I was asked to answer some common questions about eye care for O.S.I. (Optometric Services Inc.)
My video presentations are now appearing on You Tube. I have answered questions on Cataracts, Macular Degeneration, Children's Vision and Ultraviolet Protection.
Here are the links:
Ultraviolet Rays and the Eye
Macular Degneration
Cataracts
Children's Vision
Enjoy!
Toby
Showing posts with label cataracts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cataracts. Show all posts
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Friday, December 24, 2010
Canadian breakthrough in cataract treatment
Tuesday, Dec 21, 2010
The Canadian company Vision Rejuvenation™ Victoria (British Columbia) has become the first centre in Canada to implant the world’s first light adjustable intraocular lens.
The Calhoun Vision LAL® lens was implanted by Dr. Lawrence Brierley, surgeon and medical director at Vision Rejuvenation. Dr. Brierley is involved in a clinical study through Health Canada to determine the safety and effectiveness of the lens and the light delivery device.
The main problem with cataract surgery is that it is difficult to precisely determine in advance what lens power the patient needs. The patient has to live with the visual problems resulting from any errors or undergo further surgical procedures. The light adjustable lens is the solution to this problem. Once the eye has healed after surgery, the patient’s ability to see near and far is assessed and a light source is applied to change the shape of the lens.
“This breakthrough technology is one of the greatest advances in cataract surgery in years. I have been waiting all my life for the sort of precision that this lens allows me,” says Dr. Brierley. “It is like having an insurance policy that ensures accurate and precise outcomes based on specific patient requirements.”
The Canadian company Vision Rejuvenation™ Victoria (British Columbia) has become the first centre in Canada to implant the world’s first light adjustable intraocular lens.
The Calhoun Vision LAL® lens was implanted by Dr. Lawrence Brierley, surgeon and medical director at Vision Rejuvenation. Dr. Brierley is involved in a clinical study through Health Canada to determine the safety and effectiveness of the lens and the light delivery device.
The main problem with cataract surgery is that it is difficult to precisely determine in advance what lens power the patient needs. The patient has to live with the visual problems resulting from any errors or undergo further surgical procedures. The light adjustable lens is the solution to this problem. Once the eye has healed after surgery, the patient’s ability to see near and far is assessed and a light source is applied to change the shape of the lens.
“This breakthrough technology is one of the greatest advances in cataract surgery in years. I have been waiting all my life for the sort of precision that this lens allows me,” says Dr. Brierley. “It is like having an insurance policy that ensures accurate and precise outcomes based on specific patient requirements.”
Friday, August 27, 2010
Diet, Meds and Smoking Linked to Eye Disease Risks
Good nutrition staved off cataracts; some drugs, smoking increased vision problems, studies found
MONDAY, June 14 (HealthDay News) -- A healthy diet helps guard against cataracts, while certain medications raise the risks of this common cause of vision loss, two new studies suggest.
And a third study finds that smoking increases the risk of age-related macular degeneration, another disease that robs people of their sight.
The first study found that women who eat foods that contain high levels of a variety of vitamins and minerals may be less likely to develop nuclear cataract, which is the most common type of age-related cataract in the United States.
The study is published in the June issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology.
The researchers looked at 1,808 women in Iowa, Oregon and Wisconsin who took part in a study about age-related eye disease. Overall, 736 (41 percent) of the women had either nuclear cataracts evident from lens photographs or reported having undergone cataract extraction.
"Results from this study indicate that healthy diets, which reflect adherence to the U.S. dietary guidelines . . . are more strongly related to the lower occurrence of nuclear cataracts than any other modifiable risk factor or protective factor studied in this sample of women," Julie A. Mares, of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and colleagues said in a news release from the journal.
The second study found that medications that increase sensitivity to the sun -- including antidepressants, diuretics, antibiotics and the pain reliever naproxen sodium (commonly sold over-the-counter as Aleve) -- increase the risk of age-related cataract.
Researchers followed-up with 4,926 participants over a 15-year period and concluded that an interaction between sun-sensitizing medications and sunlight (ultraviolet-B) exposure was associated with the development of cortical cataract.
