Australian-first survey gets green light to tackle blindness and vision impairment

MEDIA RELEASE. Australia is one step closer to eliminating blindness and vision impairment following a Federal Government funding announcement for a major survey that will map the prevalence of eye conditions nationally.

Blog: Stem cell research a game changer in fight against blindness

Every day when I come to work at the Centre for Eye Research Australia, based in the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, I see many patients suffering from different eye diseases. Some of them have low vision; some of them are legally blind. Often I ask myself the same question: can my research with stem cells help these patients?

Blog: Untangling the relationship between glucose and blood vessel function in the eye

My younger brother was four years old when he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus. A previously well child, there were no obvious signs that his pancreas was under an insidious attack from his own immune system until his insulin ran out and he experienced dangerously high blood glucose levels.

Diabetes trial participants needed

Last November, CERA released the 'Out of Sight' report which identified that diabetes affects approximately one million Australian adults. The number is expected to double by the year 2025, posing major public health and economic concerns. However, little is known whether blood vessel dysfunction in the eye, which causes vision loss in people with diabetes, is due to the effects of high blood glucose (sugar) or an indirect result of chronic cell damage.