StemCell Therapy

Diagnostic overshadowing is not a term which makes it into the mainstream media very often. It refers to a tendency to attribute all of a patients problems to a major condition, thereby allowing other co-existing conditions go undiagnosed.

It is a particular problem for people with learning disabilities, who often find health professionals make assumptions that their behaviour is a part of their disability without exploring other factors such as biological determinants.

This is an area which has interested Kathryn Saunders, professor of optometry and vision science at Ulster University, for many years. Prof Saunders has led pioneering research addressing a significant knowledge gap in understanding myopia prevalence amongst children with a developmental disability. Her work has had significant impact in developing public health information relating to myopia and securing commitment for enhanced eye-care services for children in special education settings in England.

This is an area of research Ive been involved in for over 30 years, she says. Everyone is interested in myopia but research into children with disabilities is less sexy and less interesting for people. But the difference you can make to peoples lives and families is just unbelievable. Its something Im very passionate about.

Part of the problem is that we expect children to tell us if they cant see something properly. Children with learning disabilities have different ways of communicating or may not communicate at all, Saunders explains. If the child doesnt see the difference between a horse and a cow it can be put down to their learning disability rather than a sight defect. People have low expectations of the children and the problems are attributed to their underlying disability, whereas the child may have difficulty seeing colours, focusing and so on. This results in diagnostic overshadowing and its a very big problem for children with learning disabilities.

The issue is compounded by the fact that many conditions have associated vision problems. You have to know whats normal for the particular condition. I have concentrated on Down syndrome, autism and cerebral palsy. The brain is a huge part of how we see the world.

The scale of the problem is highlighted by research carried out by UK charity SeeAbility, which found children in special schools in England are 28 times more likely to have problems with their vision and a six-year-old child with Down syndrome is 10 times more likely to have a sight defect.

Its not as simple as carrying out normal eye tests, however. Think about a child with learning disabilities and what they see when an optometrist comes up to them with a shining bright light in a dark room its quite frightening.

Saunders own research has led to significant progress in the area. The Special Education Eyecare (SEE) project, which was funded by Action Medical Research, saw a comprehensive eye-care service being provided in a special school in England to establish if it resulted in a measurable benefit.

A school is a very good setting for eye tests, Saunders says. You can do part of the test in the morning and finish it in the afternoon, so it is not overwhelming for the child.

The results, which showed clear benefits, were published in a research paper last year. The outcomes included an improvement in visual status, with more children having their visual problems managed properly and an improvement in classroom engagement. Another benefit saw parents and teachers reporting value from the in-school service and from the reports and advice they received from the eye-care professionals on each childs visual status and visual needs.

They not only understood the lay description of the vision information but used this information to help the child at home and in the classroom, says Saunders.

NHS England have used the outcomes from the SEE project in their design and implementation of a new, evidence-based in-school eye-care programme which will reach over 100,000 children each year, she adds. We are working with the Public Health Agency and the Health and Social Care Board in Northern Ireland to do something similar.

Her research has also addressed testing difficulties. I did my PhD in the University of Cardiff with Maggie Woodhouse, who is a pioneer in this area. We wanted to find a way to measure focus in an objective way.

This resulted in the development of the Ulster-Cardiff Accommodation Rule (or UC-Cube), the first commercially available tool that allows rapid, clinical assessment of focusing accuracy without the need for the patient to communicate.

The UC-Cube is a unique tool providing a standardised stimulus and measurement framework within which to conduct dynamic retinoscopy, objectively measure focusing ability and contextualise outputs against research-derived normative data.

We started out by getting the technicians in the universities to make it for us but then Maggie and I put our heads together to make it commercially available, says Saunders. All the child has to do is look at an illuminated picture and the device does the rest. It can even be used with tiny babies.

The UC-Cube is now used in countries across the world, including Australia, Sweden, South Africa, Antigua, India and the United States, with users confirming benefits to patients and clinical practice.

The next step will be to take the testing out of the special school setting. Once we have comprehensive eye-care services up and running in special schools, we will try to prove if it works for children in mainstream schools. More and more children with learning disabilities are being educated in mainstream settings.

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Bringing the benefits of eye-care to vulnerable children - The Irish Times

Exercising your eyes can keep your eyesight stronger for longer.

Just like the rest of your body, your face and eyes have muscles. Because of overuse, your eye muscles may become weak and you may be unable to see as clearly. If you regularly exercise your eyes you can keep your eyes safe and healthy.

Rub your palms vigorously until moist, and then gently place them over your eyelids. Let the palm warmth transfer to the head. You can feel the muscles of the eye relax as your eyes find comfort in the night. Persist until eyes completely absorb the heat from the palms. Repeat two to three times daily.

Sit back on your chair or bed with open eyes. Blink rapidly 10 to 15 times. Close your eyes, and take 20 seconds to relax. Repeat five times.

Another successful eye practice is to zoom in. As you might have inferred from the name, you are zooming in on an object to change your visions focus. Sit with your arm extended with your thumb up. Now, slowly bend your wrist, and bring your hand closer to your head, until you thumb is in focus.

Shifting is about shifting the eyeballs or turning them from one direction to another. Look to the right corner, then slowly turn your attention in the opposite direction. With the spurt of blood pumped in from the move, the tiny eye muscles get more active and healthy.

Carrot eating is good for your vision. Carrots are rich in vitamin A, an essential vision nutrient. Vitamin A is not the only vitamin that promotes healthy eye function, however. Make sure your diet contains foods that are rich in vitamin C, vitamin E, copper and zinc.

Its good to close your eyes just for a few minutes. If youre hard at work, you can do this once an hour, or several times. So if your work includes sitting in front of a computer or reading it can be soothing to close your eyes. This exercise, as basic as it sounds, will protect the eyes from over-exertion or fatigue.

This content has been created as part of our freelancer relief programme. We are supporting journalists and freelance writers impacted by the economic slowdown caused by #lockdownlife.

If you are a freelancer looking to contribute to The South African,read more here.

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Healthy eyesight: Exercises to keep your peepers in top form - The South African

As social distancing restrictions continue due to the coronavirus there are extra challenges for those who are blind or have sight loss.

Louise Neeson has limited vision and is registered blind. She is originally from Maghera, County Londonderry, but now lives in Belfast with her fiance Joe, who is also registered blind.

Everybody is having difficulties receiving grocery deliveries these day and we find that exceptionally difficult," she said.

Whenever I go to the shop, Ive had the experience of there being a queue outside and not realising.

Meanwhile Debbie Shaw from Randalstown has had some initial difficulties getting her guide dog much needed exercise.

Debbie was born with albinism, which causes her eyes to be light sensitive and in recent years her eyesight has deteriorated to the point where she requires the aid of her guide dog, Frizz.

