StemCell Therapy

After a brief spell of breathable air, the air quality index has dipped yet again and the hazardous pollution levels are making it difficult to breathe well.We all know that air pollution carries along with serious health implications and leads to a host of issues. Difficulty breathing, congestion, compromised immunity, allergies, headaches are impacting everybody. Apart from this, pollution can also affect you in sneaky little ways, even potentially troubling your eyesight!Bad air quality has to lead to people complaining of eye problems and allergies, which need to be attended at once. Since you are constantly being exposed to smog, the pollutants find an easy way to settle in-between eye cavities and harm your vision. Some of the most visible symptoms of pollution include the following:-Water eyes-Sore eyes-Redness, swelling, itching sensation-Experiencing discomfort or a burning sensation.-Dry eyes and allergy.-Blurring and hazy vision.

If you experience any of these symptoms, practice care and avoid further exposure. The last thing you want is for the pollutants to impact your vision. There are also some ways you can protect your eyes from the nasty air pollution.

Stay hydratedIt is very important to not miss out on the water intake. Make sure to drink lots of water. It washes away the toxins as well as helps support tear formation in the eyes, which is an important function that protects against dry eyes syndrome and gets rid of irritants that may lurk beneath your eyelids.

Blink your eyes more oftenOne of the simplest ways you can undo the damage done by pollution is by blinking your eyes properly. When you blink, a special protective tear film is produced which protects your eyes, provides moisture and does not let the pollutants settle in.

Pay attention to your dietJust like the foods, you eat can clear out nasal passageways and strengthen your immunity, the same applies to your eyesight. Your daily food intake should include ample Vitamin A, Omega-3 fatty acid content, apart from green leafy vegetables and fruits. All of these food groups are good for your eyes.

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Burning, itchy eyes during pollution? Here's what to do - Times of India

Nearly half (45%) of employers are concerned that their employees who drive forwork do not have the necessary eyesight fit for driving, according to research from Specsavers Corporate Eyecare.

As sponsors ofRoad Safety Week (November 18-24), Specsavers is encouraging employers to take the lead in ensuring drivers have adequate vision to drive for work purposes.

The eyecare company surveyed more than 500 human resource decision makers from a wide range of companies across the UK.

Jim Lythgow, director of strategic alliances at Specsavers Corporate Eyecare, said: It may be a surprise to many that this figure is so high, especially as the legal requirements for driver eyesight are actually quite minimal.

The law still just requires a driver to be able to read a modern number plate from a distance of 20 metres.

"The fact that so many employers are concerned should serve as a wake-up call.

The research shows that employers are taking the correct steps to improve the situation, with nearly three quarters (72%) saying that they offer workplace eye care to all who drive for work.

If employers are offering eye care to the majority of drivers but are still concerned that their eyesight is not good enough, then clearly something is missing.

It is not enough to just offer corporate eye care. It needs to be proactively communicated and promoted too.

If employees were more aware of the risks they run by not having regular eye tests, such as potentially losing their driving license, they may be more likely to take up the benefit, added Lythgow.

Specsavers has urged companies to put up posters and information on staff noticeboards or to upload details of eye care benefits to the company website.

One initiative Specsavers participate in is access to wellbeing days, which allow them to promote all health benefits on offer to their staff.

New research from the road safety charity Brake has revealed that nearly a third of adults were in a collision, or had a near miss, with a vehicle on UK roads in the past year.

Companies such as Driver Hire have joined Specsavers in backing Road Safety Week 2019.

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Almost half of employers think drivers have poor eyesight - FleetNews

CALGARY, Alberta, Nov. 15, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Charity Intelligence Canada (CI) has announced that Operation Eyesight has been selected as one of their Top 10 Impact Charities of 2019, and one of their Top 10 International Charities. Of the 750 Canadian charities rated for impact, Operation Eyesight was among the top performers, and the only Calgary-based organization in the international category.

Operation Eyesight is making an impact by restoring sight and preventing blindness for people in developing countries. They partner with local government and hospitals in these countries with a sustainable approach that eliminates avoidable blindness in the most vulnerable communities.

With access to affordable eye care services, better nutrition and better education, avoidable blindness can be eliminated. Thats where we come in, says Aly Bandali, President and CEO, Operation Eyesight. When you invest in Operation Eyesight, you become part of a movement that empowers people to take ownership of their own eye health. When people can see, their futures become brighter.

