Eye News Roundup – July, Week 1

July 18, 2018

#LIVE2.0 #Review

1: Some Pro Advice for You from Laila Ali ……. Regarding Your Eyes Though

Laila Ali is known for a host of different reasons, from being one of the greatest female boxers of all time to being a mother of two, running her own lifestyle brand and acting as a fitness and wellness expert in between; she is the daughter of the all time great, the one and only, Muhammad Ali.

However, none of you could have thought of her lending you a piece of advice regarding eye health, of all other things and roles that she currently plays. But here she is, teamed up with Think About Your Eyes National public awareness campaign and the American Optometric Association, leveraging her stardom in raising awareness about undetected vision problems.

Part of what motivated Ali to join such an awareness cause lies in her personal experience involving her daughter Sydney whose teacher noticed her excessive squinting when she was 5.

It is then that Ali learned the importance of taking children to an eye doctor for eye examination as early as 6 months to one year, now vowing to encourage others to do the same.

Catch more of Laila Ali’s inspirational cause on YAHOO.

2: Reducing the Risk for AMD through Mouthwatering Mediterranean Diet

Known for its richness and health benefits, Mediterranean diet comprises of fresh veggies and fruits, fish, lean meat, olive oil, whole grains and nuts, not only taking care of your heart, but your eyes as well, as announced in the 2018 annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, shared with us by the AMERICAN OPTOMETRIC ASSOCIATION (AOA).

AOA further shares the observations from the Researchers associated with the international consortium ‘EYE-RISK’, according to which the risk factor for ‘Age-Related Macular Degeneration’ (AMD) is slashed by a remarkable 39%, based on the feedback received from about 5,000 participants in two earlier studies meant to explore the relationships between nutrition, aging and diseases (including degenerative eye diseases).

In adults aged 50 and above in the U.S., AMD remains the leading cause behind severe vision loss issues. Some of the initial symptoms associated with AMD include:

Gradual decline in the ability to see objects clearly
Objects starting to appear distorted
Straight lines appearing crooked or wavy
Gradually progressing inability to see colors in objects
Gradually increasing dark spot in the center of vision

Oxidative stress, inflammation and autophagy decline are also believed to be contributing factors for AMD, according to Susan Summerton, O.D., certified nutritionist specialist, practicing optometry in Florida and associated with the Ocular Nutrition and Wellness Society.

According to her, Mediterranean diet is rich in polyphenol (a plant-based compound), which serves to reduce lowering inflammation.

Moreover, good fats (such as the ones found in olive oil), vegetables, fruits and nuts deliver inflammation reducing potent antioxidants, which lowers free radical damage and helps in slowing down the progress of AMD.

For a detailed account of this story, visit AMERICAN OPTOMETRIC ASSOCIATION.

3: Visualization of Connections between Brain and Eye

Just a few years ago, this would have sounded like part of some sci-fi movie, but researchers have been able to develop a mechanism for tracking boutons’ (the far-reaching ends of retinal neurons) activity as they pass on visual information to the thalamus (the region of the brain involved in image processing).

According to this intriguing new development shared on ‘ScienceDaily’, the researchers associated with BIDMC and Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH) have succeeded in visualizing the communication originating from retinal neurons, targeting specific neurons in the thalamus region of the brain.

Interestingly, the research team led by Mark Andermann, PhD and Chinfei Chen, MD, PhD found that this communication takes place only one-way, i.e. from eye to the brain where multiple neurons in the retina combine their individual information into clusters, targeting specific neurons in thalamus region to convey those information clusters to them.

ScienceDaily can share more with you on this development.

4: Cataract Surgery Can Contribute in Lowering Risks of Car Crashes, Recent Study Reveals

Lisa Rapaport of ‘Reuters Health’ brings this one to us, according to which cataracts-affected drivers undergone cataract surgery can potentially lower the risk of getting into accidents compared to driving without the surgery.

The findings of the study concluded that the chances of cataracts-affected drivers getting into a car crash can be reduced by about 9% after they get surgical treatment for it.

According to a research report published in JAMA Ophthalmology, avoiding one crash a year needs doctors treating 4,564 patients, Dr. Matthew Schlenker of the Kensington Eye Institute in Toronto, Ontario deeming the bargain totally worth it when seen against the mortality and societal costs associated with traffic mishaps.

Typical cataracts surgery involves two incisions for removing the damaged lens and replacing it with a clear artificial one. While most people are quite tolerant with overall procedure, many are apprehensive about potential complications like bleeding, infections, swelling or the rare incident of retinal detachment. Perhaps, that’s why many people have also started looking for some viable nonsurgical alternatives like low vision aids.

As of this particular research, 559,456 patients were observed who underwent the surgical treatment for cataracts between 2006 and 2016, with an average age of 76 years.

5: IOP (Intraocular Pressure) Nurtures Inverse Correlation with Myopia Progression

Healio recently published this research confirming the existence of an inverse correlation between Intraocular Pressure (commonly referred as IOP) and Myopia Progression, the study involving a large population of Chinese schoolchildren aged 12.

This 2-year long study focused on the data related to the Anyang Childhood Eye Study, which explored the development of myopia in Chinese schoolchildren, measuring IOP, cycloplegic refraction and axial length.

The study was principally focused on examining any possible correlation between myopia progression and higher IOP, but surprisingly, the results endorsed a totally opposing outcome; lower IOP was correlated with myopia progression.

Though further research is needed to comprehensively assess all related aspects, but the study itself holds significant importance in its own right.

Healio has some more details to share on this new development.

6: Silicone Hydrogel Preferred Over Hydrogel 1-Day Lenses by Most ODs

Recently published survey results at Optometry’s Meeting made an interesting revelation, i.e. majority of optometrists preferred prescribing daily disposable silicone hydrogel contact lenses to their patients.

Data indicates that silicone hydrogel lenses constitute about 31% of all daily disposable fits within the U.S. industry, according to Gary Orsborn, OD.

These results were drawn out of a survey of 100 top U.S. optometrists, spearheaded by Orsborn and his colleagues. They relied on the services of an independent market research outfit involving a collection of statements in relation to silicone hydrogel daily disposables.

The findings of the survey revealed that 1-day silicone hydrogel lens fittings have enjoyed 12% growth rate through the past year, whereas 1-day hydrogel fits’ growth rate has declined during the same period.

More of this story is available on Healio.