However, her underlying health conditions means she has had to self-isolate, which has limited Frizzs time outside.

She has had to look to local volunteers for a solution.

The Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) helpline number: 0303 123 9999

Video journalist: Niall McCracken

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Coronavirus: Life in lockdown when you are blind - BBC News

Researchers at Trinity have discovered a potential new therapeutic target for eye disease after studying the role of an executioner protein in retinal degeneration.

Research led by a team from Trinity College Dublin (TCD) has helped pinpoint a potential therapeutic target for a disease that affects thousands in Ireland.

While millions of people worldwide live with vision loss due to irreversible retinal degenerative diseases, its estimated that 5,000 people in Ireland inherit retinal degenerations, with a further 80,000 known to live with age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

This latest research, published to the journal Life Science Alliance, has revealed a protein called SARM1 that is involved in neuronal cell injury, but could also play a role in the progression of retinal degeneration.

Photoreceptor cells are specialised neurons found in the back of our eyes that convert light into electrical signals that allow us to see. It is the death of these cells, and the cells that nourish them, that is termed retinal degeneration and is characteristic of blinding diseases such as AMD and retinitis pigmentosa.

Researchers said this report is the first to describe a role for SARM1, referred to as the executioner protein, in photoreceptor cell biology.

Our research indicates that SARM1 is likely to be a key executioner in the process of retinal degeneration, because if we remove it from our experimental model system this has the effect of delaying the photoreceptor cells from dying, said Dr Sarah Doyle of the research team.

This is an important finding because the first steps involved in processing light into sight take place in the photoreceptors. As a result, losing photoreceptors ultimately equates to losing vision. For this reason, interventions that prevent or delay photoreceptor cell death are critical to preserve sight for as long as possible in people with degenerative retinal diseases.

The team was also able to show that the remaining photoreceptors maintained their function and continued to transmit electrical signals to the optic nerve.

This is particularly exciting for the future because others have recently shown that a gene therapy approach for inhibiting SARM1 is effective in protecting against neuronal degeneration, Doyle added.

We know that gene therapy is well suited as a treatment for retinal disease, so such an approach for inhibiting SARM1 activity may offer an option for protecting vision across multiple retinal degenerative diseases.

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'Executioner protein' discovery could lead to new eye disease therapeutics - Siliconrepublic.com

Of these 34 risks, three are potential showstoppers: radiation, gravity (or lack thereof), and the need for surgery or a complicated medical procedure.

The Gravity of the Situation

Lets explore the gravity issue.

Some science fiction writers in the mid-20th century speculated that zero gravity would be life-giving: blood would flow more easily; arthritis would be a thing of the past; back pain would be cured for good; and aging itself would slow down. So, bring grandma along for the ride. We had hints from early in the space program that such a rosy scenario wasnt true. Astronauts returned from just a few days of weightlessness feeling weak. But they recovered; and many thought, well, maybe it isnt so bad. Then we spent more time in space. Russians on the Mir space station for months appeared to have some serious, prolonged health issues on their return. The Russians were tight-lipped about the health of their cosmonauts, though, so we never knew for sure. Many of these cosmonauts, championed as heroes, were rarely seen in public after their return. It was the ISS missions that drove home the message: long-term exposure to zero gravity is detrimental to human health on many levels. Kudos to NASA for that.

Before I continue, I should first define some terms. Zero gravity, however visually convenient, can be a misnomer in the context of near-earth activity. The astronauts on the ISS are not living in the absence of gravity. Rather, they are in free-fall, forever falling over the horizon and missing the Earth. The ISS and other satellites are not floating in space because they have escaped the pull of Earths gravity; they stay up there because of their terrific horizontal speed. The ISS is moving at 17,500 miles per hour. If, somehow, it came to a complete stop, it would fall straight down to Earth, and down would come astronaut, cradle and all. The Earths gravitational force, in fact, keeps the moving satellites in orbit as a perfectly balanced counterforce, in a downward motion, to the lateral motion set in place during the launch. Without the Earths gravitational force (if the Earth suddenly, magically, disappeared), the satellites would shoot off in a straight line. Therefore, more accurate terms for describing the lack of sensation of gravity aboard the ISS are microgravity and weightlessness. Yet, even these terms are neither perfect nor synonymous. Astronauts on the ISS have weight, about 90 percent of their weight on Earth, which is only about 200 miles below their feet. Theyd be much lighter on the Moon, actually, at just about 16 percent of their weight. Absolute zero gravity is not attainable, because gravity is the force of attraction between any two objects. But in deep space, far from the gravitational tug of any moon, planet, or star, gravity is attenuated to almost zero. I tend to use the terms zero gravity, micro-gravity, and weightlessness interchangeably in the context of space travel.

Our understanding of gravitys effect on the body has only two data points: one and zero. On Earth, we live with a gravitational force of 1G. On the ISS, astronauts live in 0G. We really dont know about anything in between. Air force pilots might accelerate their jets so quickly that they experience forces of 5G or higher, which sometimes causes them to black out. Thats five times the force of normal Earth gravity, which pushes blood out of their brains. But such forces typically last only a few seconds; the pilots arent living in a hyper-gravity environment. And anyway, we dont care too much about forces greater than 1G because every place we want to go in our Solar SystemL2 orbit, the Moon, Mars, and so onhas a gravitational force less than 1G.

Read more:
How Space Travel Tries to Kill You and Make You Ugly - WIRED

When I was born, my parents were super surprised. They had never seen a child with albinism, and they could not understand what had happened. But they always loved and supported me.

I grew up in a city in the Indian state of Haryana, near Delhi. There were so many social issues because of my different appearance, and I didnt get accepted in society.

I have a vision impairment and my parents didnt know how to help. They tried their best, but they felt sad because whenever we went to doctors, they said, We have no solution for that.

My academic life has been very challenging because of my vision impairment. But a strong determination, my parents love and educators support helped me to overcome every challenge.

I earned an Honours degree in Chemistry from one of the best institutions in India, St Stephens College, which belongs to Delhi University. I followed this with a Masters in Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT-Kanpur).

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I received a number of awards and honours for academic excellence during my studies. These included the Sangeeta Predham Memorial Medal for the most outstanding graduating Master of Science student, and the Dr Elizabeth and Dr Verkey Cherian Award for Best Project at the summer undergraduate research and graduate excellence program, to name few examples.

I wanted to pursue my love for chemistry, so I moved to the University of Melbourne to do a PhD with Dr Lars Goerigk. My studies here in Melbourne are supported by the Melbourne International Engagement award through the Melbourne India Postgraduate Program.

The broad aim of my PhD is to assess the applicability of density-functional theory (DFT) approximations. DFT has become the most important electronic-structure calculation tool both in the computational/theoretical chemistry as well as in the experimental community.

