National Eye Institute

NEI News

NEI Human Gene Therapy Trial for Retinoschisis Underway

Cross-sectional images of retina from retinoschisin-deficient mice, untreated and treated with XLRS gene therapy.

The National Eye Institute (NEI) recently launched the first-ever human gene therapy trial for the vision disorder X-linked retinoschisis (XLRS). Researchers are conducting the trial at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Research Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

Posted on Apr 6, 2015

Brain Training May Bolster Visual Attention

If a study participant were instructed to pay attention to “scenes” and he was attending well, he would be shown the top image as a reward. As his attention lapsed, the middle and bottom images would be shown. The face in the photograph is that of the study’s first author, Megan deBettencourt, a doctoral candidate at the Princeton Neuroscience Institute.

People are bad at staying focused. We’ve all had our minds wander when we try to concentrate on a task that requires paying close attention but isn’t all that engaging. But a new NIH-funded study suggests that one’s capacity to stay focused can improve with real-time feedback.

Posted on Feb 18, 2015

Facts About Stargardt Disease

Stargardt disease is an inherited disorder of the retina – the tissue at the back of the eye that senses light.
NEI Audacious Goals Initiative

The AGI is catalyzing research that will enable the restoration of vision through regeneration of the retina.
Educational Resources for Children

We’ve developed videos and other materials to help students learn about healthy vision, eye safety, how the eyes work, and more.
Eye Health Infographics

Use these graphics to share information quickly and clearly. Topics include AMD, cataract, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, low vision and more.
NIH Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) initiative

Enabling biomedical scientists to capitalize more fully on large, complex, and diverse datasets.