Archive for December, 2011
Taking zeaxanthin improves vision in elderly, VA Hospital proves
12.14.2011
A recent military study revealed that elderly people have improved night vision and improved ability to discern fine details when they are taking zeaxanthin. Sixty elderly war veterans with early signs of age-related macular degeneration were evaluated over a 12-month period.
The study participants were given 8 mg of zeaxanthin daily and over the course of the study, their ability to drive at night improved and they had an average improvement of 1.5 lines on an eye chart. In addition, blind spots disappeared.
The Veterans Administration Hospital in Chicago conducted the study which was published in the November issue of the Journal of the American Optometric Association. Study participants were given either 8 mg of zeaxanthin, 9 mg of lutein or a combination of both over the course of a year.*
VisiVite.Com has a special page devoted to explaining Zeaxanthin. You can reach it by clicking here.
Smoke gets in your eyes… Way, way in!
12.13.2011
Add losing vision to the list of reasons why you need to stop smoking. And make it this year’s New Year’s Resolution.
Heart disease, emphysema, bronchitis, cancer, stroke, wrinkled skin…every year the effects of getting just a wee bit less oxygen and a teeny bit of poisonous carbon dioxide in the bloodstream take their toll by inducing body damage through oxidative stress.
I’ve heard all the excuses…
“It gives me something to do.”
“I need to smoke at the end of a meal.”
“I’ve been doing it so long, I can’t stop.”
“It relaxes me.”
“Uncle Charlie smoked and he lived to 99 years old!”
“Well, something’s gotta kill you. I might as well enjoy myself.”
But here’s what your non-smoking friends and family are saying, often behind your back…
“I hate that you stink of cigarette smoke.”
“I hate that you’re always coughing.”
“I hate that I have to breathe in your smoke.”
“I hate the filthy ashtrays.”
“Your voice always sounds hoarse.”
“Even your ear lobes are getting wrinkled.”
“I love you, and I’m going to miss you.”
Still not convinced?
Well how about the fact that smoking has now been shown to dramatically increase the risk of advanced Macular Degeneration, a blinding eye disease?
This week, the esteemed professional journal, Archives of Ophthalmology, published the study. Check it out.
Then promise me you’ll try to get un-hooked off cigarettes in 2012!*
If you can’t get off them, make sure that you are taking the VisiVite formulas specifically developed for smokers that do not contain beta-carotene.
–
Paul Krawitz, M.D., President and C.E.O.
VisiVite.Com
Is the FDA the Bad Guy when a Beneficial Drug fails to get approved?
12.13.2011
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) acts as the caretaker of the public, working to help bring new drugs to market while protecting the health and safety of the American population.
Drug companies create a mountain of paperwork and steps that required to successfully bring a drug to market, a costly endeavor that is possible only for the largest and most well financed companies.
The biggest criticisms against the FDA are that it fails to bring promising drugs in a short enough amount of time, and that it turns a blind eye to helpful treatments shown in studies that don’t follow its protocol.
But the stakes are high. And doctors are taught to follow The Hippocratic Oath, which says, “I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone.”
So when another product was shot down by the FDA, despite visual benefits, one has to evaluate the entire picture to have a measured response.
Alimera Sciences was notified by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that two more clinical trials would need to be conducted to proved that their new drug, Iluvien is safe and effective for diabetic macular edema. This ruling by the FDA will result in a multiyear delay if Alimera would choose to proceed with the new trials and would necessitate a large investment of capital which Alimera does not currently have.
Iluvian is a tiny tube which is implanted into the eye and releases low daily doses of fluocinolone acetonide (a steroid) for up to three years. Laser treatments are the current standard of care to halt or slow leaking blood vessels in the retina. Side effects from the laser treatments include partial loss of peripheral and night vision.
While Alimera believes that Iluvien has a manageable risk to benefit ratio, the FDA decided that the risks of side effects were substantial and the benefits of the drug did not outweigh those risks.
FDA approves Eylea as New Wet Macular Degeneration Treatment
12.12.2011The Food and Drug Administration announced last Friday that Regneron’s new drug Eylea has received approval to treat the wet form of macular degeneration. Eylea will offer patients an alternative to Lucentis which is the current standard treatment.
While Eylea is only $100 less per injection at $1850 compared to Lucentis at $1950, it will also have the advantage of being administered less frequently than Lucentis. Eylea’s recommended dosing is once every 4 weeks for the first three injections and then once every 8 weeks thereafter, whereas Lucentis is usually administered once every 4 weeks.
Macular degeneration is one of the leading causes of severe vision loss in the elderly. The wet form of macular degeneration is caused when abnormal “neovascular” blood vessels grow rapidly and leak fluid into the eye. Eylea works by blocking the action of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which is a protein that causes the growth of these new blood vessels.*
Diabetics getting fewer eye problems, but experts still worried.
12.11.2011
A recent study released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shows a decline in diabetics reporting vision problems. Researchers found a drop from 26 percent in 1997 to 18.6 percent in the number of diabetics reporting vision problems.
Better blood glucose control, blood pressure control and cholesterol management seem to be the factors contributing to the decreased incidence in vision problems among diabetics.
While the report is encouraging, researchers caution it may lead to a false sense of reassurance. The percentage of diabetic patients with impaired vision might increase substantially after newly diagnosed diabetics have lived with their condition for five or ten years. Researchers point out that one deficiency in the study is that the data was self-reported so the seriousness of the vision problems are unclear.
The study which was published in the November 18, 2011 issue of the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report evaluated data from the 1997-2010 National Health Interview Survey. This survey of diabetics asked if they had any trouble with their vision and if they had seen an eye care professional in the last year.
In the United States, diabetes is the leading cause of blindness and the best way for diabetics to lessen their risk of vision problems is to regulate their blood sugar and see their eye doctor once a year.*
