the elderly worldwide. Wet AMD is characterized by pathologic choroidal neovascularization that invades the RPE and compromises retinal function. Although anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapy has been shown to improve symptoms of wet AMD in a large number of people, long-term treatment is associated with the development of geographic atrophy. Read More

PLoS Comput Biol 2022 May 13;18(5):e1009572. Epub 2022 May 13.

School of Psychological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.

Humans rely heavily on the shape of objects to recognise them. Recently, it has been argued that Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) can also show a shape-bias, provided their learning environment contains this bias. This has led to the proposal that CNNs provide good mechanistic models of shape-bias and, more generally, human visual processing. Read More

Soc Hist Med 2022 May 8;35(2):635-660. Epub 2022 Feb 8.

As a contribution to the existing literature on deliberate or unintended neglect, concealment and ignorance regarding significant and enduring public health problems-produced by economic marginality, lack of political power and institutional failures affecting specific places and groups-this article discusses the history of epidemic sleeping sickness and endemic onchocerciasis in colonial northern Ghana from 1909 to 1957. Despite accumulating evidence of their serious impacts on the health of northern communities, and calls to action on the part of some health officials, both diseases were only officially recognised as significant risks when it was no longer politically possible to deny them. The particular histories of each disease, in the same region over the same decades, reveal two comparable and interrelated trajectories of neglect. Read More

Digit Health 2022 Jan-Dec;8:20552076221090042. Epub 2022 May 6.

Department of Ophthalmology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

Vision impairment continues to be a major global problem, as the WHO estimates 2.2 billion people struggling with vision loss or blindness. One billion of these cases, however, can be prevented by expanding diagnostic capabilities. Read More

Dis Markers 2022 3;2022:8550714. Epub 2022 May 3.

Neuropsychiatric Imaging Center, Shenzhen Kangning Hospital, Shenzhen Mental Health Center, Shenzhen 518000, China.

Objective: This study is aimed at exploring the regional changes in brain cortical morphology (thickness, volume, and surface area) in the early-blind adolescents (EBAs) by using the surface-based morphometric (SBM) method.

Methods: High-resolution structural T1-weighted images (T1WI) of 23 early-blind adolescents (EBAs) and 21 age- and gender-matched normal-sighted controls (NSCs) were acquired. Structural indices, including cortical thickness (CT), cortical volume (CV), and surface area (SA), were analyzed by using FreeSurfer software, and the correlations between structural indices and the blindness duration were computed by Pearson correlation analysis. Read More

Int Ophthalmol 2022 May 13. Epub 2022 May 13.

Head of Eye Care Programme, Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Connaught Government Teaching Hospital, Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Background: Glaucoma is a significant cause of blindness worldwide. It is more common, presents earlier and is more aggressive in those of African descent. Non-adherence and poor knowledge of glaucoma is a significant barrier to treatment and has been associated with low health literacy. Read More

Int Ophthalmol 2022 May 13. Epub 2022 May 13.

Department of Ophthalmology, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, 34098, Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey.

Background: Optic atrophy is an end-stage pathology of optic nerve diseases that is characterized by optic nerve pallor and vision loss. Because of its sight-threatening effects, understanding its epidemiology and etiology is crucial. In this study, we aimed to determine the epidemiologic features of optic nerve pathologies which lead to optic atrophy. Read More

FASEB J 2022 May;36 Suppl 1

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Laboratory Medicine, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, WV.

Trigeminal neuralgia, a debilitating pain disorder affecting the trigeminal nerve distribution, is often treated through percutaneous procedures using the route of Härtel. Miscannulation and excessive attempts at traversing the foramen ovale can negatively affect surgical outcomes. Complications attributed to miscannulation include blindness, brainstem hematoma, temporal lobe hematoma, and carotid artery hemorrhage. Read More

FASEB J 2022 May;36 Suppl 1

Biomedical Sciences, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Philadelphia, PA.

Background: The retina utilizes more oxygen than any other tissue in the body. Photoreceptors located in the retina's outer nuclear layer (ONL) are culled during the "critical period" of eye development when the number of photoreceptors exceeds the supply of oxygen. Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) is a disease that first affects the rod photoreceptors, causing night blindness and reduced peripheral vision. Read More

FASEB J 2022 May;36 Suppl 1

Biochemistry and Physiology, U.S. Army Medical Research Institute Of Chemical Defense, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD.

