Central Field Loss Affects Driving 
Investigators at the Schepens Eye Research Institute of Mass. Eye and Ear have found that any binocular central field loss could delay a driver’s ability to detect moving hazards in time to take safe, corrective action. To make this discovery, they studied participants with AMD using a state-of-the-art driving simulator in an effort to better understand the effects of vision loss on driving. The results were published in two phases, first in March 2013 in JAMA Ophthalmology and second on September 2, 2015 in PLOS ONE.

Lack of Vitamin D Increases Risk of AMD
A new study, published online in JAMA Ophthalmology, found that women who are vitamin D deficient and have a specific high-risk genotype are 6.7 times more likely to develop age-related macular degeneration (AMD) than women without the genotype and who had sufficient levels of vitamin D. Researchers at the University at Buffalo’s School of Public Health and Health Professions made the discovery after studying 1,230 women ages 54 to 74 who participated in the Carotenoids in Age-related Eye Disease Study.

Glaucoma Gene Interaction Discovered
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered a genetic interaction that may be integral to the development and progression of glaucoma. The findings, published online in Molecular Cell, suggest that some variants of a gene known as SIX6 boost expression of another gene, p16INK4a, which in turn accelerates senescence and death of retinal ganglion cells. Investigators hope this could one day lead to a new therapeutic approach for primary open-angle glaucoma.