The latter use it to validate their findings and predict experimentally challenging and unexplored questions. As such, DFT plays an important role in the synthesis of new molecules and materials. Density-functional theory (DFT) approximations are readily available in many quantum chemistry programs.

Many high-impact studies rely on DFT, but they often ignore that the field is more complex than it seems. Despite being popular and easily available, people have to rely on approximations to the unknown true model.

A large number of these approximations have been developed, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, the field is full of misconceptions, suffers from confusion in the user community, low-acceptance rate of newly developed methods and, ultimately, the high risk of providing the wrong answer to a research question.

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In the first project of my PhD, we addressed some of these risks and misconceptions. This work is one of the largest and most thorough DFT benchmarking studies in existence, and allowed us to clean up the ever-growing zoo of DFT methods. We identified a handful of computational strategies that distinguish themselves in terms of their accuracy and reliability.

This study identifies the most accurate density functionals, and so impacts the general chemistry community beyond my own specialised field. Our work was very well received by reviewers, published as a front-cover article in one of the leading journals in my field, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics (PCCP), and made it into the 2018 PCCP HOT article themed collection.

It immediately went to the top 25 per cent of all research outputs scored by Altmetrics (which tracks the attention that research is getting) and was acknowledged with two poster prizes at the fifth Royal Society of Chemistry Twitter Poster Conference, which reached more than two million viewers.

We also presented a new analysis of the openly available data published in Swart and co-workers famous annual DFT poll (an online poll that asks the DFT community to identify their preferences among the many approximations that are available.)

We demonstrated that there is a communication gap between the DFT user and developer communities. We showed that despite considerable methodological advances in the field, the perception of some parts of the user community regarding their favourite approaches has changed little since 2010.

Now that we have identified the most reliable and fast DFT approximations, we are using these to gain computational insights into various chemical systems that have proven difficult to explore experimentally. These results are providing an insightful understanding and useful guidance for future synthesis of various chemical systems.

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On International Day of Persons with Disabilities last December, I had the great honour to receive the National Award for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities. This award was in the category of Role Model in a presidential ceremony in India.

This award is for all those who have supported me, including my friends, supervisor Dr Lars Goerigk, parents Sunita Mehta and Ved Prakash Mehta, and brother Sourabh Mehta.

This moment is to tell the world Yes, I look different, my eyesight is weak, but my vision is strong.

- As told to Dr Daryl Holland.

Banner: Getty Images

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My eyesight is weak, but my vision is strong - Pursuit

Social distancing is not stopping CERA scientists from continuing critical research to discover better treatments to prevent vision loss and restore sight.

Managing Director Professor Keith Martin says most of our scientists are now continuing their research remotely and coming up with novel solutions to keep their investigations on track at new locations.

Even though we are not all together in the clinic or lab, we are still working towards our common goal of discovering better ways to diagnose, prevent and treat vision loss and, ultimately, find cures that will restore lost sight, he says.

However, our team at the Clinical Trials Research Centre, which has recently relocated back to the main hospital building at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital in East Melbourne, is working on-site providing continuity of care for trial participants.

The Clinical Trials Research Centre is continuing to treat patients with conditions including diabetic macular oedema, wet age-related macular degeneration, uveitis, corneal disease and glaucoma, says Professor Martin.

We have temporarily stopped recruiting patients for new clinical trials but are providing important continuity for patients who are receiving critical sight-saving treatment as part of existing trials.

Face-to-face visits in our Macular Research Unit have been deferred for now.

Trial coordinators from our macular team are in touch with their trial participants about upcoming appointments and are available to answer any queries patients have over the phone.

However, the teams critical work to find better treatments, and a cure, for AMD is continuing.

Face-to-face visits for macular research have been deferred.

Our macular researchers are now working from home, analysing images and data collected from patient visits to gather more evidence about what causes AMD.

Other research teams analysing results from laboratory-based experiments, developing algorithms for artificial intelligence diagnostic tools, creating new tele-medicine tools to monitor eye health, or building and testing innovative imaging devices.

Professor Martin says that even though routines have changed because of COVID-19 social distancing rules, older people and those with conditions like diabetes should continue to keep an eye on their vision at home.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a difficult time for all of us, but it is still important to keep looking after your eyes, he says.

Although many ophthalmologists and optometrists have deferred routine appointments, visits for sight-saving treatments like injections for age-related macular degeneration or diabetic eye diseases are considered essential.

Anyone who experiences a sudden change in their vision or is concerned about their sight should contact their regular optometrist or ophthalmologist.

Professor Martin, a glaucoma specialist, and some of CERAs other eye research experts offered the following eye health tips during the COVID-19 crisis.

If you have glaucoma, your routine appointment with your eye specialist may have been deferred but you shouldnt be concerned about this, says Professor Martin.

Its very important that they keep using their regular eye drops as prescribed by your ophthalmologist until your next appointment. You dont need to worry if you run out of drops before your next appointment as your pharmacist can provide up to one months supply of your regular prescription.

If you are receiving regular eye injections for AMD, it is important that you attend these as determined by your ophthalmologist if you can, says Professor Robyn Guymer AM, ophthalmologist and Head of CERAs Macular Research Unit.

These appointments are considered essential medical treatments and you can take along a support person if you need to.

Eye clinics are adhering to physical distancing measures, minimising time spent in the waiting room and using personal protective equipment to safeguard patients during their clinic visits.

While you are at home staying safe from COVID-19 you should continue to monitor your eye health.

You should still look at your Amsler Grid once a week and if there is distortion or blur and its persistent, contact your regular optometrist or ophthalmologist.

Associate Professor Peter van Wijngaarden, CERA Deputy Director and Clinical Director of the KeepSight Program, says regular eye checks are important for people with diabetes.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, most routine eye checks for people with diabetes can be safely deferred, he says.

However, if you have existing eye damage or disease, or usually have check-ups more than every six months, you should phone your eye care provider to clarify when you should see them again.

If you are having laser treatments or injections you should contact your ophthalmologist to discuss your treatment, as in some cases interruption of treatment can lead to vision loss.

And anyone with diabetes who has sudden changes in vision should treat it as an emergency and contact their optometrist or ophthalmologist for advice.

Original post:
Vision research and eye health in time of COVID-19 - Mirage News

New centres have been set up to help Scots who suffer emergency eye problems during the coronavirus pandemic.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman has announced 3 million of Scottish Government cash towards the creation of more than 50 emergency eye care treatment centres.

These are being set up in all health board areas, while hubs in NHS Grampian and NHS Forth Valley will also benefit from new technology.

Live video and audio feeds between the centres and consultants in hospitals are being used to allow more patients to be immediately diagnosed and treated.

Patients, who will have an initial telephone consultation, will be referred to optometrists if needed.

Ms Freeman said: While services have changed dramatically over the last few weeks, my message is clear if you are worried about your health in any way, please get in touch with your GP.