"The medications [active ingredients] represent a broad range of chemical compounds, and the specific mechanism for the interaction is unclear," Dr. Barbara E.K. Klein and colleagues at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, said in the news release. Their report was released online in advance of publication in the August print issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology.
Because the lens of the eye develops from the same tissue layer as the skin, sun-sensitizing medications may affect the eyes as well as the skin, the researchers explained.
"Our results need to be evaluated in other populations, especially in view of the increasing frequency of sun-sensitizing medications," they concluded. "If our findings are confirmed, it would be important to examine whether the effect is greater in those with higher levels of ambient sunlight (UV-B) exposure and if dose or duration of medication use is also important."
The third study, also published online and in the August print issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, found that smoking and cholesterol levels affect the risk for early-stage age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
AMD is uncommon before age 55 but the risk increases after that age, therefore most studies focus on AMD in middle-aged and older adults, according to background information in the report.
"To our knowledge, accurate estimates of prevalence of AMD among adults younger than 40 years are lacking. Such information is important for understanding the relationships of risk factors to AMD across the age spectrum and for identifying factors that might affect this disease earlier in life," Dr. Ronald Klein, of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and colleagues said in the news release.
The study included 2,810 people, aged 21 to 84, who were assessed for the presence and severity of drusen. These yellow or white deposits in the retina are an early sign of AMD.
Overall, early AMD was detected in 3.4 percent of the participants, with rates ranging from 2.4 percent among those aged 21 to 34 to 9.8 percent for those aged 65 and older. Besides age, additional risk factors associated with increased risk for AMD included being male, heavy smoking for a long period of time, and being hearing impaired. Elevated levels of HDL ("good") cholesterol were associated with a lower risk for AMD, the study authors noted.
The findings "demonstrate that early AMD onset may occur in midlife. Some modifiable factors [smoking status and serum HDL cholesterol level] associated with AMD in older cohorts were associated with early AMD in this cohort of middle-aged adults," the researchers concluded.
MONDAY, June 14 (HealthDay News) -- A healthy diet helps guard against cataracts, while certain medications raise the risks of this common cause of vision loss, two new studies suggest.
And a third study finds that smoking increases the risk of age-related macular degeneration, another disease that robs people of their sight.
The first study found that women who eat foods that contain high levels of a variety of vitamins and minerals may be less likely to develop nuclear cataract, which is the most common type of age-related cataract in the United States.
The study is published in the June issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology.
The researchers looked at 1,808 women in Iowa, Oregon and Wisconsin who took part in a study about age-related eye disease. Overall, 736 (41 percent) of the women had either nuclear cataracts evident from lens photographs or reported having undergone cataract extraction.
"Results from this study indicate that healthy diets, which reflect adherence to the U.S. dietary guidelines . . . are more strongly related to the lower occurrence of nuclear cataracts than any other modifiable risk factor or protective factor studied in this sample of women," Julie A. Mares, of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and colleagues said in a news release from the journal.
The second study found that medications that increase sensitivity to the sun -- including antidepressants, diuretics, antibiotics and the pain reliever naproxen sodium (commonly sold over-the-counter as Aleve) -- increase the risk of age-related cataract.
Researchers followed-up with 4,926 participants over a 15-year period and concluded that an interaction between sun-sensitizing medications and sunlight (ultraviolet-B) exposure was associated with the development of cortical cataract.
"The medications [active ingredients] represent a broad range of chemical compounds, and the specific mechanism for the interaction is unclear," Dr. Barbara E.K. Klein and colleagues at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, said in the news release. Their report was released online in advance of publication in the August print issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology.
Because the lens of the eye develops from the same tissue layer as the skin, sun-sensitizing medications may affect the eyes as well as the skin, the researchers explained.
"Our results need to be evaluated in other populations, especially in view of the increasing frequency of sun-sensitizing medications," they concluded. "If our findings are confirmed, it would be important to examine whether the effect is greater in those with higher levels of ambient sunlight (UV-B) exposure and if dose or duration of medication use is also important."
