Category: Eye Conditions

Study of Fish Oil Quality and Content

fish oil capsules
Image courtesy of nccam.nih.gov

Independent testing by a White Plains, NY firm, ConsumerLab.com, has found that 7 of 24 fish oil supplements tested exhibited quality problems.  Some products exhibited multiple issues.

  • Three products contained less of the omega 3 fatty acids EPA and/or DHA than claimed,
  • Three product were spoiled (including a children’s supplement)
  • One enteric-coated product released its ingredients too early
  • One supplement for pets exceeded the contamination limit for PCBs.

We recommend fish oil supplements highly because their Omega-3 fatty acids help improve circulation, integrity of blood vessels, proper brain functioning, flexibility and permeability of cell membranes, and helps protect the retina’s photoreceptor cells.  They help to prevent and treat such conditions as glaucoma and macular degeneration.

You can access detailed test results at ConsumerLab.com

Dry Eye Associated with Oil Gland Dysfunction, Cataracts Surgery, Glaucoma

Researchers are examining dry eye syndrome‘s relationship to meibomian gland dysfunction and other eye conditions.

According to The Cornea & Contact Lens Society of New Zealand, “meibomian glands are the oil-producing glands located in both the upper and lower eyelids… This oil helps to stop the water in the tears from evaporating, thus helping to prevent dry eyes.”  Dry eye symptoms can result when this stabilizing oil does not reach the tear film.

Spanish scientists publishing in Cornea found that nearly 50% of subjects with dry eye also had meibomian gland dysfunction.

In this study, it was also concluded that “Pterygium*, trauma, cataract surgery, pseudoexfoliation, and glaucoma are associated with signs of dry eye.”

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

*If someone has a raised, cream colored growth in the white of his or her eye, then it might be what is called a pterygium.  These non-cancerous growths generally grow in the nasal side of the white of the eye. Caused by extended time spent in hot, windy environments, people who live on the equator are 10 times more likely to develop this problem than those living in the United States.

Though not dangerous, a pterygium can eventually distort vision because it can grow onto the cornea, and eventually even onto the central part of the eye which can block entering light. If removed surgically, there is a 40% chance that the problem will recur and the growth will return to be even larger and more aggressive.

Reducing Glaucoma and Diabetic Retinopathy in African Americans

Older black Americans are twice as likely to suffer from eye diseases, particularly glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy, than their white contemporaries.

A new grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will allow researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham to work on reducing the rates of visual impairment in African Americans.  It is believed that inadequate access to medical care is the cause of this high rate of eye disease in this particular population.

According to study leader Cynthia Owsley, Ph.D, “People with vision impairment are at increased risk for depression, transportation challenges, being unemployed, placement into long-term care, injury and death.”

Source: https://main.uab.edu/Sites/MediaRelations/articles/80565/

 

Omega-3s Can Reduce Heart Failure Hospitalizations

Image courtesy of sokhcn.baria-vungtau.gov.vn

Here’s another example of how omega 3 fatty acids can benefit your health: omega-3s can help people suffering from heart failure.

In a study presented at the Heart Failure Society of America 2010 Scientific Meeting, researchers stated that those taking omega-3s over a four year period “demonstrated a minor but statistically significant improvement in LVEF [left ventricular ejection fraction]. . . these effects were also associated with a reduction in hospitalizations for heart failure.”

Source: heartwire

We highly recommend that those wishing to prevent or suffering from such eye conditions as glaucoma, cone-rod disorders, retinitis pigmentosa, or diabetic retinopathy consider taking a daily dose of omega-3 fish oil.  Check with your doctor first, however, if you are taking a blood thinner.

New Causes of Macular Degeneration: Genetic Discovery

genes
Image courtesy of: microbialgenomics.energy.gov

Researchers at the University of Manchester are making strides as they begin to understand another cause of macular degeneration.

Five years ago, scientists discovered that people who developed macular degeneration had a variant form of the gene CFH, a protein involved in the regulation of the immune system.  In this new study it was found that people with this variant gene are more susceptible to inflammation within the eye that could eventually lead to the damage of cells and the development of macular degeneration.