The same applies to your vision if you have experienced any problems with your sight, please contact your local high street optician as soon as possible.

She thanked health boards and eye care specialists for the excellent collaboration in establishing, at pace, more than 50 emergency eye care treatment centres across Scotland to manage patients without Covid-19 symptoms who need an emergency face-to-face consultation.

The Health Secretary added: I am pleased to see some NHS boards are also using innovative new tele-ophthalmology technology.

This means that more patients can be immediately diagnosed and treated in a community setting while gaining an expert opinion from the secondary care ophthalmology team.

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Eye care treatment centres set up across Scotland after 3m investment - Aberdeen Evening Express

While Specsavers in Peterborough are closed for all routine eye and hearing tests at the moment, they are still open to provide essential care and to support local key workers.

Customers are being encouraged to contact their local store if they need urgent support with a visual problem, or if they have issues with their glasses, contact lenses or hearing aids.

If anyone is required to attend the store, they will be asked to do so and key workers will be prioritised. Any face to face contact will be minimal and will be handled in line with current Government guidelines.

Recently, the team were able to assist a vulnerable customer who was unable to drop off his hearing aids in store for a repair, as he was self-isolating. A team member offered to take a look at the customers hearing aids at his home free of charge, carrying out the necessary clean and repairs on the equipment all whilst wearing full PPE.

After cleaning the debris out of the customers hearing aids, the team member even returned for a second visit later on to drop off some spare drying capsules to the customer who had run out.

Chintu Patel, store director at Specsavers in Peterborough, said: We want the local community to know that, while we are closed for routine appointments at the present time, we are still very much here to support people with their essential eye and hearing care needs, and to make sure they can see and hear healthily whilst staying at home.

Eye and ear health remains really important, and providing the local community and vulnerable people with access to professional optical and audiology services whilst lockdown continues, is why were determined to stay operational. Please do give us a call if you need assistance because were more than happy to help.

Specsavers teams are classed as key workers to provide urgent and essential eye care to those who need it. This includes supporting other key workers who couldnt function without their help and people who would come to harm without their health expertise, especially where the usual hospital services and NHS facilities are being prioritised for the fight against COVID-19.

Customers can also visit Facebook to have any questions on their sight and hearing answered by expert optometrists and audiologists,

here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SpecsaversAskTheExpert/?fref=nf.

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Peterborough residents urged to keep an eye on vision and hearing problems during lockdown - Peterborough Telegraph

London:A common eye condition, glaucoma, could be successfully treated with a single injection using gene therapy, which would improve treatment options, effectiveness and quality of life for many patients, say researchers.

Glaucoma affects over 64 million people worldwide and is a leading cause of irreversible blindness. It is usually caused by fluid building up in the front part of the eye, which increases pressure inside the eye and progressively damages the nerves responsible for sight.

Current treatments include either eye drops, laser or surgery, all of which have limitations and disadvantages.

At present, there is no cure for glaucoma, which can lead to loss of vision if the disease is not diagnosed and treated early, said study researcher Dr Colin Chu from the University of Bristol in the UK.

For the findings, published in the journal Molecular Therapy, the research team tested a new approach that could provide additional treatment options and benefits.

The researchers designed a gene therapy and demonstrated proof of concept using experimental mouse models of glaucoma and human donor tissue.

The treatment targeted part of the eye called the ciliary body, which produces the fluid that maintains pressure within the eye.

Using the latest gene-editing technology called CRISPR, a gene called Aquaporin 1 in the ciliary body was inactivated leading to reduced eye pressure.

We hope to advance towards clinical trials for this new treatment in the near future. If its successful it could allow a long-term treatment of glaucoma with a single eye injection, which would improve the quality of life for many patients whilst saving the NHS time and money, Chu said

The researchers are currently in discussion with industry partners to support further laboratory work and rapidly progress this new treatment option towards clinical trials.

Read this article:
Glaucoma can be successfully treated with gene therapy - Telangana Today

Dr. Frederick Ho, Special to FLORIDA TODAY Published 6:29 a.m. ET April 21, 2020

Smoking, binge drinking and illicit drug use can lead to serious eye problems.(Photo: Getty images)

An unhealthy lifestyle translates into many health problems.

Smoking, binge drinking and illicit drug use are known to cause cancer, diabetes, heart disease, lung damage, stroke and death. They can also lead to serious eye problems.

Cigarette smoking remains a major health issue despite of years of health warnings and public awareness campaigns.

Smoking has been linked to early development of macular degeneration and cataracts.

Dr. Frederick Ho(Photo: FLORIDA TODAY FILE)

Compared to non-smokers, people who smoke a pack or more per day are two-to-three times more likely to develop macular degeneration an aging condition in the retina, affecting the central vision.

The inhaled substances in cigarette smoke constrict the blood vessels and promote blood clot formation in the retina and optic nerves.

Partial to almost complete blindness happens when there is thrombosis, or blood clot, in the central retinal artery, which is the main artery that supplies blood, oxygen and nutrients to the retina.

Smoking increases the risk of ischemia, or stroke, in the optic nerve, which transmits the images from the eye to the brain, resulting significant permanent visual loss.

About one-in-six adult Americans binge drinks about four times a month, consuming about eight drinks each time.

There is a well-established linkage between Type 2 diabetes and excessive alcohol consumption.

The most serious ocular complications of diabetes is diabetic retinopathy. The diabetes-damaged retina develops hemorrhages and swelling, resulting in visual loss.

Alcohol abuse increases the incidence of early onset of cataracts and macular degeneration.

More: Focus on Eyes: Chinese ophthalmologist warned about COVID-19 outbreak

More: Focus on Eyes: Celebrating America's first black ophthalmologist

More: Focus on Eyes: What does it mean to have 20/20 vision

Methanol, or wood alcohol, in contaminated moonshine damages the optic nerve, and if untreated,the person will suffer partial to total blindness.

Ocular trauma with visual loss is too often seen with alcohol intoxication.

Illegal substance abuse is at the extreme end of vices.

It is estimated about 10 percent of adults use illegal drugs.

There are many deleterious effects to the eyes.

Intranasal cocaine use is particularly damaging and potentially leading to acute attack of angle closure glaucoma, retinal hemorrhages and optic nerve damage.

Smoking crack cocaine is associated with infection and diminished blood flow to the retina.

Methamphetamine use is known to cause infection in the cornea which is the transparent tissue in front of the eye.

Retinal inflammation is also seen in methamphetamine use.

Intravenous drug abuse introduces infection to the eyes and particles clotting the blood vessels in the retina and the optic nerve.

Many people assume their vices will get their eyes red and eyelids droopy.

In fact, they can suffer from many sight threatening complications.

Hopefully, this will motivatethem to give up their vices and adopt healthy habits.

