Natural Eye Care Blog: News & Research on Vision

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).

Muscles Can Respond to Light and Help Stroke Patients and Others

The eyes tend to get all the credit for being the organs that are receptive to light, but scientists at Stanford University are fining that muscles can respond to light as well. A study of mice whose nerve cells have been coated with specialized light-sensing proteins are helping researchers seeking treatment breakthroughs for people with physical disabilities caused by stroke, spinal cord injuries, or cerebral palsy.

The scientists are pioneers in the field of optogenetics, which uses a special gene derived from algae. In this case, they are using this technology to control muscle contraction.

The study was published in Nature Medicine.

Source:scienceblog.com

Massage Can Boost Immune System

We all know how nice a good massage can feel, but a study published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine shows that the benefits one session of Swedish massage can be measured on a biological level.

In a study of adults who received either the deep work of Swedish massage or light touch, those who received the real massage showed a measurable decrease of the decrease in the hormone arginine-vasopressin. This hormone is related to regulating blood pressure and managing water retention.

Researchers believe that a massage may have a positive effect on the immune system and will undertake further study to determine how massage benefits the body.

Source: https://nccam.nih.gov/research/results/spotlight/090110.htm?nav=rss

Massage is a great way to manage stress, as is yoga or tai chi. Have a look at our Vision Wellness Protocol to learn about how reducing stress and making healthier choices can benefit your eyes, body, and mind.

Stress Can Reduce Effectiveness of Cancer Treatments

Physical or mental stress in the days before a cancer treatment can actually hinder a patient’s ability to respond to chemotherapy or radiation.

When the body undergoes stress (even just from strenuous exercise) in the days leading up to treatment a certain stress-sensitive protein becomes active. Researchers have found that this protein actually helps the cancer cells adapt and survive.

Scientists first became aware of this protein, heat shock factor-1 when they found that it could help heart tissue survive even in a toxic environment. In this case, it is actually working against the body and allowing cancer cells to live on.

The study appears online in the journal Molecular Cancer Research.

Source: Science Daily.

Reducing stress is vital to all aspects of your health. Have a look at out Vision Wellness Protocol for tips on how to preserve your sight and enjoy overall health.

A New Antioxidant Source: Sorghum Bran

Fruits like blueberries get a lot of credit for being great antioxidants, helping to combat free radicals and fight eye diseases like glaucoma and macular degeneration, but researchers have found another antioxidants source that might be even more powerful: sorghum bran.

Researchers from the University of Georgia study found that the black and sumac varieties of sorghum have significant levels of antioxidants – even higher than may fruits. Sorghum also happens to be much less expensive.

Those involved with the study hope that a concentrate, high-tannin form of sorghum can be marketed and added to foods or sold as a powder to those seeking its antioxidant powers. It is also a potential source of fiber.

Source: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/200978.php

Eyes Control the Internal Body Clock

Circadian rhythms – they keep our systems in balance and running on a schedule. Our internal clocks, which control everything from sleep-wake cycles to hormones to appetite, are set according to the amount of light that enters the brain. Until now, how this happens has largely been a mystery.

Biologists from Johns Hopkins, University of Southern California, and Cornell University have recently discovered that one of the photosensitive cells in the retina, the rods, are responsible for “setting” our internal clocks in low light conditions.

We run our modern lives largely by the clock, from the alarms that startle us out of our slumbers and herald each new workday to the watches and clocks that remind us when it’s time for meals, after-school pick-up and the like.

According to the source of this story, Medical News Today, “The study results are important because they indicate that prolonged exposure to dim or low light at night (such as that in homes and office buildings) can influence mammals’ biological clocks and “throw off” their sleep-wake cycle. Study leader Samer Hattar suggests that “one way people can mitigate this effect is to make sure to get some exposure to bright day light every day. (The exposure to brighter, natural daylight will firmly reset the clocks to a proper asleep-at-night-awake-in-the-day cycle.).

AIn addition to those ubiquitous timekeepers, though, we have internal “clocks” that are part of our biological machinery and which help set our circadian rhythms, regulating everything from our sleep-wake cycles to our appetites and hormone levels. Light coming into our brains via our eyes set those clocks, though no one is sure exactly how this happens.

The study appeared in a recent issue of Nature Neuroscience.

Sleep is vital to many eye conditions, including dark circles under the eyes and health conditions like being overweight.

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.

What’s an Antioxidant Anyway? Antioxidants for Healthy Eyes and Body

We heard a lot about antioxidants, but what are they and why do we need them and where can we get them?

Free radicals are unstable atoms that attack other cells in their attempt to gain a missing electron that will make them more stable. This attack harms the cells’ delicate membranes, thereby making them a target for disease. This process is called oxidation and it is responsible for aspects of the aging process including wrinkles, cataracts, and macular degeneration.

Antioxidants neutralize free radicals by donating an electron to the unstable cells. After being neutralized, those free radicals will no longer attempt to damage cells, and therefore become less harmful to the body.

Antioxidants can be found in a host of foods.

Four particularly important antioxidants:

Astaxanthin, Glutathione, CoQ10 and Super oxide dismutase.

Diabetes Drug Can Cause Bladder Cancer According to FDA

capsules and pills — Image courtesy of Iowa.gov

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is examining a potential link between the diabetes drug Actos or pioglitazone and an increased risk of bladder cancer. Patients who have taken this medication to help control their type 2 diabetes for more than two years have an elevated risk of developing cancer of the bladder, but the FDA did not announce how great this risk might be. They have not gone so far as to tell doctors to stop prescribing it or recommending that patients stop taking it.

Learn more about the symptoms and causes of diabetes mellitus and natural diabetes treatment options.