Understanding the problem on the molecular level will hopefully lead to new therapies, according to those on the research team.

Source: https://media-newswire.com

Other scientists have  identified a another variant possessed by 20 percent of the population that can actually protect people against AMD.

Source: https://www.technologyreview.com/

Update:  alu RNA

“Geographic atrophy,” which causes cell death in the retina of the eye, is blamed as a major cause of what is often described as untreatable blindness and is  associated with dry macular degeneration.

Researchers publishing in the journal Nature find a DNA level cause for macular degeneration: non-coding “junk DNA” that was previously thought to have no function.  The scientists also found that another genetic component, RNA in a toxic form called Alu RNA, is also involved in retinal cell death.

These two discoveries could open new doors for therapies for macular degeneration patients.  Source: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com

Update: Hepatic Lipase Gene Connection

In an analysis of the genes of more than 1,000 patients with AMD, an international team of scientists discovered a strong association between the vision problem and the presence of a new gene.

The new gene connection is with hepatic lipase gene LIPC, a critical enzyme in the metabolism of high-density lipoprotein (HDL). The study also noted strong associations between advanced AMD and other single nucleotide polymorphisms in the same lipid pathway, but the other finding showed a much stronger, genome-wide significance.

Abstract Title: Genome-Wide Association Study of Advanced Age-Related Macular Degeneration Identifies a New Susceptibility Locus in the Lipid Metabolism Pathway, Hepatic Lipase (LIPC)

Update: Efemp1 Gene

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have created the first animal model of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) caused by a mutation known to produce disease in people.

AMD is the most common cause of vision loss in elderly people, affecting more than 10 million people in the U.S. and about 50 million world-wide. Because AMD develops late in life (patients typically show symptoms of AMD after age 60), it is a difficult condition to investigate.

Although some forms of AMD are inherited, one type is thought to be caused by a mutation in the Efemp1 gene. Researchers introduced the disease-causing mutation into the Efemp1 gene of mice. These Efemp1-mutant mice develop the same basal deposits as people with AMD.

It is believed that these mice will provide a means to study how basal deposits form and what they are made of. The mice can also be used to test potential treatments to prevent basal deposit formation.

“To better develop treatments for preventing the progression of AMD, we need to understand the real biochemical details of how AMD occurs,” says lead author Eric A. Pierce, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Penn’s K.M Kirby Center for Molecular Ophthalmology. “To do that, we need a model, and now we have one.”

SOURCE: Model To Study Age-related Macular Degeneration Could Pave Way For Better Treatment, Pierce et al, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (2007, October 10).

Are Grains Always Good For You? Potential Diabetes Risk

 

Though we have often heard that whole grains are an essential part of a healthy diet, but this may not be true for everyone. According to Dr. Mercola, over 85% of Americans have trouble controlling their insulin levels which is related to the development of diabetes.

Eating carbohydrate-containing foods, whether high in sugar or high in starch (such as bread – even organic, whole-grain bread, potatoes, processed breakfast cereals, and rice), temporarily raises blood sugar and insulin levels. The blood sugar-raising effect of a food, called its “glycemic index,” depends on how rapidly its carbohydrate is absorbed. People eating large amounts of foods with high glycemic indices, have been reported to be at increased risk of type 2 diabetes.

However, diets high in total carbohydrates do not necessarily increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and some studies have found no independent relationship between sugar intake and the development of glucose intolerance.

For more on natural diabetes treatment and prevention as well as information on the related condition diabetic retinopathy, please visit our website.

Lutein and Zeaxanthin Reduce Macular Degeneration Risk

The carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin are selectively absorbed by the macula of the eye in order to protect one from developing diseases like macular degeneration.  A new study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association seeks to measure lutein and zeaxanthin consumption by age, sex, and ethnicity.

head of brocolli
Image by bgraphic

Among all age groups, both sexes, and all ethnicities, intakes of lutein were greater than of zeaxanthin.   Zeaxanthin to lutein ratios in Mexican Americans was considerably greater than other ethnicities (other Hispanics, non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, other races). Lower zeaxanthin to lutein ratios were measured in groups at risk for age-related macular degeneration (e.g., older participants, women).  The authors of this study state that their findings “suggest that the relative intake of lutein and zeaxanthin may be important to age-related macular degeneration risk.”