Dr. Frederick Ho,the medical director of Atlantic Eye MD and Atlantic Surgery and Laser Center, is a board certified ophthalmologist. Atlantic Eye MDis located at 8040 N. Wickham Road in Melbourne. To make an appointment please call (321) 757-7272. To learn more visit AtlanticEyeMD.com.

Read or Share this story: https://www.floridatoday.com/story/life/wellness/2020/04/21/focus-eyes-cocaine-meth-other-vices-affect-eyes-more-than-you-know/5164034002/

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Focus on Eyes: Cocaine, meth, other vices affect eyes more than you know - Florida Today

Vision and Eye Health Assurance and Protection in the Workplace

Vision and eye health go beyond the regular checkup dont skimp on appropriate vision PPE.

Eye injuries, suboptimal vision and eye health in the workplace are very common. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reports that every day about 2,000 U.S. workers sustain job-related eye injuries that require medical treatment.1 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports 61 million adults in the United States as being classified at high risk for serious vision loss, and that only half visited an eye doctor in the past 12 months.2

Most individuals surveyed by the CDC indicate no reason to go as the most common reason for not obtaining recommended regular vision and eye health care.3 Suboptimal eye and vision health in the workplace can lead to poor performance and increased potential for injury. Even minor eye injuries can cause life-long vision problems and suffering. A simple scratch can cause corneal erosion that is recurrently painful.4

Safety experts and doctors of optometry believe the right combination of eye protection and yearly comprehensive eye examination can reduce the severity of workplace injuries and prevent 90 percent of eye injuries.

Epidemiology of Work-Related Injuries

In 2008, injuries to the eyes accounted for 37 percent of all head injuries involving days away from work and 62 percent of all face injuries involving days away from work. Men experienced four times as many eye injuries as women, and men aged 25 to 44 suffered more eye injuries than men in other age groups. Workers who were most at risk of incurring an eye injury included those in the manufacturing, construction, and wholesale and retail trade industries, and educational and health services.5

In 2008, there were 27,450 nonfatal occupational injuries or illnesses involving at least one eye that resulted in days away from work. The typical eye injury resulted from the eye being rubbed or abraded by foreign matter, such as metal chips, dirt particles, and splinters, or by these types of items striking the eye. These injury events resulted commonly in abrasions, scratches, and embedded foreign bodies (splinters and chips).6

This article originally appeared in the April 1, 2020 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.

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Vision and Eye Health Assurance and Protection in the Workplace - Occupational Health and Safety

(PRESS RELEASE) Safilo Group, a worldwide leader in the design, manufacturing and distribution of eyewear, kicks off a new virtual education platform this week, offering a series of educational webinars for its customers on various topics to enrich their optical practices while offices are closed or operating on limited schedules due to COVID-19.

Running the full weeks of March 23 and March 30, one new course topic will be taught daily between two and four times each day with four sessions daily this week and repeated two times daily next week to accommodate participants in different time zones. The lectures are led by Robin Brush, a Safilo Key Accounts Manager and an ABOC-certified optician with 25 years of optical industry experience. The courses, taught live, are being offered in English and will soon be translated to other languages in the coming weeks to make available to international customers. The courses are also being recorded to make available later for those who missed them. ABO credits are not being issued for any of the online lectures.

To attend these virtual classes, North American customers can either contact their sales representatives or sign up directly by visiting the home pages of Safilos b2b websites: http://www.mysafilo.com (USA) or http://www.mysafilocanada.com (Canada). Internationally, Safilo customers can contact their sales rep for sign-up details. The WebEx course topics include: Advanced Eyewear Technology; A Visual Guide to Merchandising, J.O.B.S. Program: Joint Opportunity to Believe in Staying; Multiples Mindset and Optical 411 (full course descriptions can be found on the next page).

To promote the courses, a customer eblast was sent out last Friday to Safilo North America customers which contained the WebEx links needed for course sign-up. Members of Safilos North American sales force are also informing customers directly. The courses are additionally being promoted daily on Safilo Groups global Facebook page.

During these trying times, we wanted to continue showing our gratitude and support to our customers practices by offering courses to enrich their education portfolio. Weve worked diligently to create a free virtual education platform that will allow anyone within one of our customers practices to access the courses, even if their offices are closed temporarily, said Steve Wright, Safilo North Americas president and chief commercial officer. The classes were developed initially, with Safilo North America customers in mind, while many are at home this week and practicing social distancing. However, we decided to make the courses available internationally as believe this program can be beneficial to all Safilo customers around the globe, added Wright.

Course descriptions:

1. Advanced Eyewear Technology:Learn the anatomy and proper names for eyewear. Details and fitting examples of why different nose pads, bridges, temples and frame fronts are used to make eyewear. Learn about the different materials that eyewear is made from and why different materials are used and benefits to the patients.

2. A Visual Guide to Merchandising:Define visual merchandising as related to optical; learn how to apply visual merchandising to your optical for brand story telling; learn how the Pantone color of the year influences our world of retail and understanding merchandising secrets and customer behaviors.

3. J.O.B.S. Program: Joint Opportunity to Believe in Staying:In this course, you will learn how to involve the entire office staff in the process of making the sale. Each department will have defined responsibilities that educate and layer the selling process for the patient. You will also learn the art of seamless transition from patient to retail customer. Interpreting the prescription for lens and frame sales. Multiple pair sales will be your new normal and understanding and defusing sales objections will not be a problem.

4. Multiples Mindset:Selling multiple pairs is a mindset! How can you expect an optician to sell multiple pairs or sell luxury if theyve never experienced that personally? In this course, we will dive into the mindset of the optician getting to the bottom of why they dont sell multiples. Also, well be learning techniques to use as their managers to promote a multiples environment and culture.

5. Optical 411:In this course, you will understand the importance of being a good steward of the numbers in your optical. Frame return rate and frame turn ratio, why are they critical to the profitability of your business? Inventory management and how to analyze the data. Discover the two best methods for ordering frames to achieve the profitable numbers. Six easy steps to efficient sales rep appointments and tracking your orders and returns.

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Prevent Blindness Declares April as Women's Eye Health and Safety Month - InvisionMag

It has been predicted that the COVID-19 pandemic would cause business disruption. Now, it has claimed a casualty with Second Sight Medical Products Inc., of Sylmar, Calif., which has been forced to wind down operations, citing the pandemic and the impact it will have on the companys ability to secure financing. Second Sight, which makes the Argus II retinal prosthesis system, said that effective March 31, 84 of its 108 employees will be laid off.

The company expects to bring on an adviser experienced in winding down operations to guide the board on next steps. However, additional layoffs are anticipated in the future based on the companys level of operations.

When asked whether it was looking for buyers for its Argus II/Orion assets and if it could predict how long the wind down would take, the company referred BioWorld to its statement and 8-K filing.

