Archive for January, 2012
Wow – Wisconsin Study shows decline in Macular Degeneration!
01.31.2012
A study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine revealed a drop in the number of Americans with signs of age-related macular degeneration. Researchers examined the eyes of over 5500 participants over the age of 40 and compared those results to a similar study which was conducted 15 years ago.
Researchers found that about 30% fewer Americans showed signs of macular degeneration while 6.5% had some signs and less than 1% had late stage age-related macular degeneration. This report confirms similar findings of a study conducted by researchers at the University of Copenhagen which determined that the rate of age-related macular degeneration has declined by almost half over the past decade.
Researchers believe that a reduction in the number of smokers may be a contributing factor in the decline of the eye disease. Smoking is a major risk factor for AMD. In addition, improvements in diet as well as increased physical activity may also account for the decline.*
Stem Cell Surgical Therapy results create Optimistic View of Macular Degeneration
01.30.2012
Two women who were considered legally blind had their vision partly restored after receiving stem cell therapy. One of the women had the dry form of age-related macular degeneration and the other woman had a rare disease that causes vision loss. Both of the women received an injection of cells derived from human embryonic stem cells in one eye.
Four months after the treatment, both women were able to count more letters on a visual acuity chart. No side effects or safety issues were reported. While researchers are encouraged by the experiment results, they caution that it was not determined if the improvement in vision was due to the treatment, to the immune-suppressing drugs they were given to prevent rejection of the cells or to a placebo effect.
Larger trials will be needed to determine safety and efficacy but the results of this experiment do offer new hope that promise of stem cell treatments will be realized in the near future.*
North of Mason Dixon Line, consider taking Vitamin D for brain, bone & eye health
01.27.2012
British researchers believe that vitamin D may hep prevent or reverse age-related macular degeneration. The study results offered hope to patients dealing with the eye condition. Macular degeneration is caused by clogs in the blood vessels that connect to the retina which in turn causes inflammation and decreased vision and can lead to complete vision loss.
Mice that were used in the study were fed a supplement of vitamin D and safflower oil every three days. In as little as six weeks, researchers noted signs of improvement in their vision as well as a reduction of the toxic molecule amyloid beta. Amyloid beta is a protein that is associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
Researchers stress that full clinical trials in humans need to be conducted before any recommendations for older adults to start taking vitamin D supplements can be made. Sources of vitamin D include exposure to the sun, and foods like oily fish and dairy products. sun
Measuring visual acuity in people 65 and older not cost effective, study says
01.23.2012
Dr. Paul Krawitz performing a dilated retinal examination
A recent study suggests that it would be more cost effective for new Medicare enrollees to receive dilated eye exams in place of visual acuity screenings. Currently, when people are enrolled in the Medicare program, they receive a visual acuity screening along with other preventive healthcare checks.
The study involved 50,000 simulated patients with demographic characteristics matched to people 65 years of age. Diabetics were excluded because visual acuity screenings had already been determined to be cost effective and patients with diagnosed eye disease were also left out.
Researchers found that when compared to a no-screening policy, dilated eye evaluations increased quality-adjusted life years by 0.0008 and increased costs by $94. The quality-adjusted life years for those who had visual acuity screenings increased in less than 95 percent of the simulations and the total costs were increased by $32 per person.*
Is Avian Flu the Next Bioterrorism Risk?
01.21.2012
Two separate research teams were forced to temporarily halt their studies which showed how to produce a version of the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu virus that is easily transmissible in mammals. The findings led a U.S. government agency to request that only the results be published, leaving out the methods.
The H5N1 virus, although easily transmitted among birds, is not very contagious among humans. But the virus is very dangerous when do humans catch it – 343 of the infected people have died of the disease.
As a result, the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (part of the National Institutes of Health) requested that the methods used in the experiments not be published.
