Dr. Grossman’s Blog

A new super small computer could be implanted in the eyes of a glaucoma patient to make constant eye pressure measurements.

The device is just a a cubic millimeter in size and is something of a technological marvel – scientists made many discoveries regarding powering such a tiny machine.

The focus of this MIT Technology Review article was on the technical aspects of creating such a device.  This implanted sensor is focused purely on measuring glaucoma’s progress based on fluctuations in intraocular pressure.  New research shows that individuals can have glaucoma without experiencing increased eye pressure and that elevated eye pressure does not necessarily mean that one will develop the condition.

People who run a higher risk of developing glaucoma include those who experience high levels of stress, have glaucoma in their families, have trouble absorbing nutrients from food, and who are obese.  Learn more about glaucoma risk factors.

Learn about alternative and complementary treatments for glaucoma at our website.

Image via loc.gov

A special contact lens might be able to help people with color blindness.

A report to the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons described how a custom color spectrum-correcting lens may be able to alter the way that color blind people see color.  The secret is in the digital diagnostic tool that determines the nature of patients’ color perception problems and helps inform the creation of custom lenses.

The special lenses were tried on 300 people in China.  According to researcher Mitsugu Shimmyo, MD, “Our lenses rebalance color perception by filtering and redistributing the intensity of color spectrum.”

Source: http://www.osnsupersite.com/view.aspx?rid=80943

Sometimes one of the best parts of being an eye doctor is just looking into the beauty that is the human eye.  Here’s an amazing selection of close-up photos of the eye.

In order to keep your eyes looking this beautiful, try these home remedies to reduce the dark circles and bags under your eyes:

Cucumber or Cucumber Water

Agrimony Leaves or Flowers

Marigold Flowers

Taking fish oil every day can reduce the risk of developing breast cancer.

A study published in The Journal of Nutrition studied women with early breast stage breast cancer who took omega fatty acids EPA and DHA in the form of both seafood and dietary supplements.  Women who took the most EPA and DHA were 25% less likely to suffer from further breast cancers compared to those in the study who took markedly less of the omega-3s.  Source: http://jn.nutrition.org/content/141/2/201.short?rss=1

This is great news – and it just adds to the already ample evidence about the benefits of fish oils.  Studies have also shown that omega-3 fatty acids can help ward off macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa, and dry eye syndrome, just to name a few.  Visit our research pages to learn more about how supplements and nutrition can benefit your eyes and the rest of your body.

At Natural Eye Care, we know that lifestyle choices make a major impact on the health of the eyes.

A new study published in the Archives of Ophthalmology seeks to determine how “lifestyle-related risk factors, such as socioeconomic status, smoking, alcohol consumption, and obesity” can influence the likelihood that people will develop  open-angle glaucoma.

Nearly 4000 people were part of this nearly 10 year long study. None had glaucoma at the outset, but at the end, 2.7% had developed the eye condition.

The researchers claim that socioeconomic status, smoking, or alcohol intake were not associated with glaucoma.  They did assert that women who were obese were less likely to develop glaucoma (other studies have found the same thing).  Source: http://archopht.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/archophthalmol.2010.373

These findings are in opposition to other studies that have linked smoking to glaucoma.  We always recommend that people limit alcohol consumption to one glass of red wine per night.  And studies do show that stress is a major factor in the development of glaucoma.

image via www.nlm.nih.gov

Studies have established that elderly people with age related macular degeneration are more likely to experience strokes. A new study presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2011 is the first to determine the type of stroke that people with AMD are likely to suffer.

Researchers looked at two kinds of strokes: those caused by brain hemorrhage (aka a “bleeding stroke”) and those caused by brain infarction (a blood clot).

Macular degeneration is associated with brain hemorrhages rather than brain infarction.

Scientists involved with the study urge AMD patients not to worry that they will inevitably experience hemorrhaging in the brain.  They state that more research is necessary.  One doctor speculates that AMD does not cause bleeding stokes.  Instead, the two medical conditions may stem from a common cause.  Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/216090.php

Learn about how to prevent and even reverse macular degeneration.

Image by Roman Pavlyuk

“Geographic atrophy,” which causes cell death in the retina of the eye, is blamed as a major cause of what is often described as untreatable blindness.  It is associated with dry macular degeneration, a disease that affects over 10 million Americans.

Researchers publishing in the journal Nature find a DNA level cause for macular degeneration: non-coding “junk DNA” that was previously thought to have no function.  The scientists also found that another genetic component, RNA in a toxic form called Alu RNA, is also involved in retinal cell death.

These two discoveries could open new doors for therapies for macular degeneration patients.  Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/215812.php

Learn more about how to prevent and treat macular degeneration naturally.

Glaucoma can be associated with increased pressure in the eyes (though not always – one can have glaucoma without elevated intraocular pressure and vice versa).

A team of Scottish and German scientists have found that people who play brass and woodwind instruments can experience elevated eye pressure, a condition that these scientists do link to glaucoma.

Previous studies have found that high-resistance instruments such as the oboe were linked to increased eye pressure, but this is the first to note that lower-resistance instruments like the clarinet can also be linked to the potentially dangerous spike in pressure.  The study included 52 professional musicians playing in real life conditions.  The highest increases in pressure were noted in brass musicians when they played loud, high notes.  Source: http://www.gcu.ac.uk/sls/newsevents/news/bydate/2011/1/name,20760,en.html

For complementary treatment options for glaucoma, visit our website.

Image via nei.gov

Fuchs dystrophy is a slowly progressing disease that occurs when endothelial cells gradually deteriorate without any apparent reason.  Eventually, it causes the cornea to swell and makes vision distorted.

A study published in The American Journal of Pathology indicates that oxidative stress plays a part in the onset of Fuchs corneal dystrophy.  People affected with the disease showed much higher levels of oxidative DNA damage in their eyes that the control group that did not have the disease.  Source: http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/ajpa/article/PIIS0002944010602817/abstract

Antioxidants are well known to play a vital role in eye health.  Extensive studies have shown that taking antioxidants in the form of food and nutritional supplements can help prevent and even reverse such eye conditions as macular degeneration,and cataracts.

Learn more about how to treat Fuch’s dystrophy naturally.

image by Optom95

Children need eye exams too, and, according to a new paper published in Pediatrics it is important that they get checked before they start school.  The US Preventive Services Task Force guidelines recommend that kids visit an eye doctor at least once between ages 3 and 5.  There is some debate as to whether exams for children between 1 and 3 are beneficial and likely to uncover problems.

The main concern is amblyopia, often called “lazy eye.”  It affects 2-4% of preschool children and is optimally treated, often with eye patching, between ages 3 and 5.  Tests also rule out strabismus and refractive errors.

There has been some professional debate regarding the efficacy of testing young children’s eyes, but there seems to be some consensus that newer testing technology does make these early exams a good idea.

Source: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/736518?src=rss