With the wind down announcement came news that the company had named Matthew Pfeffer, chairman of the audit committee of the board, as acting CEO, effective immediately. News of the companys winding down comes roughly three weeks after it reported that Will McGuire, president and CEO, was leaving, effective March 27. He was slated to remain as a director on Second Sights board.

McGuire left to join Carlsbad, Calif.-based Ra Medical Systems Inc. as CEO and a member of the companys board, effective March 30, citing the desire to be closer to his family.

With McGuires departure, Gregg Williams, the board chair, was tapped as acting CEO. However, now the company has decided to go with Pfeffer through this process.

Orion

Before the decision to wind down, the company had high hopes for its Orion visual cortical prosthesis system. The company saw the potential for the product to provide useful artificial vision to individuals blind from many causes, such as glaucoma, eye injury, diabetic retinopathy, optic nerve disease or injury and retinitis pigmentosa.

Indeed, during the companys March 19 fourth-quarter earnings call, COO Pat Ryan provided an update on the companys Orion early feasibility study. Specifically, it had wrapped up the 12-month testing for the sixth and final subject in February. Ryan detailed some results, noting that on square localization, 83% of individuals scored significantly better with the device on than off. All individuals scored significantly better with the device on than off on direction of motion.

From a safety perspective, as previously shared, there was one serious adverse event in seven nonserious adverse events over the same time period. These results are extremely encouraging, and we believe sufficient to support moving forward with a pivotal study in the U.S., Ryan said.

The company had reached an agreement with the U.S. FDA on the primary efficacy endpoint for the pivotal trial, which will be FLORA [Functional Low Vision Observer Rated Assessment] 20. As of that date, three of 15 subjects have begun participation in the FLORA 20 validation. However, due to COVID-19 social distancing protocols, we have suspended validation efforts until further notice, he said at the time.

Kyle Bauser from Dougherty & Co. asked whether COVID-19 had had an impact on the IDE application, given that it was now slated for the first half of next year. Ryan said no, adding that the company was being conservative in light of ongoing discussions with the FDA.

Competition

For its part, a big competitor of Second Sight, Paris-based Pixium Vision SA, reported March 31 positive follow-up data from a feasibility trial of the Prima system in patients with dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Specifically, the Prima system sustainably elicited light perception in all four dry AMD patients with favorable safety profile. The company said the results build on the previously reported positive 12-month clinical data. The Prima system is intended to partially replace the normal physiological function of the eyes photoreceptor cells by electrically stimulating the nerve cells of the inner retina. Those then transmit the visual information to the brain via the optic nerve.

But COVID-19 is having an impact on this company as well. Pixium reported March 23 that it had decided to postpone continuing its feasibility studies in France and the U.S., aside from ongoing safety monitoring. It added that the initiation of the PRIMAvera pivotal study with the Prima system in dry AMD may be delayed.

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Citing COVID-19, Second Sight to wind down operations - BioWorld Online

ACCORDING to the Health Ministry, at least 80% of all blindness or limited vision cases can be prevented or treated.

A national eye survey in 2014 showed that at least 1.2% or 63,000 Malaysians have been diagnosed as blind.

To address this, the role of eye care specialists has taken on significance in fighting preventable vision impairment.

There is much more than meets the eye when it comes to the role of an eye care specialist beyond just examining your eye and prescribing lenses.

An optometrist not only helps you see clearly and detects signs of eye disease, but also assesses how well your visual system which encompasses the eyes, brain and eye muscles work.

The World Council of Optometry (WCO) states that optometrists provide comprehensive eye and vision care, which includes refraction and dispensing, detection and diagnosis, management of eye disease, and rehabilitation of the visual system conditions.

The importance of eye care specialists be it an optician, optometrist or ophthalmologist is imperative and crucial to the general healthcare of patients in need of eye care.

The need for optometrists in Malaysia is worrying. At present, there are over 2,000 optometrists and the ratio of optometrist to patient stands at around 1:22,000. The WCO recommended ratio is 1:10,000.

As such, UCSI University Malaysias best private university for two years in a row according to the two recent QS World University Rankings offers the Bachelor of Optometry (Hons) programme to play its role in creating more eye care specialists.

Optometrists are naturally high-income earners with tremendous potential for growth, job security and satisfaction.

During clinical trainings, students at UCSI learn in a simulated optometric environment.

A career in optometry is virtually stress-free and not physically demanding. During clinical trainings, UCSI students learn in a simulated optometric environment, practising on each other before moving on to real patients, under the supervision of experienced lecturers.

This training provides procedural experiences in case history taking, performing eye examinations, employing diagnostic techniques and applying the necessary communication skills to discuss treatment plans and options with patients.

Not all graduate studies are scientific theories; many are very practice-oriented. Students in their final year will be able to manage a practice and work with children and the elderly with a clear knowledge of healthcare laws and policies, ethics and economics that are applicable to the field of optometry.

Asst Prof Shah says optometry is a rewarding career for those who are prepared to care for people to see clearly.

UCSI Universitys head of Optometry School Asst Prof Shah Farez Othman pointed out that optometrists, upon completion of the programme, develop specific interests to advance in other eye care areas such as contact lens practice, low vision, sports vision, childrens vision and consultancy in an industry.

Optometry is a rewarding profession for those prepared to accept the obligation of caring for peoples sight. Optometrists enjoy great satisfaction through helping their patients overcome vision problems, he said.

The four-year optometry programme at UCSI follows guidelines set by the WCO and is fully accredited by the Malaysian Qualification Agency (MQA).

The four-year optometry at UCSI follows guidelines set by the WCO and is fully accredited by the Malaysian Qualification Agency (MQA).

Graduates from this programme will enter the workforce as an optometrist registered with the Malaysian Optical Council, Health Ministry, giving them an edge to secure jobs much easier.

For more information, visit http://online.ucsiuniversity.edu.my/ or email your queries to info.sec@ucsiuniversity.edu.my

Continued here:
Through the lenses of an eye care expert - The Star Online

Executives at Second Sight, the Nasdaq-listed company that has developed a series of implants designed to restore a form of vision to blind people, have decided to wind down the companys operations with immediate effect.

The decision comes after attempts to secure additional financing were hindered by the global coronavirus pandemic. Second Sight says 84 of the companys 108 employees were laid off March 31, with additional layoffs expected in the future.

It also means that company chairman Gregg Williams, who had been appointed acting CEO of Second Sight less than a month ago, will not now take up that role. Instead Matthew Pfeffer, chairman of the Second Sight boards audit committee, will lead the company through the wind-down period.

Economic shockSaying that its laid-off employees will be eligible for unemployment benefits subject to local regulations, Second Sight added in a company release:

Against a background of unprecedented economic shock caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and inability to secure additional financing, the companys board of directors has evaluated strategic alternatives and decided to pursue an orderly wind down of the companys operations.

