Natural Eye Care Blog: News & Research on Vision

Concussions in Children

Getting back to school can mean getting back on the playing field for many kids. A new study published in the journal Pediatrics highlights the need to take conservative approaches to head injuries and concussions. The younger the child, the longer the recovery period should be. New guidelines include such advice as:

children recovering from concussions should take a break from cognitive activities as well a physical ones – this may include a change in schoolwork;
younger athletes should not return to the playing field on the same day as an injury even if symptoms clear; and
multiple concussions may mean that a child needs to stop participating in contact sports.

Parents and coaches need to be aware of the signs and symptoms of concussion, many of which overlap and are related to physical, cognitive, emotional, and sleep issues. Headache is the most frequently reported symptom

Even though participation in team sports has declined by 13% over a ten year period, kids’ visits to the emergency room for head injuries has increased markedly. It is unclear whether this is due to more rigorous play or increased awareness of the seriousness of concussions in children. Concussions can be linked to long term problems related to developmental and cognitive function.

Source: Medscape

Hawthorn Can Prevent and Treat Cataracts: Antioxidant Properties

An animal study has revealed the antioxidant properties of hawthorn tree leaves and how they may be used to fight cataracts.

Hawthorn leaf extract was dropped into the eyes of rats with selenite-induced oxidative stress. Researchers were able to measure significant increases in antioxidant levels in the eyes after the administration of the drops. According to study authors, “These results may be applied in the future for the prevention and treatment of cataracts.”

One of the leading causes of cataracts is the presence of free radicals. The natural byproducts of metabolism, these highly reactive chemicals cause oxidation, which in turn leads to the development of the opaque spot in the eye of a cataract.

Source: Biological Trace Element Research

Fuchs Corneal Dystrophy Gene Identified

Scientists have found a gene that may be responsible for the progressive eye disease Fuchs corneal dystrophy (FCD). Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the study concludes that people with a gene called transcription factor 4 are five times more likely to develop FCD.

HealthDay reports that Senior study author Albert Edwards tells them that, “understanding the genetic predisposition for FCD may be helpful for selecting participants for future studies on the condition, especially for research aimed at understanding if this genetic risk predicts its progression. Developing a genetic test for FCD could also help surgeons avoid transplanting donor corneas that might eventually develop the disease.”

Source: Aallrefer.com

Some people have reported positive results when trying to treat FCS naturally.

Teen Smoking Rates Stay Steady; US Government to Renew Anti-Smoking Efforts

After having declined for much of the last decade, the teen smoking rate has reached a plateau in the last couple of years. A new U.S. government study shows that the declines in teen smoking between 2006 and 2009 were not statistically significant – from 19.8%t to 17.2% among high school students and from 6.3 percent to 5.2 percent among middle school students. In 2000 number as many as 28% of high school students were classified as smokers.

There are now calls for increased smoking and tobacco use prevention efforts aimed at young people.

Source: www.naturalhealthlibrary.org

Cigarette smoking can contribute to many eye diseases including macular degeneration. Vision health is about whole body health. Learn more about our Vision Wellness Protocol.

New Treatment for Depression: Electromagnet Therapy

Individuals with depression who cannot tolerate or did not respond to antidepressant medications may find relief with the help of a non-invasive treatment called repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). The brains of study participants were stimulated with a pulsing electromagnet in order to “jump-start underactive mood-regulating circuitry.”

This National Institutes of Health funded study subjected treatment-resistant depression patients to either active or simulated brain stimulation. Fourteen percent of those receiving the actual therapy achieved a remission of symptoms compared to only 5% who received a sham treatment.

“For treatment resistant-patients, we found that rTMS is at least as good as current medications or anything else we have available, except ECT [electroconvulsive therapy, an invasive procedure with considerable side effects],” said researcher Mark George, PhD. “Our current antidepressants do not work for many people.” According to study authors, rTMS treatment does not trigger any seizures or notable side effects.

Source: NIH

Weight Loss Study: Drink Water Before Each Meal and Shed Pounds

Drinking two cups of water before a meal can help you lose weight, but the magic is not in the water. To lose weight, the best way is still to reduce your caloric intake.

At a meeting of National Meeting of the American Chemical Society researchers presented their findings: in a study of 48 older adults all on a reduced calorie diet over a 12 week period, participants who drank 16 ounces of water before each meal lost five pounds more than those who did not. This study follow up on another in which researchers found that people consumed between 75 and 90 fewer calories per meal if they drank two cups of water just before they started eating.

Study spokesperson Dr Brenda Davy said “the reason drinking water before the meal works is simply because it has zero calories but you have the sensation of feeling partly full before you even start eating, resulting in fewer calories consumed during the meal.”

According to MedicalNewsToday.com, “Official bodies like the National Academies’ Institute of Medicine, an agency that advises the Federal Government, say healthy people should let natural thirst guide them on how much water to drink, but they generally recommend this should result in about 9 cups of fluids a day, including water, for women and 13 cups for men.”

