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Eye Diseases

Eye diseases: There are many diseases, disorders, and age-related changes that may affect the eyes and surrounding structures.

As the eye ages, certain changes occur that can be attributed solely to the aging process. Most of these anatomic and physiologic processes follow a gradual decline. With aging, the quality of vision worsens due to reasons independent of diseases of the aging eye. While there are many changes of significance in the non-diseased eye, the most functionally important changes seem to be a reduction in pupil size and the loss of accommodation or focusing capability (presbyopia). The area of the pupil governs the amount of light that can reach the retina. The extent to which the pupil dilates decreases with age, leading to a substantial decrease in light received at the retina. In comparison to younger people, it is as though older persons are constantly wearing medium-density sunglasses. Therefore, for any detailed visually guided tasks on which performance varies with illumination, older persons require extra lighting. Certain ocular diseases can come from sexually transmitted diseases such as herpes and genital warts. If contact between the eye and area of infection occurs, the STD can be transmitted to the eye.

With aging, a prominent white ring develops in the periphery of the cornea called arcus senilis. Aging causes laxity, downward shift of eyelid tissues and atrophy of the orbital fat. These changes contribute to the etiology of several eyelid disorders such as ectropion, entropion, dermatochalasis, and ptosis. The vitreous gel undergoes liquefaction (posterior vitreous detachment or PVD) and its opacities — visible as floaters — gradually increase in number.

Various eye care professionals, including ophthalmologists (eye doctors/surgeons), optometrists, and opticians, are involved in the treatment and management of ocular and vision disorders. A Snellen chart is one type of eye chart used to measure visual acuity. At the conclusion of a complete eye examination, the eye doctor might provide the patient with an eyeglass prescription for corrective lenses. Some disorders of the eyes for which corrective lenses are prescribed include myopia (near-sightedness) which affects about one-third of the human population, hyperopia (far-sightedness) which affects about one quarter of the population, astigmatism, and presbyopia (the loss of focusing range during aging).

  • Cystitis drug causes permanent eye damage

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    Cystitis drug causes permanent eye damage image

    The world's only prescription drug for treating interstitial cystitis causes serious eye problems—even leading to blindness—in 25 percent of people who take it for a long time.

    Elmiron (pentosan polysulfate sodium) can damage the retina, causing permanent vision problems if the drug has been taken at high doses and for many years. The problem is irreversible if it has been taken for 15 years or more.

  • Eye Diseases

    Eye diseases:There are many diseases, disorders, and age-related changes that may affect the eyes and surrounding structures.

    As the eye ages, certain changes occur that can be attributed solely to the aging process. Most of these anatomic and physiologic processes follow a gradual decline. With aging, the quality of vision worsens due to reasons independent of diseases of the aging eye. While there are many changes of significance in the non-diseased eye, the most functionally important changes seem to be a reduction in pupil size and the loss of accommodation or focusing capability (presbyopia). The area of the pupil governs the amount of light that can reach the retina. The extent to which the pupil dilates decreases with age, leading to a substantial decrease in light received at the retina. In comparison to younger people, it is as though older persons are constantly wearing medium-density sunglasses. Therefore, for any detailed visually guided tasks on which performance varies with illumination, older persons require extra lighting. Certain ocular diseases can come from sexually transmitted diseases such as herpes and genital warts. If contact between the eye and area of infection occurs, the STD can be transmitted to the eye.

  • Influence of physical activity and screen time on the retinal microvasculature in young children📎

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    Abstract Title:

    Influence of physical activity and screen time on the retinal microvasculature in young children.

    Abstract Source:

    Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2011 May;31(5):1233-9. PMID: 21508347

    Abstract Author(s):

    Bamini Gopinath, Louise A Baur, Jie Jin Wang, Louise L Hardy, Erdahl Teber, Annette Kifley, Tien Y Wong, Paul Mitchell

    Article Affiliation:

    Centre for Vision Research, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Sydney, Westmead Hospital, Hawkesbury Rd, Westmead, New South Wales 2145, Australia.

    Abstract:

    OBJECTIVE:It is not clear whether physical activity and sedentary behavior affect retinal microvascular caliber. We investigated associations among physical activity (outdoor and indoor sporting activities), sedentary behaviors (including screen time, television [TV] viewing, and computer and videogame usage), and retinal microvascular caliber in schoolchildren.

