Wellness

Circadian rhythms – they keep our systems in balance and running on a schedule.  Our internal clocks, which control everything from sleep-wake cycles to hormones to appetite, are set according to the amount of light that enters the brain.  Until now, how this happens has largely been a mystery.

Biologists from Johns Hopkins, University of Southern California, and Cornell University have recently discovered that one of the photosensitive cells in the retina, the rods, are responsible for “setting” our internal clocks in low light conditions.
Read More »

European ophthalmologists are jumping on the “green” bandwagon and attempting to develop a program dedicated to the recycling and recovery of surgical instruments.

As single-use surgical instruments grow in popularity, so have environmental concerns as people consider the effect their manufacture and disposal have on the planet.  European fabricator of medical devices, Blink Medical, is working with doctors to help them recycle their equipment.  The company is taking responsibility for the collection, cleaning, and recycling of the instruments at no charge to the physicians.
Read More »

“Type D” Personality

Heart disease researchers have identified a new personality type that can influence your health.  Those with the “type-D personality” are heart disease patients who suffer from psychological distress and are more likely to experience “adverse cardiovascular events.”
Read More »

Researchers are studying the relationship between the gene paraoxonase 1 (PON1) and the effect of pesticides on the body.  They have already established that a increased level of organophosphate (OP) pesticides in the body are related to poorer mental development in two year olds whose mothers were exposed to the chemical. This study, published in Environmental Health Perspectives is aimed at determining whether scientists can use PON1 as a marker to measure whether child development has been hindered by pesticide exposure.  Additional research is necessary to determine whether this gene is related to the way that pesticides affect pregnant mothers and whether babies are affected in utero.
Read More »

An editorial in Glaucoma Today speaks to doctors about being careful to make sure patients understand all of the medical information set before them so that they can make informed choices and best take care of their own conditions.  The author, Eydie Miller-Ellis, MD, gives her colleagues the following check list to keep in mind:
Read More »

Johnson & Johnson Vision Care has initiated a voluntary recall of its 1-Day Acuvue TruEye contact lenses made of narafilcon A. According the Associated Press, these lenses were only distributed in Japan and parts of Asia and Europe, according to the AP; 100,000 boxes in total have been recalled.  No consumers in either the U.S. or Canada should be effected (the North American lenses are made of narafilcon B).

The recall is bases on a limited number of user complaints related to a stinging sensation felt when the lenses were placed on the eye.  According to Johnson and Johnson  the problem stems from a malfunctioning manufacturing line in Ireland.
Read More »

Drinking two cups of water before a meal can help you lose weight, but the magic is not in the water.  To lose weight, the best way is still to reduce your caloric intake.

At a meeting of National Meeting of the American Chemical Society researchers presented their findings: in a study of 48 older adults all on a reduced calorie diet over a 12 week period, participants who drank 16 ounces of water before each meal lost five pounds more than those who did not.
Read More »