Dr. Grossman’s Blog

The American Optometric Association (AOA) has released the results of its third annual American Eye-Q® survey, which assesses public knowledge and understanding of eye and visual health.  Survey results reveal Americans aren’t paying enough attention to their eyesight. 

Of the 1,001 survey participants, 81% wear contact lenses, eyeglasses or both.   However, 26% of the responders hadn’t visited an eye doctor or eye care specialist within the past two years.

The AOA points out that early diagnosis and treatment of eye and vision problems are important to maintain good vision and eye health, as many eye and vision problems have no obvious signs or symptoms.  

It’s not only vision problems that can be diagnosed during eye exams:  optometrists can also detect signs of diabetes, hypertension, brain tumors, cancer, cardiovascular diseases and multiple sclerosis.

“Every adult should have a comprehensive eye exam at least every two years, but it’s even more important for people who already use corrective lenses,” said Dr. James Kirchner, optometrist and AOA’s Eye Health Expert. “Too often we see people who have put off eye exams because they assume they just need a different lens prescription, when they really have a more serious problem. With eye diseases and disorders, as with most health issues, early detection and treatment are often the keys to avoiding permanent problems.”

Regular comprehensive eye exams are especially important later in life, when more people develop chronic conditions and begin taking medications more frequently. Individuals with diabetes or hypertension (high blood pressure), or people taking medications that have eye-related side effects are at greater risk for developing vision problems.

The AOA recommends annual eye examinations for everyone over age 60.

Read more about maintaining healthy vision at the Natural Eye Care website , and learn about a new CD providing information on natural approaches for 29 of the most common eye conditions

SOURCE:  American Eye-Q® Survey Indicates Strong Need to Educate Consumers About Eye Health, SURVEY, American Optometric Association, Oct. 9, 2008, http://www.aoa.org/x11023.xml

Patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) experience a deterioration of their central vision. Two thirds of AMD patients have problems with visuomotor and balance skills resulting in clumsiness and increased risk of falls.

A new study investigates the link between balance training and improved visual, vestibular and somatosensory functions involved in balance control. The investigation, published in the Journal of Vestibular Research, measured the impact of balance training on several visuomotor functions and reading speed.

Balance status statistics of 54 AMD patients were compared to 55 normal controls. Sixteen of these patients and 14 controls subsequently received balance training sessions on a postural platform. Researchers assessed postural sway, pointing accuracy, reading performance and, for the AMD patients, the effect of low vision training and balance training on the shift from several spontaneous Preferred Retinal Loci (PRLs) to one or more Trained Retinal Loci (TRL).

Even after a limited number of sessions of cross-modal balance training, the results show a significant improvement for the vestibular input and fixation stability, leading to the conclusion that more training sessions may help AMD patients gain more significant improvement of visuo-motor functions.

Learn more about AMD, including diet, nutrition, self-help and alternative treatment information at the Natural Eye Care website

Read other studies on AMD prevention and treatment options

SOURCE: Balance training and visual rehabilitation of age-related macular degeneration patients, Radvay, et al, Journal of Vestibular Research, Volume 17, Number 4, 2007, pages 183 – 193.

A miniature telescope mounted into a spectacle lens can now help people with vision loss from macular degeneration. The device, which is about the size of a pencil eraser, can improve vision by about three and a half lines on an eye chart.

A telescope surgically implanted directly into the eye is expected to be approved by the FDA later this year, however the “spectacle” mounted telescope is available now without the safety concerns associated with a surgical procedure.

Additional information on telescopic glasses and Dr. Paul’s research is available at http://www.LowVisionDoctor.com

Almost 4% of men in the United States develop dry eye disease (DED) after age 50, while almost 7.7% of men over 80 develop the disease, making it one of the most common eye conditions in the country.  By the year 2030, DED is expected to affect more than 2.79 million US men.

Typical symptoms of dry eye include dryness, grittiness, irritation, difficulty reading for long periods of time, burning and even the seeming contradiction of excessive tearing or watering.