News of the wind down came less than two weeks after the Los Angeles firm revealed its financial results for fiscal year 2019. Those figures showed an operating loss of $34million during the year, on sales of less than $4million.

That meant Second Sight had burned through much of the $35million cash that it had raised in a shareholder rights issue just over a year ago - the vast majority of which had been provided by Gregg Williams.

As of the end of last year the company had held just over $11million in cash and equivalent assets, but with a quarterly burn rate typically in the region of $8million that pile is likely to have dwindled over the past three months.

JHU collaborationLast October the firm secured a $2.4million grant from the National Institutes of Health. It was awarded to fund a four-year collaboration with researchers at Johns Hopkins Universitys Applied Physics Laboratory, with the aim of integrating spatial localization and mapping technology with a future generation of Second Sights Orion visual implant.

By-passing both the eye and the optic nerve, the Orion implant is placed directly onto the visual cortex of the patient's brain. Signals received from a miniature camera integrated within a pair of glasses are fed to the implant and interpreted as "vision" by the brain.

Prior to Orion, Second Sight had developed the "Argus" and "Argus II" implants, which were attached to the rear of a patient's retina. To date, more than 350 patients have received an Argus II implant.

The Orion implant is currently the subject of an ongoing feasibility study with six blind patients, in collaboration with the University of California Los Angeles' Ronald Reagan Medical Center, and the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.

Second Sight had been working towards a larger pivotal trial of the Orion implant, while all of the patients taking part in the small-scale study had reached the 12-month mark.

Company COO Pat Ryan had said last month: It is gratifying to know that this device can help profoundly blind individuals gain some independence and participate once again in certain activities of daily life. We look forward to making continued strides in advancing this breakthrough technology.

Since then, however, the companys stock price has lost around 80per cent of its value, amid the wider sell-off in stocks in response to the global coronavirus crisis.

Video: Second Sight study at Baylor College of Medicine

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Second Sight to wind down on Covid-19 impact - Optics.org

Date: 31 March 2020

Alastair Lockwood, ophthalmologist and eye health specialist at Feel Good Contacts, explains what measures company car fleet managers can take to ensure the vision of their drivers is up to scratch.

Having good eyesight is a legal requirement for UK drivers, in fact more than 2,800 people have failed their practical testin the last five years alone before even getting into the car due to failing the 20m registration sight test. However, it's crucial that license holders ensure they have their eyes regularly checked to ensure they are up to standard and it's imperative that fleet managers encourage any drivers within their business to make a conscious effort to look after their eyes.

While legislation is in place to ensure drivers don't spend more than nine hours a day on the road, it's integral that regular breaks are taken throughout any long journeys to avoid tired, dry, and strained eyes. Ensure there are clear notices and guidance in place for your drivers within your place of work, and if you have a regular set of vehicles, somewhere within the car as well.

When driving, it is advised that drivers blink regularly, particularly when on long stretches of road that offer little stimulus to the individual controlling the vehicle. Drivers can also use the '20-20-20' rule when safe to do so: take a 20 second break from your line of sight to look at something 20 feet away every 20 minutes. This will give your eyes a chance to rest and is an effective way to reduce eye strain.

Smoking exposes your eyes to high levels of oxidative stress and has been linked to the risk of cataracts, glaucoma, diabetes, and dry eye syndrome, all of which can have long term health implications and on road safety in the process.

Quitting smoking at any stage of life can be beneficial, reducing the risk of developing eye threatening conditions. Encouraging staff to quit smoking and pointing them in the direction of relevant schemes is an excellent way to maintain greater levels of vision both on and off the road.

Driving when tired or not 100% alert will lower response time and control over the wheel. Certain medications may also be made with a drowsy formula and significantly reduce your ability to drive safely so it's important to check this with any new employees or staff that might require a vehicle.

This may sound obvious but ensure your fleet is regularly cleaned.

Before setting off, ensure the driver checks their line of sight and that mirrors are clean of any dirt and smudges, to ensure a clear field of vision. Keep windows clean to avoid increased glare and condensation.

If your staff are regularly on the road, exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light can cause eye health problems. It's important to ensure that all employees wear appropriate eye protection throughout the year. Fast fashion retailers do not always produce sunglasses with the correct materials to avoid harmful UV light. You should make workers aware that glasses with appropriate UVA and UVB protection are important and polarised glasses can be a great option for this to reduce glare caused by reflections from hoods, windows and mirrors.

Even if your staff are doing all of these things to look after their eyes, it's crucial that they take regular eye examinations to help spot sight loss or damage at an early stage. Optometrists can help detect conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration, so encouraging your staff to make regular visits to the optician is an important step in maintaining good eye health.

Simple measures such as posters around the office or sending regular reminders in the form of an internal newsletter can be an easy way to promote staff checks.

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Alastair Lockwood's blog: Are your drivers' eyes ready for the road this summer? - BusinessCar

Now that people are working from home, lots of time is spent looking at screens and that could cause eye strain. It could be your phone, tablet, laptop or TV. The problem lies in the fact that theres no break from when you sit down to when you finally get up.

Your health is important. So lets understand this and how we can prevent it.

Perhaps when you were growing up, your parents limited the amount of television you watched because they thought it would hurt your eyes. African parents are too guilty of this one. Personally, everything that went wrong was because of uko kwa hio simu sana (you spend too much time on your phone).

Either I didnt finish my homework, or I lost something. It was all due to the phone. Theres a time I got a stomach ache and somehow it was roped into using my phone. I thought that was a bit extreme but It was and is taboo to argue with your mother so I refrained from declining the claims.

Its only natural then that some of you warned your own children to not to do the same. According to experts, staring at the computer, tablet, and smartphone screens will not permanently damage your eyesight. However, doing so can cause some bothersome side effects. Most notably computer vision syndrome (also called digital eye strain).

The most common signs ofComputer Vision Syndrome include:

You could also suffer from glare. Simply put, glare occurs when too much light enters your eye and interferes with your eyes ability to manage it.

If you suffer from any of these symptoms, follow these few steps the next time you sit down to work.

Also, regular short breaks can help to keep you energized and focused. Try setting a countdown timer while you do an hour of work. When the alarm goes off, reward yourself with a five- or 10-minute break. You could make coffee or get some fresh air. Its vital that you get out of your chair during the day.