The third study, also published online and in the August print issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, found that smoking and cholesterol levels affect the risk for early-stage age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
AMD is uncommon before age 55 but the risk increases after that age, therefore most studies focus on AMD in middle-aged and older adults, according to background information in the report.
"To our knowledge, accurate estimates of prevalence of AMD among adults younger than 40 years are lacking. Such information is important for understanding the relationships of risk factors to AMD across the age spectrum and for identifying factors that might affect this disease earlier in life," Dr. Ronald Klein, of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and colleagues said in the news release.
The study included 2,810 people, aged 21 to 84, who were assessed for the presence and severity of drusen. These yellow or white deposits in the retina are an early sign of AMD.
Overall, early AMD was detected in 3.4 percent of the participants, with rates ranging from 2.4 percent among those aged 21 to 34 to 9.8 percent for those aged 65 and older. Besides age, additional risk factors associated with increased risk for AMD included being male, heavy smoking for a long period of time, and being hearing impaired. Elevated levels of HDL ("good") cholesterol were associated with a lower risk for AMD, the study authors noted.
The findings "demonstrate that early AMD onset may occur in midlife. Some modifiable factors [smoking status and serum HDL cholesterol level] associated with AMD in older cohorts were associated with early AMD in this cohort of middle-aged adults," the researchers concluded.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Researchers Use Infrared Laser Treatment To Treat Cataracts
From the New York Times:
By HENRY FOUNTAIN
Published: March 22, 2010
Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness in the world, and are often related to aging. In a common form of cataracts, proteins in the lens change over time, developing chromophores — molecular add-ons that absorb color in the blue part of the spectrum. Chromophores reduce the amount of light reaching the retina (and give the lens a yellow-brown appearance), but they also disrupt the structure of the lens proteins, causing light to scatter.
Cataracts can be treated by lens-replacement surgery, but the procedure is invasive and costly, requiring special equipment and skilled eye surgeons. To make cataract treatment available to more people around the world, a less-invasive, less-expensive technique is needed.
Line Kessel, an ophthalmologist at Glostrup Hospital of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, and colleagues have come up with what they say is a promising alternative to replacement surgery. In their approach, described in the open-access journal PLoS ONE, they “bleach” the lens with a laser.
Ultraviolet light can alter chromophores so they no longer absorb color, but UV light can damage the retina. So the researchers use infrared light, delivered by an extremely fast-pulse laser. The pulses are so fast, Dr. Kessel said, that two photons hit a target molecule simultaneously, with the same effect as if UV light was used.
The laser treatment reduces the light absorption and also helps restore the lens proteins to their proper structure. Much more research and development work remains, Dr. Kessel said, but the goal is a relatively simple procedure that would last half an hour at most and use largely automated equipment in mobile clinics.
By HENRY FOUNTAIN
Published: March 22, 2010
Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness in the world, and are often related to aging. In a common form of cataracts, proteins in the lens change over time, developing chromophores — molecular add-ons that absorb color in the blue part of the spectrum. Chromophores reduce the amount of light reaching the retina (and give the lens a yellow-brown appearance), but they also disrupt the structure of the lens proteins, causing light to scatter.
Cataracts can be treated by lens-replacement surgery, but the procedure is invasive and costly, requiring special equipment and skilled eye surgeons. To make cataract treatment available to more people around the world, a less-invasive, less-expensive technique is needed.
Line Kessel, an ophthalmologist at Glostrup Hospital of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, and colleagues have come up with what they say is a promising alternative to replacement surgery. In their approach, described in the open-access journal PLoS ONE, they “bleach” the lens with a laser.
Ultraviolet light can alter chromophores so they no longer absorb color, but UV light can damage the retina. So the researchers use infrared light, delivered by an extremely fast-pulse laser. The pulses are so fast, Dr. Kessel said, that two photons hit a target molecule simultaneously, with the same effect as if UV light was used.
The laser treatment reduces the light absorption and also helps restore the lens proteins to their proper structure. Much more research and development work remains, Dr. Kessel said, but the goal is a relatively simple procedure that would last half an hour at most and use largely automated equipment in mobile clinics.
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