================================================================= V I S I O N U P D A T E ================================================================= 20 Feb 2004 Issue #29 Promoting Health Through Knowledge Ted Roxan, Editor editor@visionupdate.net ================================================================= IN THIS ISSUE... 1. Feature Article St. Louis eye doctor plans magnetic lens. 2. Ask the Doctor Talking with the experts 3. News Briefs Cool Shades 4. Relevant Links Important resources. 5. Preventative Medicine Radical surgery offers hope to macular degeneration sufferers ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Feature Article St. Louis eye doctor plans magnetic lens. While laser surgery is expected to remain popular, doctors are preparing man-made lenses to replace parts of aging eyes with plastic and ceramics. Surgeons have used artificial lenses in the eye widely since the 1970s, generally for patients who have had cataracts removed. During that surgery, doctors remove the entire lens, including the cataract, a clouded portion of the lens. Then a thin plastic prosthetic is used to replace the lens. Now doctors are looking beyond the basic prosthetic lenses - optometrists call them intraocular lenses - toward much more advanced styles. One aims to fix macular degeneration, a retina-related blurring, with what amounts to a tiny implanted telescope. Others amount to permanent reading glasses embedded behind the iris. Teams in California and Germany have developed innovative lenses that can be refocused after being implanted, some of which have actually been implanted into human eyes. St. Louis ophthalmologist Dr. Harry Eggleston has a device in early development that could be adjusted while in the eye, using magnets. Eggleston's design employs a ring of tiny powerful magnets embedded in the plastic of the eye lens, which rotates on minuscule threads. If the lens needs to be refocused after it has been implanted, a doctor can use a magnet outside the eye to tune the lens. Another eye lens could eliminate the need for reading glasses. As people grow older, lens proteins tend to stiffen, making it hard for the eye to change focus and see close objects clearly. In November, the FDA gave approval for a lens made by the California firm Eyeonics to be implanted in patients who have undergone cataract surgery. But under rules that provide physicians leverage, ophthalmologists, including Dr. John Doane of Independence, Mo., are using the lens for patients who simply want to avoid reading glasses. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ASK THE DOCTOR SPONSOR The Homemaker`s Journal is an e-mail newsletter published Mon- Fri that poses fun questions to readers about organizing, crafting, gardening, frugal living and other homemaking subjects; readers can respond to the questions and receive the resulting, very informative `tip sheet`. Join the fun!http://www.getswap.com/subscribe.asp?list=2-7 ----------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Ask the Doctor Talking with the experts Question from : wayne bullock What causes a sty, and why in my 30 years never had one till last year,and now i have 2 in there at one time.what im calling a styx looks like a pimpul.maybe wrong about the name of it. hope that u can give me some helpful info, thanks for your time Dr. Webber: Sties are infections in glands of the lid and may be the result of touching the lid or even an airborne contaminant. Treatment involves hot compresses as often as possible. Question from : Kellie Pye What can cause a nerve in your eye to continue to jump(my eyelid)? This has been happening to me everyday for about 3 days, off and on during the course of the day. Dr. Webber: That kind of twitch is usually caused by stress. Use cool compresses and they should resolve in a few days. If they don't, then see your eye doctor. ----------------------------------------------------------------- 3. News Briefs Cool Shades Yale scientists are developing eyeglasses that can track body temperature and display it on the lenses, a watch, or a cellphone, The glasses use a small monitor to detect changes in body heat in the patch of skin between your nose and eyes, an area that is representative of overall body temperature. Researchers hope the monitors will help people avoid heatstroke. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter Courtesy of VisionUpdate ----------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Relevant Links Important resources. National Eye Institute http://www.nei.nih.gov Eye Net http://myeyenet.com/ Blind Foundation http://www.afb.org Macular Degeneration Foundation http://www.eyesight.org LASIK Institute http://www.lasikinstitute.org NIH http://www.nih.gov ----------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Preventative Medicine Radical surgery offers hope to macular degeneration sufferers Age-related macular degeneration affects about 1.6 million Americans over 50, and it is the leading cause of blindness, according to the National Eye Institute. Prevent Blindness Indiana estimates more than 36,000 Hoosiers have the disease, which clouds or darkens the central vision. Evansville ophthalmologist Dr. David Malitz said there are two forms of macular degeneration - wet and dry. Wet macular degeneration is caused by blood vessels that leak fluids under the retina. It is considered the worst form and can cause vision loss. Malitz said macular translocation surgery was first performed more than a dozen years ago. Technological advances have allowed surgeons at Duke (University) Eye Center to improve the technique in recent years. Malitz said the procedure works by surgically lifting the macula and rotating it away from an unhealthy area of the retina to a different, healthier location. But he said the surgery is not for everyone; and complications, such as double vision or tilted vision, have been reported. Malitz said there is only a small window of opportunity when the surgery can be successfully performed - after macular degeneration has been diagnosed in one eye and has started to affect the second eye. Malitz said the blood vessels tend to grow back, so repeated treatments are required. He said only about 10 percent of all patients with macular degeneration are considered good candidates for the therapy. http://www.courierpress.com/ecp/health/article/0,1626,ECP_756_2604355,00.html ----------------------------------------------------------------- CLASSIFIED AD **Discover A New Breakthrough In Compensation** Get your FREE TRIAL Membership NOW! We will have this offer for a very limited time! 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