According to the World Health Organizations World Report on Vision, more than 2.2 billion people suffer from a vision impairment. For at least 1 billion people, their vision impairment has not yet been addressed but their vision could be restored through a number of interventions, including prescription eyeglasses, cataract surgery, antibiotics or other forms of treatment. By providing these interventions, Operation Eyesight impacts the lives of individuals and their communities by giving them back their independence, helping them break the cycle of poverty.

Operation Eyesight works with local hospital partners to strengthen their capacity and offer a supply of quality, affordable eye care services to more people. They also create demand for these services by encouraging eye health-seeking behavior and empowering communities to take responsibility for their eye health needs. Operation Eyesight currently works in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Ghana, Kenya, Zambia, Liberia and Ethiopia, and they hope to expand to other developing countries where the burden is great in unmet eyecare needs.

To learn more, visit https://www.charityintelligence.ca/charity-profiles/top-10-impact-charities-of-2019 and operationeyesight.com.

For more information or to arrange an interview with Aly Bandali, please contact:Melissa CrockerSenior Marketing SpecialistOperation Eyesight CanadaPhone: 587-602-2310crockerm@operationeyesight.com

About Operation Eyesight Universal

Operation Eyesight Universal is an international development organization dedicated to eliminating avoidable blindness in developing countries. Founded in Calgary in 1963, Operation Eyesight is working to restore sight and prevent blindness in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Ghana, Kenya, Zambia, Liberia and Ethiopia. Operation Eyesight invests in sustainable treatment, prevention and community development activities to address specific eye health problems as well as the root causes of blindness. For more information about the work we do and how to donate, visit operationeyesight.com.

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Operation Eyesight Named One of the Top 10 Impact Charities by Charity Intelligence Canada - GlobeNewswire

Wet age-related macular degeneration, or wAMD, is one of the leading causes of blindness in the U.S. Breakthrough treatments come with a steep price tag and treatment burden for the patient, but a new study suggests their benefits to patient health and society would top billions of dollars, or more, if adherence could be improved.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) affects approximately 11 million people in the U.S. The wet form of the disease, which is caused by the abnormal growth of blood vessels under the retina, progresses rapidly. Symptoms include blurred vision and blind spots, which can often lead to legal blindness.

While only 10% of people with macular degeneration develop the wet form, the symptoms for these patients are much worse; in the past, wAMD has caused 90% of blindness associated with macular degeneration.

New treatments for wAMD not only prevent further vision loss, but have also been shown to improve vision with the benefits of these innovative treatments lasting for multiple years, according to clinical trials. But the administration of these treatments is burdensome and requires patients to receive injections in their eye as frequently as every four to eight weeks. More than half of Medicare patients discontinue treatment within the first year due to cost, the inability to get transportation to and from their retina specialists, and fear or discomfort from receiving these injections.

The new economic study, published in JAMA Ophthalmology, quantifies the benefits of treatment for wAMD. It found improvements in vision from innovative treatments generated $5.1 to $8.2 billion in patient benefits. This translates to $0.9 to $3.0 billion in societal value (patient benefits minus treatment costs) over three years. Future innovative treatments that lead to improved adherence would generate an additional $7.3 to $15.0 billion in patient benefits, they estimate.

WHAT'S THE IMPACT

Treatments for wAMD first came on the market around 2006. Called anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), these treatments target the abnormal growth of the blood vessels and have been shown to restore patients' eyesight for a number of years.

In clinical trials, these treatments were administered to patients monthly via an injection in the eye. But in practice, adherence tends to decline because of the discomfort associated with the eye injections, difficulty in getting to retina specialists for timely care, and cost. To address this patient burden, some doctors have modified treatment plans that allow for lower injection frequency, taking into account the patient's documented vision improvements, cost, and the burden of administering the treatment.

Taking into account the costs associated with treatment, the researchers modeled treatment scenarios to provide practitioners, patients, and payers with information about the value of anti-VEGF therapy. Their findings quantified the benefits derived from the therapy to individual patients and society.

They modeled multiple treatment scenarios: a no injection scenario; less frequent injections (in which patients received approximately eight injections per year); more frequent injections (in which patients received an average of 10.5 injections per year); improved adherence (in which 85% of patients initiate therapy and adherence improves); and innovation scenarios (based on clinical trial data representing best case scenarios with patients receiving either more or less frequent injections).

The researchers found that even under current treatment conditions of less frequent injections, treatment generates over $1 billion for the full population with wAMD in year one and $5.1 billion in year three. With improved adherence, benefits to the patient population were estimated to reach $7.3 to $11.4 billion in year three.