    METHODS AND RESULTS:Six-year-old students (1765/2238) from a random cluster sample of 34 Sydney schools were examined. Parents completed questionnaires about physical and sedentary activities. Retinal images were taken, and retinal vessel caliber was quantified. After adjusting for age, sex, ethnicity, eye color, axial length, body mass index, birth weight, and mean arterial blood pressure, children who spent more time in outdoor sporting activities (in the highest tertile of activity) had 2.2μm (95% CI 0.65 to 3.71) wider mean retinal arteriolar caliber than those in the lowest tertile (Ptrend=0.004). Increasing quartiles of time spent watching TV were associated with narrower mean retinal arteriolar caliber≈2.3 μm (95% CI 0.73 to 3.92), Ptrend=0.003.

    CONCLUSIONS:These data suggest that physical activity could have a beneficial influence, whereas screen time has a potential adverse influence on retinal microvascular structure. The magnitude of arteriolar narrowing associated with each hour daily of TV viewing is similar to that associated with a 10-mm Hg increase in systolic blood pressure in children.

    Article Published Date : May 01, 2011

  • Oranges improve eye health and guard against macular disease

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    Oranges improve eye health and guard against macular disease image

    Apples are supposed to keep the doctor away—but oranges have their part to play, too. Eating an orange a day will help ward off macular disease, one of the most common eye problems that can lead to blindness as we get older.

    Regular orange eaters are 60 per cent less likely to have developed the disease 15 years later, a new research study has discovered.

    People who eat an orange a day are the least likely to suffer from macular degeneration when they're elderly, but even eating an orange once in a while also has some protective effect.

    Although vitamins C, E and A are supposed to be keep our eyes healthy, it was the flavonoids specifically found in oranges that seemed to have the greatest benefit, say researchers from the University of Sydney.

  • Reversing age-related eye conditions

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    <a href=There seems to be a general acceptance that we will lose sight with age, and little can be done to prevent it. Age-related far-sightedness (hyperopia) is the most common problem, with glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration and cataracts also considered part of the aging process. 

    None of that is true. There are plenty of ways to slow or halt the degeneration of the eyes with just a bit of preventive or corrective medicine. 

    Having followed my own advice, I no longer need glasses for reading. Dr Jose Mendonca, a renowned dental surgeon and jaw specialist, was diagnosed with myopia (short-sightedness) and prescribed glasses since age 11, but he now flies a plane and reads with minimal corrective lenses. He’s continued to improve since 2018.

    I suspect that all the so-called “age-related” eye problems are largely due to the lens stiffening due to deficiency in vitamin C (see box, right), which is why one of the key healers to these issues is vitamin C. 

    The business of sight requires huge amounts of energy. The job of the retina is to convert the stimulus of a photon landing on it into an electrical signal that the brain can work with. 

    The brain makes up 2 percent of our total body weight but consumes 20 percent of all the energy generated. The retina, relative to its weight, demands energy at a rate 10 times higher than the brain. No system can generate energy perfectly without some collateral damage. 

    These damaging units are free radicals. In chemical terms, free radicals have an unpaired electron. This makes them very “sticky” to other substances, and in sticking, they denature and damage those substances, causing degeneration. 

    Indeed, this is the mechanism that results in the three major eye diseases of cataract, glaucoma and macular degeneration. To mop up these free radicals we need an excellent antioxidant system.

  • Two strategies to reverse eyesight loss

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    Two strategies to reverse eyesight loss image

    Worried about failing eyesight as you get older? Scientists have discovered two easy things you can do every day that will keep your vision sharp into old age.

    The first is to exercise, and scientists have discovered that it has a direct bearing on macular degeneration, one of the most common cases of eyesight loss as we age.

  • Viagra can cause permanent eye damage

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    Viagra can cause permanent eye damage image

    Viagra may help your love life, but it isn't so good for your eyesight. Taking too much of the drug could permanently damage the retina and affect the way you see colours.

    It's well known the drug can cause vision problems, but they seem to be temporary and usually self-correct within 24 hours. But researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital have discovered that the damage can be permanent in people who take the drug for a long period or who overdose.

    Although all of us need to be able to see colours, the drug's side effects can be a special problem for people who rely on colour recognition in their work, and they need to be especially careful before they start taking Viagra (sildenafil citrate), the researchers say.

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