Dr. Grossman’s Blog

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Graves’ disease, an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid, often causes eye problems.  It can cause inflammation around the eyes and cause the eyes to bulge in a condition called Graves’ ophthalmopathy or Graves’ orbitopathy.  Other symptoms include dry eyes, sensitivity to light, double vision, and eye pain.

A new Italian study published in the New England Journal of Medicine finds that daily supplementation with the mineral selenium can help alleviate eye symptoms and increase overall quality of life.

This study watched people with Graves’ disease who took either selenium or the pharmaceutical pentoxifylline or a placebo over a 6 month period.  Selenium relieved symptoms and those who took it exhibited no side effects.  Some of those who took the drug reported side effects including nausea, bloating, and abdominal discomfort.

Source: drugs.com

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Traditional Chinese Medicine offers invaluable tools for diagnosing and treating conditions of the eyes.

This information is from a chapter of our book, A Comprehensive Manual for Practitioners of Oriental Medicine.

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Blueberries and their European cousins, bilberries, have long been used to regulate blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes.  Recent studies of mice are convincing researchers of the bilberry’s potential in helping people deal with diabetes.

A study published in Nutrition Journal describes a trial involving the examination of the effect of consuming oat meal drinks that contained bilberries or rosehips on healthy young adults.  Researchers specifically looked at how these drinks influenced individuals’ glycemic indexes and insulin levels.  The drinks with bliberry induced a lower insulin response.  Scientists credit either the bilberry or the oat meal base.  Source: Nutrition Journal (Published: 21 May 2011).

Bilberries are also known to impact eye health in remarkably positive ways. mostly due to their antioxidant properties.  Studies show it has helped patients who suffer from diabetic retinopathy and cataracts, just to name a few conditions.

A new technology designed to detect glaucoma earlier may soon be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

According to press release from the manufacturing company, Paradigm Medical Industries, Inc., the Paramax is moving through the FDA approval process.  This machine is called “the next generation of standard ocular eletrophysiology utilized for early glaucoma detection.”  This device has been designed for office use and promises that it requires only 2 minutes to run a diagnostic test.

Source: http://www.paradigm-medical.com/

Learn more about who is at risk for developing glaucoma.

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Vitamin A plays a key role in the development of macular degeneration.  Researchers are working on the structure of vitamin A itself in an attempt reduce patients’ chances of losing their vision to AMD.

According to Columbia University Medical Center researchers, if it is possible to slow the aggregation or “clumping” of vitamin A within the eye, scientists might be able to discourage vision loss associated with macular degeneration.

As part of the natural biological processes in the eye, vitamin A undergoes a series of chemical transformations.  Molecules of vitamin A can combine with other vitamin A molecules to form clumpy deposits or “dimers.”  High levels of vitamin A dimers are present in elderly people with AMD, but they are also present in young children who develop the juvenile form of macular degeneration, Stargardt’s disease.

These animals studies are the first of their kind to produce positive results without causing vision loss and significant side effects.  Source: Journal of Biological Chemistry (Mar 11, 2011).

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The latest edition of Agricultural Research from the USDA is all about the powerful blueberry.

In one article, “Blueberries and Your Health: Scientists Study Nutrition Secrets of Popular Fruit,” researcher Xianli Wu describes his work with blueberries and their ability to reduce atherosclerosis.

“It’s already known that oxidative stress can increase atherosclerosis risk,” says Wu, “so the beneficial interactions of blueberries with these antioxidant enzymes are of interest to us. Since our center specializes in children’s nutrition research, we also want to determine whether blueberry-based interventions early in life could prevent atherosclerosis from developing in later years. If Mom eats blueberries during her pregnancy and feeds blueberries to her child, would that have a protective effect for the child? We don’t know, but that’s something we’d like to determine.”

Other studies have shown that diets rich in antioxidants – especially those found in blueberries – can be instrumental in helping people avoid macular degeneration.

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Insulin replacement is the main treatment for people with Type 1 diabetes.  A new study seeks to determine how the eyes are not helped through insulin therapies.

In a study of rodents’ retinas that appeared in BMC Medical Genomics, researchers investigated the effect of insulin on the eyes over a 1.5 year period.  This genome-level research showed that though insulin normalizes genes that have been impaired due to diabetes, the insulin therapies are not completely effective when it comes to helping inflammatory processes, microvascular integrity, and neuronal function.  Source: http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcmedgenomics/

For further information on scientific studies related to diabetic retinopathy, visit our website.

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Are cataracts just an inevitable part of getting older?  There is a lot of scientific research that indicates your diet and lifestyle choices actually have a lot to do with your risk of developing cataracts.

One study indicates that sugar of all kinds can impinge upon the eye’s ability to keep the lens clear.

Another study points to cigarettes as being a major cause of cataracts.  In fact, smoking is implicated as the cause 20% of all cataracts cases.  Men who smoke more than a pack a day increase their risk for cataracts by 205%!  For female smokers, that risk increases a still substantial 63%.

For more research studies on the causes of cataracts and how to prevent them, please visit our research pages.

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What kind of contact lens wearer are you?  Do you follow the rules that your doctor and your lens manufacturer outlines?  Or are you someone who stretches things a bit?

According to the results of surveys analyzed in the journal Contact Lens and Anterior Eye, the majority of lens wearers fail to comply with recommendations related to lens insertion, wear, and care.  The following figures are pulled from two independent online surveys of frequent contact users:

- nearly 50% fail to wash their hands before lens insertion and removal

- 75% do no rub their lenses with disinfecting solution (though many products claim to be “no rub” new research shows that rubbing the contacts before and after wear may be beneficial)

- there was “generally low compliance” when it came to replacing lenses as often as directed

- only 46% dump used solution and fill storage cases with fresh solution when storing lenses; the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention cites this practice as helping to prevent eye infection

- while one third of respondents clean their lens case daily, another 33% admitted they only clean their cases monthly or even less frequently

Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com “Contact Lens Wearers Are Significantly Non-Compliant Before, During, And After Contact Lens Wear, Studies Show”

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People who have diabetes often suffer from cataracts as well; in fact, they are more likely than the general population to develop cataracts.  Diabetics considering cataracts surgery need to consider their increased risk factors before they chose to undergo the procedure.

It is very important that patients’ blood sugar is well-controlled before surgery to increase their post-surgical healing ability.  It is especially important that patients’ inflammation levels are monitored and kept as low as possible during and after surgery.

According to Rupert Menapace, MD, of OSN Supersite, “We need atraumatic surgery to minimize the inflammatory response and avoid induction or exacerbation of diabetic retinopathy and macular edema. Even in uneventful cataract surgery, the risk of developing macular edema is high in diabetic patients, up to 10%.”  Macular edema is swelling of the macula, the small area of the retina responsible for central vision, of which the central 5% of the retina is most critical to vision.

Source: “Cataract surgery with comorbidities requires careful surgical management” at http://www.osnsupersite.com.