In the study, published in June issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, researchers analyzed data on 25,444 men over the age of 50 who participated in the Physicians’ Health Study I and II.  DED was defined as the presence of clinically diagnosed dry eye or severe symptoms (both dryness and constant or frequent irritation).   About 3% reported a previous diagnosis of dry eye, while 6.8% said they had constantly or frequently experienced at least one symptom such as dryness or irritation. Roughly 2.2% reported both symptoms constantly or frequently.

Although research has shown DED is more common among women, about 1.68 million men over age 50 in the United States now have the disease.

Researchers also noted that DED risk increases with age, hypertension, benign prostatic hyperplasia (a noncancerous enlargement of the prostate), and antidepressant use.

Learn about vitamins and other nutritional products recommended for dry eye, and review a list of drugs that can cause dry eye symptoms at the Natural Eye Care website

SOURCE:  “Prevalence of Dry Eye Disease Among US Men,” Schaumberg, et al, Arch Ophthalmol. 2009;127(6):763-768.

In the first study, Jennifer S.L. Tan, MBBS, BE at the University of Sydney, Australia and her colleagues evaluated data from 2,454 participants in the Blue Mountains Eye Study of men and women aged 49 and older. Those who consumed one serving of fish per week were shown to have a 31 percent lower adjusted risk of developing early AMD compared with those who consumed less.

In the second article, Elaine W. T. Chong, MD, PhD, of the Centre for Eye Research Australia and her associates evaluated data from 6,734 men and women aged 58 to 69 who participated in the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study. Dietary questionnaires completed between 1990 and 1994 were analyzed for the intake of various foods and individual fatty acids. Follow up examinations conducted between 2003 and 2006 detected 2,872 cases of early age-related macular degeneration and 88 cases of late disease.

A high intake of trans-unsaturated fats was associated with a significant increase in late macular degeneration, with those whose intake was categorized as among the top 25 percent of participants having a 76 percent greater risk than those whose intake was among the lowest fourth.

Olive oil emerged as protective against late disease. When those who reported consuming at least 100 milliliters per week olive oil were compared with those who consumed less than 1 milliliter per week, they were found to have a 52 percent lower risk of late AMD.

For early AMD, those whose omega-3 fatty acid intake was among the top 25 percent had a 15 percent lower risk compared with those whose intake was among the lowest quarter.

For more information on nutrition and macular degeneration and related research studies, see NaturalEyeCare’s Section on Macular Degeneration.

Although open-angle glaucoma (OAG) has been previously associated with some of the risk factors of stroke development, researchers at the Taipei Medical University in Taipei, Taiwan have now linked OAG with an increased risk of stroke development.

Researchers collected data from the 1,073,891 subjects in the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database.  They compared 4032 patients with a diagnosis of OAG to 20,160 patients without OAG over a five year period.

Of the group of patients with OAG, 14.9% had strokes within the 5-year follow-up period, compared with 9.5% of patients in the comparison group.   After adjusting for patients’ demographic characteristics, patients with OAG were found to have a 1.52-fold higher risk of having a stroke than the matched comparison cohort.

Study authors concluded that patients with OAG demonstrated a significantly increased risk of stroke development during the 5-year follow-up period.

Learn more about glaucoma including self-help tips

Read other studies about glaucoma

SOURCE:  “Open-Angle Glaucoma and the Risk of Stroke Development. A 5-Year Population-Based Follow-Up Study”, Ho, et al, PubMed, 2009 May 21, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19461039

Researchers at the University of Western Australia recently examined the effects of wearing swimming goggles upon intraocular pressure (IOP).

In this study, holes were drilled into the faces of 13 different goggles to allow IOP measurement by applanation tonometry. IOP was measured before goggles wear, two minutes after goggles application, twenty minutes after goggles application, and after goggles removal. Multiple types of goggles were tested.

IOP increased while wearing goggles by a mean pressure of 4.5 mm Hg with this pressure rise being sustained for the duration of goggles wear. Swim goggles with a smaller face area were consistently associated with greater IOP elevation.

