Fight for Sight, an organization that supports eye and vision research by providing funds to promising scientists, has announced its 64th annual selection of grantees for outstanding eye research projects.
This year, 35 grants valued at $288,300 have been awarded to researchers on a wide spectrum of vision and optical conditions that affect millions of Americans young and old. Many of the grantees have a personal interest in studying vision-related illnesses, as they themselves or a member of their families have suffered from an eye ailment which inspired them to pursue ophthalmology.
The following is a list of some of the studies for this year:
- Dry Eye Syndrome, a disease which affects 25 million Americans (that's nearly 10% of the U.S. population), is a chronic lack of sufficient lubrication and moisture on the surface of the eye that is characterized by a persistent dryness, scratching and burning sensation in the eye.
Cataracts are one of the most common eye diseases, affecting roughly 60% of people over the age of 60. More than 1.5 million cataract surgeries are performed in the United States each year. Cataracts are changes in clarity of the natural lens inside the eye that gradually degrade visual quality. Having cataracts is often compared to looking through a foggy windshield of a car or through a dirty lens of a camera.
Aniridia is the absence of the iris and is caused when the gene responsible for eye development does not function correctly and causes the eye to stop developing too early. The disease affects about 1 in every 90,000 Americans and severely complicates one's vision.
Depression in some adults may be caused by how the changing seasons affect eye sight and general health, including producing symptoms of seasonal depression and SAD, based on how the eye and brain process light.
Myopia (nearsightedness) is experienced by about 42% of the US population, up from only 25% in the early 1970s. Myopia runs in families, usually appears in childhood and typically worsens overtime with age.
Uveal melanoma, the most common primary eye tumor among adults, is a serious condition that carries a 50% 5-year mortality rate that is unchanged despite treatment advances over the years.
Source: Fight for Sight
