Archive for the ‘Active Senior Lifestyle’ Category
Quiz: How long does it take you to figure out which one’s the pool chemical and which one’s the glaucoma eyedrop?
08.27.2010
One bottle is for swimming pool chemistry and contains hydrochloric acid.
…The other one is a prescription eyedrop for glaucoma.
But say both of them are on the kitchen counter, and you’ve had a rotten, harried day. Further suppose that you don’t have your reading glasses on and you know it’s time to take your prescription glaucoma eyedrops so that your eye pressure stays under control and doesn’t cause any further damage to your optic nerve. (See http://www.visivite.com/glaucoma.html and http://www.eye-surgeons.net/glaucoma-news.html).
Now take a closer look…
They’re both similarly-shaped bottles. The FDA mandates that beta-blocker eyedrops such as levobunalol must have a yellow bottle cap. Funny…the pool testing bottle also has a yellow cap.
Think you could do the same?
My lovely female patient from this afternoon was embarrassed and flabbergasted that she made this mistake.
But any one of us could have done the same, don’t you agree?
Paul Krawitz, M.D, President
Vitamin Science, Inc.
Lifespan shortened by sitting on your _______!
08.18.2010A new study published in the online July 22 edition of American Journal of Epidemiology sheds light on the effect that too much “sitting” has on a person’s lifespan. Even when factoring in obesity and physical activity, the amount of sitting a person does shortens his or her lifespan.
More than 120,000 American adults were studied over the course of 14 years. The participants had no history of disease and had completed questionnaires. Adjustments were made for many risk factors such as the body mass index, and smoking. The study showed that people were more likely to die of heart disease than cancer.
Women who spent six hours a day sitting had a 37 percent increased risk of dying compared to those who spent less time on their posteriors. Men had an increased risk of 17 percent. A little exercise everyday lowered the mortality risk but for those who sat a lot and did not exercise, the mortality risk jumped to 94 percent for women and 48 percent for men.
Researchers stress that inactivity has consequences on a person’s overall health and raises the risk factors for other diseases as well. Ultimately, it is important to get up and move.*
Andrea Schumann
Staff Writer
Wearing bifocals may be unsafe for seniors
07.07.2010Elderly patients who wear bifocals or progressive lenses may benefit in having a second pair of “distance only” glasses for use when going outdoors. For those who are at a high risk of falling, the distance only glasses would help lessen the problems of depth perception and contrast sensitivity that can be associated with progressive lenses or bifocals.
In a recent study, those adults who replaced their multifocal glassess with single-vision glasses for walking and outdoor activities reduced their incidence of falling by 40%.
However, researchers did find that the second pair of single vision glasses proved most beneficial to more active participants. For those with below average outdoor activity a 29% increase in falls was noted. This could be attributed to over-confidence in the switch to the single vision lenses or it could be that switching the glasses proved too confusing.
Researchers concluded that eyecare providers should carefully consider the activity level of their patients before prescribing proper eyewear.*
Andrea Schumann
Staff Writer
New Baby Boomer Eyeglasses that Focus Electronically and Automatically!
05.26.2010
Ben Franklin, the inventor of the bifocals and discoverer of electricity in lightning, never put the two together. But a new electronic eyeglass does just that.
This new eyeglass lens is getting ready to hit the market and will quickly become the new standard for adults who need eyeglasses to read. Unlike standard or “no line” bifocals, this new lens will automatically adjust from near vision to distance vision while reducing the distortion that is commonly associated with progressive lenses.
The lens technology pairs an electronic lens with an artificial-intelligence frame which contains an electronic module. The wearer will have three modes to select from: automatic, manual on and manual off.
Eye care professionals see these lenses as a great option for adults searching for a better choice in corrective lenses than the bifocals and progressive lenses which are currently available. Among those pleased with this new technology is Dr. Paul Krawitz, President and CEO of VisiVite.com. “The new electronic focusing lenses will be a great boon to any adult who needs help with reading vision, and could even be especially helpful for people with low vision,” states Dr. Krawitz.*
Andrea Schumann
Staff Writer
Another “Can’t Miss” story about Eye Health?
02.26.2009
Newspapers are always looking for the next great story for excitement and to garner readership. Dutifully, people quote the article as fact for a month or two, until the next “big thing” comes out. Unfortunately, the news writers don’t dissect the scientific literature the way we do for you.
A case in point is a recent study from the January 2009 issue of the usually reputable Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science. The February 16 issue of the Los Angeles Times cited the study from the National Runners’ Health Study which “proved” that people who run an average of 2-4 kilometers per day had a significant decrease in the risk of Age-Related Macular Degeneration when compared with those who ran less.
Well, that’s certainly a “feel good” story, isn’t it?
The problem with the study, and it’s not a minor quibble, is that it fails to follow the gold standard in scientific inquiry, which includes the following three factors:
- The study is randomized (i.e., half of the people were told to run more and half told to run less)
- The study is prospective (starts now and then evaluates later whether an effect is seen)
- The study is double-blind (neither the investigators or subjects know which group the subjects are in)
Number 3 would have been hard to do, because people know if they’re running or not. But the investigators didn’t have to know. And points 1 and 2 were ignored completely.
What you end up with is a study that proves CORRELATION, not CAUSATION.
What’s the difference?
Causation would have meant, in this study, that running CAUSES lower risk of macular degeneration. That’s what the authors concluded. But they were wrong. And newspapers bit into the conclusion like fish on a hook.
But all that was proved was that running and lower risk of AMD were CORRELATED.
In other words, healthier people are the ones more likely to run and also are the ones in a lower risk group for AMD – similar to other diseases such as diabetes and heart diseases. It isn’t that running is helping them; it is that running and lower incidence of AMD are correlated because the people are healthier to start with!
Keep your dial on this channel to learn the real news about eye health and macular degeneration.
Paul Krawitz, M.D., President
Vitamin Science Inc