Although these measurements were not taken while swimming, study authors suggest that some swimming goggles can elevate IOP. The full article can be read in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

Learn more about natural eye care at www.naturaleyecare.com

NaturalEyeCare™ provides a practical approach to keeping your eyes healthy, emphasizing prevention rather than cure, based on the latest scientific research.

SOURCE: “Wearing swimming goggles can elevate intraocular pressure”, Morgan, et al, Br J Ophthalmol. 2008 Sep;92(9):1218-21.

Seniors who perform poorly on tests of language, memory and concentration are more likely to be suffering from the early stages of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). 

A new study published in the Archives of Ophthalmology reviews the association between cognitive function decline and the onset of AMD.

“We found that those who have memory impairment were more likely to have early stages of macular degeneration independent of the effects of age, education and vascular risk factors,” said study co-author Dr. Tien Yin Wong, a professor in the department of ophthalmology with the Centre for Eye Research Australia at the University of Melbourne.

2088 participants aged 69 to 97 years who participated in the Cardiovascular Health Study were assessed for AMD.  Cognitive function was evaluated using the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) and the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination. Participants were also evaluated for dementia using detailed neuropsychological testing.

After controlling for age, sex, race, and study center, participants with low DSST scores were more likely to have early AMD than were participants with higher DSST scores.   In analysis that also controlled for education, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol level, diabetes mellitus, smoking status, and apolipoprotein E genotype, the association was even stronger.

There was no association of dementia or Alzheimer disease with early AMD.

Read other studies on AMD

See tips on preventing vision problems with a focus on nutrition, exercise, lifestyle changes, and a positive mental approach to life at Natural Eye Care

SOURCE:  Early Age-Related Macular Degeneration, Cognitive Function, and Dementia – The Cardiovascular Health Study, Baker, et al, Arch Ophthalmol. 2009;127(5):667-673.

Researchers have released a new study showing that regular consumption of fish, omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, and nuts helps protect against age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

The study, published in the Archives of Ophthalmology, assessed the relationship between dietary fatty acids and the 10-year incident of AMD.

Scientists examined 3654 elderly Australian participants at baseline and re-examined 2454 of these participants five and/or ten years later.  Participants completed a food frequency questionnaire.

The findings confirmed many previous studies on AMD.  After adjusting for age, sex, and smoking:

• one serving of fish per week was associated with reduced risk of early AMD primarily among participants with less than the median linoleic acid consumption
• findings were similar for consumption of long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids:  one to two servings of nuts per week was associated with reduced risk of early AMD 
• protective associations between nut consumption and reduced risk of pigmentary abnormalities were seen among nonsmokers, participants with less than the median ratio of serum total to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and those with beta carotene intake greater than the median level.

This study provides evidence of protection against early AMD through:

• regular consumption of fish and nuts
• greater consumption of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids
• low intakes of foods rich in linoleic acid

Read more about AMD and natural eye care

Learn which foods to eat to help maintain good eye health

SOURCE:  Dietary Fatty Acids and the 10-Year Incidence of Age-Related Macular Degeneration, The Blue Mountains Eye Study, Tan, et al, Arch Ophthalmol. 2009;127(5):656-665.

A team of scientists and surgeons from the Institute of Ophthalmology at University College London and the Moorfields Eye Hospital in London has developed a stem cell therapy to treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common cause of vision loss in the elderly.
“Under the new treatment, embryonic stem cells are transformed into replicas of the missing cells,” writes The Times of London. “They are then placed on an artificial membrane which is inserted in the back of the retina.”

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced this week that it will fund the development of the therapy; UCL professor Pete Coffey, who led the research team, predicts the therapy will be available as part of a simple, one-hour procedure within six or seven years.The researchers are applying for approval to conduct a clinical trial on humans; it would be just the second-ever trial conducted on humans using embryonic stem cells. Laboratory trials completed by the British team have demonstrated that stem cells can prevent blindness in rats with a similar disease to AMD. They have also successfully tested elements of the technology in pigs.

For natural approaches to help prevent the onset of macular degeneration as well as help preserve vision for those with macular degeneration, visit the Natural Eye Care web site