Source: LefDailyNews

Green vegetables such as kale, spinach, turnip greens, collard greens, romaine lettuce, broccoli, zucchini, garden peas and brussel sprouts are among the best sources of lutein and zeaxanthin. For more on food sources of nutrients, visit our website.

Learn more about preventing and treating macular degeneration.

Blueberries Help Prevent Diabetes and Macular Degeneration

blueberries
image courtesy of USGS

New research published in the Journal of Nutrition shows that the bioactive ingredients in blueberries may help people fend off diabetes.

A study of people who were at risk for diabetes (obese and insulin-resistant but not yet diagnosed with diabetes) showed that consuming smoothies rich in blueberry bioactives twice per day for 6 weeks showed a 22% change in insulin sensitivity.  This was the first study of its kind to indicate that the nutrients in blueberries can help regulate insulin levels in at-risk adults.  It is believed that the flavonoids in blueberries – in particular anthocyanins and flavanols – are responsible for this positive effect.

Source: Nutraingredients

Blueberries are also great for the eyes as they are rich in antioxidants.  Studies have linked blueberries and other antioxidants to the prevention of macular degeneration.

Glaucoma May Originate in Brain, Not Retina

Cellular Basis for Glaucoma

Researchers at Catalyst for a Cure (CFC) consortium, a division of the Glaucoma Research Foundation, have announced their continuing work in 2011: studying how and why retinal ganglion cells degenerate in people with glaucoma. Retinal ganglion cells are types of neuron located near the inner surface eye’s retina.  They receive visual images from the photoreceptors and transmit the information to the brain.

These CFC researchers are looking at the onset and progression of glaucoma at the level of the cells and molecular pathways.  They have noted that the degeneration of the retinal ganglion cells is related to the loss of connectivity that accompanies glaucoma.  According to the CFC: “These degenerative changes compromise the neuron’s ability to process and transmit visual information well before the neurons actually die.”  The team has determined that the retinal ganglion cells are particularly vulnerable early in the development of glaucoma, “when these cells are more sensitive to metabolic insults and stressors.

Glaucoma May Originate in Brain, Not Retina

Other research has suggested that glaucoma may not originate in the retina itself, but at the other end of the optic nerve located back in the middle of the brain.  In a study of rodents published in PNAS, it was found that the problem may stem from the nerve’s inability to transport impulses.  The scientists from Vanderbilt University and University of Washington say that this transport deficit seems related to the subject’s age and is not necessarily related in increased ocular pressure.  Locating glaucoma’s cause in the nerve rather than the retina may lead to new breakthroughs in glaucoma detection and therapy.

Source: https://www.pnas.org/content/107/11/5196.abstract

 

People With Vision Loss Can Experience Visual Hallucinations

“Phantom limb pain” is something we may have heard of, but it turns out that people who lose their vision often experience something similar.

Researchers who reported at the American Academy of Ophthalmology Joint Annual Meeting With the Pan-American Association of Ophthalmology stated that patients with vision loss are much more likely to experience “vivid visual hallucinations” than previously believed.

Between 10-38% of those with vision loss from such conditions as macular degeneration, experience what is called Charles Bonnet syndrome.  The authors of the study wrote that patients experience  hallucinations such as “double-decker buses driving into the patient’s living room or people sitting on a couch.  These patients are diagnosed with the condition if they have both vision loss and the vivid hallucinations.

Researchers think that when the visual cortex doesn’t have valid sensory input the brain spontaneously provided remembered images – but this does not explain why all patients do not have the experience.  Medical professionals do not generally prescribe any particular treatment and feel that the patients with the condition gradually get used to it.

Published: Medscape Medical News