Focus on Your Ocular Well-Being during Healthy Vision Month

May is Healthy Vision Month, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Eye Institute (NEI) are encouraging individuals and organizations to make vision health a priority.

In an effort to prompt more Americans to consider the value of sight, the NEI released what are perhaps some jarring statistics regarding the nation’s overall ocular health:

• Some 14 million Americans are currently visually impaired due to eye diseases and disorders
• More than 4 million adults over the age of 40 have eye complications related to diabetes
• More than 2 million adults over 40 have glaucoma
• Nearly 2 million adults over 40 have age-related macular degeneration

Millions more suffer from correctable eye conditions including:

• Astigmatism (blurry vision caused by an irregular cornea shape)
• Hyperopia (farsightedness)
• Myopia (nearsightedness)
• Presbyopia (age-related loss of near vision)

According to a 2009 NEI study, the prevalence of nearsightedness alone has increased 66 percent in the past 30 years.

And while a study conducted by NEI’s National Eye Health Education Program and the Lions Club International revealed that a vast majority of participants believe loss of eyesight would have an “extreme” impact on their daily lives, more than 25 percent said their last eye exam was at least two years prior. Another 9 percent said they never had an eye exam.

The best way to detect a vision problem at the earliest and most treatable stage is with a comprehensive dilated eye exam. A dilated eye exam can reveal common, correctable refractive conditions as well as eye diseases that have few early warning signs; early detection of risk factors for these conditions can lead to early and vision-saving treatment.

To learn more about LASIK vision correction options or to find an ophthalmologist near you, please contact The LASIK Directory.

Anti-VEGF Agents and IOP Spikes

Anti-VEGF injection is being investigated for treatment of the vascular or wet form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This is not an FDA-approved use for these medications, but it is becoming a popular off-label use. Wet AMD has no other good treatments and can quickly lead to serious vision loss, so any treatment that can reverse vision loss and preserve these gains can be expected to increase in popularity. However, researchers have discovered one major roadblock to this treatment avenue.

Following injections of anti-VEGF medications, patients have been experiencing spikes in intra-ocular pressure (IOP). Increased IOP can lead to optic nerve damage, and is the primary characteristic of most forms of glaucoma. Over time, elevated IOP can lead to vision loss. Short-term IOP spikes are a common side effect of all forms of eye injections, but the IOP spikes seen in anti-VEGF treatments seems to be long-term. Research suggests is may be related to a clogging of the open angle. One possible explanation is that the anit-VEGF drugs (primarily Avastin (bevacizumab) and Lucentis (ranibizumab)) may have been mishandled prior to injection and therefore contain a large number of silicone oil droplets. At least one study has shown that freezing the anti-VEGF drugs can cause silicone oil to leach the vials into the drug itself. When this occurs it causes a significant increase in the number of particles in the drug. Once inside the eye, the natural flow of fluids will draw them into the open angle, clogging it and causing secondary glaucoma.

If you are over the age of 45 and notice any changes in your vision, it is important to talk to an eye doctor to learn whether AMD may be responsible, and whether treatments are available for your form of the disease. Contact us today to find a local ophthalmologist.

Older Drivers and Their Eyesight

Study results regarding older drivers were recently published in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science. The Salisbury Eye Evaluation and Driving Study (SEEDS) was conducted by scientists affiliated with Johns Hopkins University and looked at the vision, cognition and general health of licensed drivers aged 67 – 87.

There are over 30 million drivers in the U.S. aged 65 and over, which is also the fastest growing group of all licensed drivers in the country. As drivers age, their cognitive and visual function decreases impacting driving ability. The SEEDS research shows that a decrease in vision function is a key factor in an older driver's decision to restrict or discontinue driving. The most common conditions that bring about that decision include:

• Slow visual scanning
  
• Reaction time and attention
  
• Decreased ability to discern distances
  
• Contrast sensitivity loss (commonly associated with cataracts)
  

Each of these skills is necessary to help drivers to be aware of and appropriately respond to other vehicles, road conditions and road signs. Not associated with a decision to limit driving was a loss of visual field, commonly associated with glaucoma or age-related macular degeneration.

The study noted that women were four times more likely than men to stop or restrict their driving. Those who prefer to be driven were also four times more likely to self-limit driving than those who like to drive.

Self monitoring and regulation by aging drivers are essential ingredients in ensuring their safety and the safety of those with whom they share the road. The results of this study show that aging drivers are more apt to respond to some conditions than others, which might recommend increased education about the effect of visual field loss on the ability to drive.

Please contact the LASIK Directory today to find an experienced ophthalmologist in your area.

PNW

Central Serous Retinopathy: Trying to Find Some Clues

One of our writers has had to deal with an eye condition known as Central Serous Retinopathy. Since we work with eye surgeons I asked her to write about it and agreed to post it on this blog. She has written a series of nine blogs on her experience with Central Serous Retinopathay.

This is blog post 2 of 9:

When it didn't seem to be going away on it's own I decided to try looking it up online. I am familiar with common symptoms of eye conditions. I have been writing about them for a few years now. This problem didn't really fit anything I knew.

It bears the closest resemblance to macular degeneration, but in all the examples I have seen of what the spot looks like in macular degeneration it has fuzzy edges. (Check out this online macular degeneration interactive vision test.) Mine doesn't. The edges are crisp. I also wasn't noticing any waviness of lines, which is a hallmark of macular degeneration.

The only good word I could come up with to describe it was "afterimage". That is exactly what it looks like and I started out thinking that is what it was and thinking I knew what caused it, so the impression and the word stuck.

That is where I started with my research and I found nothing useful, except a few posts made me feel pretty sure a laser pointer could not have caused it. Ocular migraines kept coming up when I searched, but the information just didn’t match my problem. I couldn’t believe that there was no information on this out there. It was very frustrating.

I later discovered that when I look up central serous retinopathy symptoms, I never would have recognized it by reading about it on most of the websites. Reading personal accounts of living with the condition paints a very different picture, much more like my experience.

Here are some additional resources on macular degeneration -

Article about Age Related Macular Degeneration

Article about Detection and Prevention of Macular Degeneration

New Treatments for Macular Degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration is a common eye disorder affecting Americans over the age of 65. In fact, it is the leading cause of blindness for people in this age range. White females are at the greatest risk for developing macular degeneration. Other risk factors include smoking, obesity, and genetics.

Recent studies suggest that vitamin therapy can be very effective in slowing the progression of the disorder if it is caught early enough. The National Eye Institute recommends a high-dose supplement made up of vitamins C, E, beta carotene, and zinc to treat macular degeneration. In some situations, laser eye surgery has been used to treat the disorder as well.

There is also a new treatment available that has been demonstrating excellent results. It is a drug that is injected into your eye. The drug acts on the abnormal blood vessels in your eye that have caused your macular degeneration. The treatment has slowed the progression of the disorder in many patients, and it has improved the vision of others.

You can use the links at the bottom of this page to find a qualified ophthalmologist in your area.