Dr. Grossman’s Blog

Researchers at Chinese University of Hong Kong and the International Eye Center of Shantou University have discovered that acupuncture can help children suffering from “lazy eye” or amblyopia.  The children received acupuncture on five points five days a week for 25 weeks.  The treatment provides a 40-60% chance of curing the condition that occurs when a healthy eye does not receive the correct signals from the brain.

For more on lazy eye and other binocular conditions, click here.

Source information

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/

Amblyopia is a common childhood eye disorder in which the brain favors vision in one eye. Current treatment involves wearing a patch over the dominant eye in order to force the brain to use the other eye. Clinical trials sponsored by the National Institutes of Health have provided more concrete guidelines for wearing an eye patch: most can wear a patch for just two hours a day while the most severe cases require six hours of patch wearing (not full time as was once directed).

In the future, functional MRI technology is expected to help cure this neurologic disorder. Because recent recent research show that this condition may have genetic origins, future preventative therapies may be developed.

Source reference: National Institutes of Health

Scientists at UC Irvine have created an early stage retina from human embryonic stem cells.  It is the first three-dimensional tissue structure to be made from stem cells and bring us closer to the development of transplant-ready retinas to treat eye disorders such as retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration that affect millions.  Researchers managed to employ a technique that allowed them to create the multiple cell types necessary for the retina.

Source: Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 4-24-10.

Three of the eight strains of the herpes virus can cause vision loss, including varicella zoster virus (VZV), which causes chickenpox and also shingles, and herpes simplex virus-1 and -2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2).  Shingles, which can affect older adults who have had chickenpox earlier in their lives, is marked by a rash that wraps around one side of the body, generally on the face or trunk.  When the rash appears on the face it can affect the corneal tissue and this can lead to keratitis (inflammation and scarring of the cornea), inflammation of the retina or optic nerve, glaucoma, or cataracts, any of which may also result in blurred vision or blindness.

Both HSV-1 (transferred through saliva) and HSV-2 (genital) can cause ocular herpes, a recurrent infection, and the most common cause of corneal blindness in the United States.  Once people develop ocular herpes, they have a 50% chance of recurrence within weeks or years, possibly triggered by fever, stress, sunlight, or eye injury. Approximately 400,000 Americans have ocular herpes, with 50,000 new or recurring cases every year. In 12% of cases, both eyes are affected.

Source: http://www.johnshopkinshealthalerts.com/reports/vision/1538-1.html

In the June issue of Opthamology Canadian researchers reveal a link between antidepressants known as elective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs (including the brand names Luvox, Effexor, Paxil) and and cataracts.  Antidepressants are taken by an estimated 10% of the U.S. population.

The eye has serotonin receptors in its lens, and animal models have shown that serotonin can increase opacity of the lens and lead to cataracts. This study is the first to demonstrate this phenomenon in humans.

For more on cataracts, click here.

New research announced at Diabetes UK’s Annual Professional Conference links Diabetic retinopathy with poorer memory and diminished brain power in people with Type 2 diabetes. It has yet to be determined whether the advance of cerebral microvascular disease, as indexed by retinopathy, leads to cognitive decline or whether poorer mental acuity makes it more difficult to manage diabetes symptoms and leads to a worsening of the disease. According to Jie Ding from the University of Edinburgh, “It is also possible that a third unidentified factor is causing both diabetic retinopathy and the cognitive changes.” Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/181324.php

For more information on diabetic retinopathy and complementary treatment options, click here.

Two research studies have shown that defects in a gene that is an important regulator of parts of the immune system can significantly increase the risk of the age-related macular degeneration (AMD).  While one group of scientists identified the harmful variation of the gene that was linked to the development of AMD, another group identified a another variant possessed by 20 percent of the population that can actually protect people against AMD. Work is being done to find a way to combat AMD with the help of this particular protective protein.

Source: http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/25386/?ref=rss&a=f

Researchers at Tennessee’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have announced that they have developed a machine that allows early diagnosis and treatment of diabetic retinopathy.  The Telemedical Retinal Image Analysis and Diagnosis technology, known as TRIAD is meant to make it possible to screen for the disease at doctor’s offices. (Source: http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2010/05/11/Triad-screens-for-diabetic-retinopathy/UPI-48161273589392/)

Diabetes related blindness is largely preventable if patient and the medical team work together diligently. With timely treatment, 90 percent of those with advanced diabetic retinopathy can be saved from going blind.  Learn more at:http://www.naturaleyecare.com/diseases.asp?d_num=4

A recent study out of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles shows that Latinos are developing eye diseases at higher rates than any other ethnic group in the country.  The Hispanic population has a higher propensity toward such disease as diabetic retinopathy and cataracts.  According to researchers, almost 20 percent of subjects over the age of 80 have become visually impaired and 3.8 percent have become blind in both eyes (http://juantornoe.blogs.com/hispanictrending/2010/05/us-latinos-highest-rates-of-eye-disease.html.)