Eye Conditions

Prediction Model

Researchers from Tufts have created a predictive method to identify one’s risk for development of macular degeneration (AMD) based on data gathered from 1,446 subjects in the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS).  The study evaluates  ocular, genetic, and environmental information and the effectiveness of  predictive methods of identifying AMD and AMD risk.

Researchers looked at gender, age, level of education, whether participants smoked and for how long/much, the participants’ body mass index, and whether participants supplemented with nutrients (zinc and antioxidants) to slow AMD development.
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A recent study out of the Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences at the University of Toronto New indicates that glaucoma patients can reduce intraocular pressure by sleeping with their head elevated at a 30-degree angle as opposed to sleeping with their heads flat on a mattress.  This resulted in a 20% lower IOP.  Study participants exhibited no differences in blood pressure or ocular perfusion pressure between the two positions.  Ocular perfusion is the relationship between IOP and blood pressure – another glaucoma marker.

Previous studies had established that raising the head lowers IOP and that lying down supine results in higher IOP.  Scientists found that comparing lying down to a 45 degree raised position from the horizontal results in a 10% to 15% lower IOP.
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Eye and Vision Milestones in Infants
Babies older than 3 months should be able to follow or “track” an object as it moves across their field of vision.  If your baby is unable to hold steady eye contact by this time or seems unable to see, let your pediatrician know. Eye-crossing is common in babies before 4 months of age, especially when they are eating.  Eyes that cross all the time or one eye that turns out is often indicative of a problem and should be brought to your doctor’s attention.
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Macular Degeneration:

Pumpkin seed oil is rich in zeaxanthin, which protects the retina and slow the progress of macular degeneration. In 2003, the Medical Research Council Environmental Epidemiology Unit at the University of Southampton in England announced that zeaxanthin “may be far more important in preventing or stabilizing macular degeneration than previously realized.”  Learn more about zeaxanthin.
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The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) already supports the assertion that omega-3 in the form of ALA aids cognitive and eye function and may soon be extending this designation to DHA.  Products will be able to make this claim on their packaging.
Source: nutraingredients

DHA has been documented to help those who suffer from retinitis pigmentosa.

Omega-3 Delivery
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Italian researchers reported in 2010 that patients who had become blind or had other very severe damage to their corneas due to being splashed with chemicals received a reprieve.  They received transplants of their stem cells and regained their vision.  It was considered a huge success in the field of stem-cell therapy.

The researchers accomplished their results by removing a tiny amount of stem cell tissue from a patient’s eye that was not damaged, and used them to grow new corneal tissue.  This tissue was then replace surgically.  A further benefit was that because the stem cells had come from the patient’s own eyes, they did not need to take drugs to block the bodies natural tendency to reject foreign materials.

Published: New England Journal of Medicine, 6/24/2010
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