This work was conducted in an effort to develop medical countermeasures to treat exposure to toxicants that can be utilized in a terrorism or warfare scenario. Chemical injuries to the eyes are true ocular emergencies because of their high potential to inflict rapid and enduring tissue damage. The cornea and other ocular surface tissues are particularly susceptible to chemical exposures such as sulfur mustard (SM), and long-term prognosis can be poor due to progressive corneal pathologies. Read More

FASEB J 2022 May;36 Suppl 1

Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Philadelphia, PA.

Background: Retinal detachment (RD) is a vision-threatening consequence of several conditions including retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). Numerous studies have established the connection of high oxygen concentration altering retinal development in preterm infants, leading to RD and blindness in later stages. The goal of this study was to develop a reproducible, non-invasive model mouse of human ROP that could be used to study the cellular events leading to the formation of tractional preretinal membranes and RD. Read More

FASEB J 2022 May;36 Suppl 1

Department of Ophthalmology, Schepens Eye Research Institute, Boston, MA.

Metabolic dysfunction and mitochondria defect are implicated in several age-associated diseases including age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness in the elderly. In AMD, mitochondrial oxidative stress in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) drives disease progression and growth of atrophic lesions. Mitochondria release and uptake has been recently identified as a novel mechanism of intercellular communication but its implication in ocular diseases such as AMD has never been investigated. Read More

FASEB J 2022 May;36 Suppl 1

Department of Medical Neuroscience, Department of Ophthalmology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN.

Trabecular meshwork (TM) tissue is made of highly contractile mechanosensitive cells regulating aqueous humor (AH) outflow facility and intraocular pressure (IOP). Increased actin-mediated contraction of TM elevates IOP causing glaucoma and irreversible blindness. This study aims at understanding the role of cholesterol in regulating actin dynamics in human TM (HTM) cells. Read More

FASEB J 2022 May;36 Suppl 1

Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, Jupiter, FL.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in industrialized countries. One of the potential contributors to AMD pathology is retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cell senescence. Through experimental trial, it is shown that sulindac, an FDA approved non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, protects normal cells such as retinal, cardiac, and neuronal cells against oxidative damage through a preconditioning mechanism. Read More

FASEB J 2022 May;36 Suppl 1

Program in Biochemistry, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA.

Non-coding small RNAs (sRNAs) are regulators of mRNA expression, and sRNA-mediated gene expression plays an important role in bacterial processes such as stress responses, metabolism, and virulence, providing a promising field of study to understand bacterial behavior. In the well-studied case of E. coli, global RNA-binding proteins such as Hfq and ProQ are important for supporting the stability and function of sRNAs. Read More

FASEB J 2022 May;36 Suppl 1

James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.

Roses are red, some eyes are blue, you wouldn't see this without CRX too. The Cone-Rod Homeobox protein or CRX is an essential transcription factor for the development of cells in the eye called photoreceptors. Photoreceptor cells (PRs) convert light into signals that the brain can understand. Read More

Orphanet J Rare Dis 2022 May 12;17(1):197. Epub 2022 May 12.

Equipe MitoLab, Unité MitoVasc, INSERM U1083, CHU d'Angers, CNRS 6015, Université d'Angers, 49933, Angers, France.

Background: Inherited retinal dystrophies (IRD) and optic neuropathies (ION) are the two major causes world-wide of early visual impairment, frequently leading to legal blindness. These two groups of pathologies are highly heterogeneous and require combined clinical and molecular diagnoses to be securely identified. Exact epidemiological studies are lacking in North Africa, and genetic studies of IRD and ION individuals are often limited to case reports or to some families that migrated to the rest of the world. Read More

Adapt Phys Activ Q 2022 May 12:1-22. Epub 2022 May 12.

Department of Human Movement Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA,USA.

The purpose of this study was to examine the inclusiveness of visually impaired youths' experiences in integrated physical education. An experiential qualitative research approach was utilized, and 22 visually impaired youth (age 12-17 years) acted as participants. Data sources included one-on-one Zoom interviews, written responses to long-answer prompts, and reflexive interview notes. Read More