Source: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/198720.php

Learn more about weight loss and check out our Vision Wellness Protocol for some tips on how improving your general health – including losing weight – can benefit your vision.

Children’s Eye Health: Contact Lenses, Not Glasses May Be Better Option for Kids

Kids who wear contact lenses rather than glasses enjoy better vision-related quality of life. A new study published in Optometry and Vision Science reports that in the children who participated in the three year study fared better regarding their feelings about appearance and participation in athletics if they wore contacts. In particular, children over age 10 experience the greatest improvement in quality of life.

According to Jeffrey J. Walline, O.D, Ph.D., Ohio State University College of Optometry and leader of the Adolescent and Child Health Initiative to Encourage Vision Empowerment (ACHIEVE) Study, “The growing body of research in children’s vision correction continues to demonstrate that contact lenses provide significant benefits to children beyond simply correcting their vision. This study showed considerable improvement for contact lens wearing children 10 years or older in areas of appearance, participation in activities, and satisfaction with vision correction, and it remained or improved over three years.”

Though it is often assumed that glasses are easier to handle than delicate contact lenses, children were happier to work with the contacts than pairs of glasses. The availability of daily disposable lenses seems to have made the process less troublesome for kids. It removes the worry over the loss and breakage of eyeglasses.

Researchers “advise parents and eye care practitioners to look beyond the visual benefits” when deciding how to best correct vision problems in children.

This study received partial funding from Johnson and Johnson.

Source: MedicalNewsToday.com

St. John’s Wort Linked to Cataracts

Researchers have discovered a link between the popular anti-depression herb St. John’s wort and the development of cataracts.

Published in Current Eye Research, the study describes the results of questionnaires sent to over 31,000 people over age 40 about cataracts and their use of herbal remedies and treatments over the prior year. Those who reported that they had cataracts were 59% more likely to also report they had used St. John’s Wort. Researchers do make clear that this questionnaire format has limits and further study is necessary to determine whether the correlation is dose dependent and learn more about the timing of taking the supplement and developing the cataract.

In earlier research, Hypericin, an active ingredient in St. John’s wort, was linked with crystallization of the eye’s lenses. But, to date, the association had not been evaluated in humans.

St. John’s wort is a European weed whose extracts have been used for the treatment of mental disorders, particularly depression. It is usually taken as an herbal tea or tablet.

Source: https://news.injuryboard.com/study-links-st-johns-wort-to-cataracts.aspx?googleid=274170

Help Out Your Heart: Sleep Seven Hours Per Night

A new study suggests that seven hours of sleep is optimal if you want to maintain a healthy heart. Getting less than five hours per day more than doubles one’s risk of developing angina, coronary heart disease, heart attack or stroke. And while eight hours of sleep is commonly known as the ideal amount, the study out of West Virginia University says that more than seven hours of shut eye also increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.

In this study of 30,000 American adults the strong link between too much or too little sleep and cardiovascular disease was clear even after screening out those with diabetes, high blood pressure, and depression. The exact reason for this correlation is still unknown, but researchers point out that sleep duration has an impact on endocrine and metabolic functions. Also sleep deprivation can lead impaired glucose tolerance, reduced insulin sensitivity, and elevated blood pressure, all of which contribute to a hardening of the arteries.

Hardening of the arteries is called atherosclerosis. Read more about causes and prevention of heart disease.

Source: The Daily Telegraph

A Myth: Teething Causes Fevers in Babies

It seems like everyone from grandmothers to many family doctors has supported the belief that teething babies tend to run fevers as new teeth come in. A new study out of Australia, however, claims to debunk this medical myth. Researchers at the Centre for Community Child Health at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne say that parents should never assume that their baby’s fever is related to teething.

Study authors also report that many of the other conditions commonly associated with teething, including sleep disturbances, congestion, changes to bowel movements, and infections were falsely attributed to cutting teeth. A study based in Cleveland, Ohio did find that teething can be linked to increased biting, drooling, gum-rubbing, irritability, wakefulness, ear-rubbing, facial rash and a decreased appetite for solid foods.

Wake says most infants and young children start teething between four and 24 months old. This time frame roughly coincides with the period, between six and 24 months, when young children experience most of their infections. And infections (especially viral ones) are the most common cause of fevers in young children.

Why this misconception? According to study leader Melissa Wake, babies start to get more infections from around six months of age, which is when teething generally begins and is when there is a decline in antibodies that they receive from their mother. She says that given that most children get scores of infections and 20 teeth during the first three years of life, it’s hardly surprising that these two events often coincide. Wake also points out that elementary school aged children also get many new teeth – but they don’t seem to complain of the side-effects that parents report in infants.

Researchers are concerned that some more serious health issues may be ignored, including urinary tract infections or pneumonia, because parents are blaming teething for all of their babies’ fevers. They also worry that pain relievers and oral soothing gels are offered to often, and, as Wake says, “No one wants babies to be taking unnecessary medication.”

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/health/talkinghealth/factbuster/stories/2010/08/18/2985998.htm