Excerpt from:
Best Practices To Prevent Eye Strain and Fatigue While Working From Home - Gadgets Africa

Three Keck School of Medicine professors created Argus II retinal prosthesis systems, an implant that helps patients who have become blind by retinitis pigmentosa. With the grant, the team looks to create a new device to prevent vision loss. (Daily Trojan file photo)

Inspired by his life research in retinal prosthesis, co-director of the Roski Eye Institute Mark Humayun is in the early stages of developing retinal contacts that could prevent or slow down vision loss. Humayun, along with a team of experts that includes Keck School of Medicine Provost Gianluca Lazzi and assistant professor of translational genomics Bodour Salhia, won an award of nearly $2 million from the National Science Foundation Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation to further research on the contacts.

As a Keck professor of ophthalmology and director of the USC Ginsburg Institute for Biomedical Therapeutics, Humayuns idea for retinal contacts came from his prior work in vision restoration. Humayun invented Argus II retinal prosthesis systems, an implant behind the eye that helps restore vision to blind patients with retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic disorder where the retinal cells at the back of the eye start to break down and become damaged.

[The grant] led us to consider this approach to try a controlled electrical stimulation to see if we could slow down or even prevent vision loss from certain types of retinal degeneration and retinal diseases, Humayun said.

The purpose of retinal research and lens device creation is to develop preventative measures for patients who are at risk of becoming blind from these diseases, whereas the Argus II treats patients after theyve already gone blind. The team of experts plans to continue this in their research funded by the grant.

The first step is to really demonstrate whether true utilization of this device through electrical stimulation will in fact result in meaningful slowing of neuron loss, Lazzi said.

The device also induces indirect electrical pulses that activate the remaining neurons in the retina. After working with Lazzi and finishing final tests, Humayun trained numerous surgeons on how to properly install the Argus II implant behind the eye. Approved by the Federal Drug Administration in 2013, the system became the first approved artificial retina system and has been commercially released through Second Sight, a medical prosthetics company for neurostimulation devices.

For more than 20 years, Lazzi has been part of the development team for Argus IIs hardware, ensuring its electronic functionality while implanted behind the eye. Lazzi said Argus II activates similarly to a scoreboard where hundreds of LED lights behind the eye turn on and off to display a partial image the blind patient sees by targeting certain points in the retina.

From his previous work in the bioelectromagnetic field, Humayun was able to develop the idea to use electrical stimulation to restore vision to people who are blind while Lazzi designed electrodes that would be placed on the retina to ensure the electronics used work properly in the eye.

The engineering work for the project has proved challenging because contacts were composed of electronic systems that pose a safety risk and may be damaged when submerged in the salty vitreous humor of the eye, Lazzi said. The issues have since been resolved by having electric currents and wireless transmissions strictly regulated in a casing.

Humayun also reached out to colleague Salhia in 2018 to ask her to collaborate on the project based on her translational genomics labs research with rat retinas that have degenerative diseases. Through this work, the team was able to show that electrical stimulation to the retina caused changes to genes associated with neuroprotection that maintains the structural integrity of neurons, which aids in preventing cell death.

The beauty of the project lies in how three groups from very different backgrounds basically come together to solve a problem, Salhia said. Its been one the funnest and most exciting and most innovative projects that Ive recently engaged in because its just so highly interdisciplinary and people from very different backgrounds are coming together to solve a problem.

Although the team of three has just begun its research for a new vision device with the funds provided from the grant, its members have already seen encouraging results in Salhias research on rat retinas and are looking forward to continuing their work to help patients in the coming years.

We have this grant for three years, so we hope to be in a pretty good position, Humayun said. In three years, we hope to be pretty far along in all these aspects as to whether we would be ready to do human studies.

Read more:
Keck professors receive grant to further retinal research - Daily Trojan Online

Many of you might be having difficulty with eyesight; it could be a reading disorder or issues with viewing objects placed at distant. When things appear hazy, blurry or double, then its time to ring the bells. Blessed are those who have only one eyesight disorder, but the problematic condition is with those who have both nearsightedness and farsightedness along with prism or astigmatism and are not used to Varifocals.

What are Varifocal Glasses?

Varifocal glasses can be considered as the advanced version of bifocal glasses, wherein there are not two but three different zones of viewing the objects from one single lens. This means the upper portion of the glass lens is designed to correct nearsightedness and clear distant objects, the lower portion is engineered to correct farsightedness whereas the middle portion of the lens provides intermediate vision clarity. The unique part about the varifocal glasses is that although there is a smooth transition from one zone of the lens to the other, there is no visible line that distinguishes three different zones.

Is it hard to get used to Varifocals?

The answer lies with the user. This is because some of the users find it easy to get used to varifocals, whereas some may find it difficult to adjust to the new pair.of glasses initially. Generally, it is observed that it takes 2 to 4 weeks to get acquainted with the varifocal glasses.

When the user begins with the varifocals, truly it is not an easy job to view through three different vision correction portions of the lens. The user may experience all or any of the following issues while starting with the new pair of Varifocal glasses:

Why it is hard to get used to Varifocals?

The reason for the user to find it hard while initiating the use of Varifocals is that our brain is habitual to either not wearing glasses or wearing single vision or bifocal glasses. Therefore, the focus of the eyes is also fixed as per the previous glasses. With the new varifocal glasses, the brain needs to re-program the routine as per the focal points of the varifocal glasses. As the user starts wearing the varifocal glasses on a regular basis, the brain, as well as the eyes, becomes used to the new pair.

How to manage and get used to Varifocals?

The only trick to get used to the Varifocal is to wear them as much as you can. Regular usage of the varifocal glasses will help the user in practicing as well as identifying the focal points of the lens. Besides, never go back to using your old pair of single or bifocal lenses, as this will only exaggerate the problem for the user. Therefore, strictly follow to wear your new varifocal glasses, as much as you can. Whether you are reading, cooking, watching TV, playing, just remember to put your glasses on. It is advised not to drive initially as there could be a high probability of misjudgment and the driver may not be able to focus clearly on the road.

Where can I buy varifocal glasses online in the UK?

You can buy one of the best pair of varifocal glasses online from Specscart and also at their stores in Walkden and Bury. Specscart manufactures the highest quality eyeglasses with affordable price tags. The varifocal glasses crafted by Specscart are digitally advanced to provide enhanced visual clarity. These glasses are already loaded with anti-glare and anti-UV protection properties and are offered free of cost. Besides, you can also opt for the anti-blue light coating on the glasses. The smooth transition from one zone to another is the essence of varifocal glasses that are highly maintained by Specscart at its state of the art laboratory.

Regarding the quality and designs of the frames for varifocal glasses online, Specscart does not compromise on the quality, colour, pattern, design and brands of the eyeglasses frames. You will get hundreds of attractive specs frames to choose from for your varifocal glasses. If selecting frames online is not your cup of tea, then try glasses at home to choose the one that suits you.

So log on to Specscart to find out which pair of varifocal glasses suit your personality and enter your latest prescription to get the fastest dispatch of glasses at your doorstep.

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Is it hard to get used to Varifocals? - Scubby