Dr. Grossman’s Blog

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Antioxidants have been shown to help the body in yet another way: treating male infertility.

A new study published in the journal Human Fertility discusses how oxidative stress can be a major factor in male infertility.  Oxidation is the natural byproduct of metabolism; antioxidants help to clear away this cellular debris.

The research highlights the effectiveness of antioxidants found in carnitines, and vitamins C and E as well as glutathione, selenium and coenzyme Q10 when it comes to measurable positive outcomes – that is, pregnancy rates in the subjects’ partners.  http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=10573&Section=Vitamins

Men who start loading up on their antioxidants may find that their eye health improves as well.  For example, studies have shown that glutathione can help reduce the likelihood of developing age related eye diseases like macular degeneration.

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

Resveratrol, a compound found in red wine, grapes, blueberries, peanuts and other plants, can help preserve vision in those suffering from diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration.

Researchers have found that resveratrol impedes the growth of new blood vessels in the eye, a condition called angiogenesis. Angiogenesis is linked to eye diseases as well as cancer and atherosclerosis.  Resveratrol can inhibit this process; abnormal blood vessels disappears in the eyes of mice to which it was given.  Previous studies have reported how resveratrol can work on other blood vessels in the body, but this is first to document the effect in the eyes specifically.

Reported in The American Journal of Pathology. Source: http://www.elements4health.com/resveratrol-could-prevent-eye-diseases-such-as-diabetic-retinopathy.html

Excessive iron in the body or hemochromatosis may lead to the wet form of macular degeneration.  Researchers at the Medical College of Georgia suspect that too much iron, known to have cumulative negative effects throughout body, can also speed the aging in the eyes.  If there is a link between iron levels and macular degeneration, people may be able to ward off the eye disease by donating blood a couple times annually to reduce iron levels the amount if iron in the body.

For more ways to prevent macular degeneration, please visit our website.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-06/mcog-lbi062410.php

The FDA recently approved a miniature telescope that can be implanted into the eye to help those who suffer vision loss from end-stage macular degeneration.  Clinical trials suggest the device can improve vision by about three and a half lines on an eye chart.

The implant is about the size of a pencil eraser and is made of two lenses within a small glass tube. Inside the eye, it works like a fixed telephoto lens, acting in conjunction with the cornea to project a magnified image of whatever the wearer is looking at over a large part of the retina. Undamaged cells outside of the diseased central part of the retina are able to detect images and send the information to the brain.

Eli Peli, a scientist at The Schepens Eye Research Institute, who has consulted for the company that developed the technology says it “provides the ability to have normal eye contact, which is a crucial part of social interaction.”

Source: http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/22378/page1/

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.

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

A small study by Japanese researchers demonstrates an increased blood supply to the retina upon stimulation of certain acupuncture points. Needles were inserted near the posterior base of the thumbs of volunteers while investigators used a laser to scan the retinal blood flow. Both volume and velocity increased in these patients. The work was done at the ophthalmology department at Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine.

Reported by Dr. Kazuhiko Mori at the annual meeting of the Association for Vision and Ophthalmology in Fort Lauderdale this past May.

For more related information on natural eye care, go to www.naturaleyecare.com

Scientists through the US Department of Energy are testing artificial retinas that they hope can restore partial sight to people who’ve lost their vision to the most common causes of blindness.

The Sylmar, Calif., company produced the devices for the U.S. Energy Department’s Artificial Retina Project. The department has been engaged in biological research since the atomic bomb tests of the 1950s raised fears of radiation poisoning.

The current version is being tested on 17 blind people in the U.S. and Europe, and more patients are being enrolled. At a retina conference in October, patients reported improvements in orientation and mobility. They were able to find a door from 20 feet away and to follow a line on the floor for 20 feet.

Meanwhile, researchers in the Energy Department’s National Laboratories are creating a third-generation artificial retina. Much smaller than its predecessors, the device will contain 200 or more electrodes on a thin, flexible film that curves to fit the shape of the retina. Human tests are scheduled to begin in 2011.

For more information, go to http://artificialretina.energy.gov/index.shtml

For more information and specific research studies by eye condition including nutrition and vision research, go to <a href=”http://www.naturaleyecare.com”>Natural Eye Care </a>

In people with the highest level of consumption of lutein and xeaxanthin (from leafy greens, eggs, red and yellow peppers), risk of Macular Degeneration (AMD) was 35% of the risk in people who ate less greens. Zinc was also protective. This in a study by J.S. Tan, et al. in Opthalmology, February 2008.

For more related research studies, see the “Research” section at http://www.naturaleyecare.com”>Natural Eye Care for Macular Degeneration</a>

Scientists through the US Department of Energy are testing artificial retinas that they hope can restore partial sight to people who’ve lost their vision to the most common causes of blindness.

The Sylmar, Calif., company produced the devices for the U.S. Energy Department’s Artificial Retina Project. The department has been engaged in biological research since the atomic bomb tests of the 1950s raised fears of radiation poisoning.

The current version is being tested on 17 blind people in the U.S. and Europe, and more patients are being enrolled. At a retina conference in October, patients reported improvements in orientation and mobility. They were able to find a door from 20 feet away and to follow a line on the floor for 20 feet, Mech reported.

Meanwhile, researchers in the Energy Department’s National Laboratories are creating a third-generation artificial retina. Much smaller than its predecessors, the device will contain 200 or more electrodes on a thin, flexible film that curves to fit the shape of the retina. Human tests are scheduled to begin in 2011.

For more information, go to http://artificialretina.energy.gov/index.shtml

For more information and specific research studies by eye condition on nutrition and vision, go to Natural Eye Care