This translates to a benefit to society (patient benefit minus treatment costs) of $0.9 to $3.0 billion across three years in the current treatment scenarios and upwards of over $4 billion in the innovative treatment scenario (i.e., when a drug that leads to better adherence is discovered).

The authors find innovations to improve treatment adherence could generate an additional $1.2 to $3.7 billion in patient benefit and $59 million to $1.3 billion in societal value compared to current treatment scenarios -- highlighting the fact that when patients follow through with necessary treatment, individuals, providers and society as a whole can reap the rewards.

Twitter:@JELagasse

Email the writer:jeff.lagasse@himssmedia.com

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Treatments for leading cause of blindness generate $0.9 to $3 billion in patient, economic benefit - Healthcare Finance News

For most people, mid-November is too early to put up a Christmas tree. But for the Spainhouers the tree couldn't go up fast enough.

It is the first time in a very long time Maritza saw her Christmas tree with the help of a vision head-set.

"I'm even getting some teary-eyed right now. It's exciting," said Maritza Spainhouer.

Maritza is vision-impaired. Her eyesight is 25% of total vision and she tells WFAA she has little to no peripheral vision. She was born with a condition called retinitis pigmentosa which will gradually lead to complete loss of vision.

Maritza was excited to get the Christmas tree up as soon as possible this year because she hasn't seen her tree in nearly 13 years. Now with the help of the IrisVision head-set, she can see the ornaments on her tree.

"It was a pure surprise and to see her reaction just made my heart jump for joy," said Steven, her husband.

Patricia Smith goes to the same church as the Spainhouers and introduced them to the IrisVision goggles. She is also vision-impaired and now trains others on the head-set.

"I can see the reds, I can see the blues, I can see the green of the tree," Maritza said.

Those are all the colors people usually take for granted seeing during the holidays.

Maritza has used the goggles for six months and she can finally see her three parakeets and won't have to use the jumbo deck of cards. She is even considering going back to school.

"It opened my opportunities. It's really a Christmas miracle," said Maritza and Steven.

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McKinney woman uses vision goggles to see Christmas tree for the first time in nearly 13 years - WFAA.com

IRISH actress Victoria Smurfit has told how finding out that her daughter will eventually go blind was like a wrecking ball out of the sky.

The former Ballykissangel stars 14-year-old daughter, Evie, suffers from Stargardts Macular Dystrophy, an eye condition which leads to blindness.

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The teen was diagnosed when she was just 12-years-old and her condition is deteriorating as she gets older.

Mum-of-three Victoria, 45, says her whole world came crashing down around her when they found out Evie would eventually lose her sight completely.

She said: Its a bit wrecking ball out of the sky you didnt see coming.

"As a parent, if there is a problem with your kid, you find a solution, end of story. Its just what you do.

But to be in a position where thats a much harder thing to find, because it hasnt been created yet, its astonishing.

Evie says she was first confronted with the harrowing realisation that she was losing her sight when she tried to find a book that she needed for school.

She said: I remember one time in a book shop, I was crying because I was supposed to get a book for school but I couldnt read it.

"That was one of those moments, where it hit me, Im going blind.

Now, my eyesight is very clouded all the time, colour is blended in together and so everything is kind of a smooth surface from a afar.

"I have lights in my vision, like fairy lights, like fireworks exploding everywhere.

There are good days and bad days, some days are worse than others because it only hits you, that Im going to go blind but Im also helping people by talking about it.

The pair opened up about Evies condition as leading eye experts descended on Dublin for the Fighting Blindness Retina 2019 conference, which started today and continues tomorrow.

The conference brings together scientists and experts from all over the world to share knowledge on research efforts to find a cure for sight loss.

And Victoria and Evie are determined to do as much as possible to help raise awareness for the genetic condition, and raise money to go towards research.

Tomorrow night, the pair will appear at the Vision Ball in the K Club where Evie will deliver a keynote speech on her experience with sight loss.

As well as her advocacy work for Stargardts, Evie revealed shed love to follow in her famous mums footsteps by pursuing a career in acting.

As her mum stood by, shaking her head in disapproval, Evie said: If I had the opportunity to act in something then I would. I love acting. I have since I was a kid. I was in The Clinic when I was about three.

"Ive done a lot of school plays and things but I would love to do more.

Its back to work on set for Victoria on Monday, who begins shooting a new movie, Hair Raisers, starring The Commitments actress, Angeline Ball.

The Once Upon A Time actress recently moved her entire family from their home in Santa Monica over to Surrey in the UK to be closer to family, friends and world-class medical services.

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We revealed earlier this year that the family also choose to leave after a gunman turned up at her daughter school.

And she says its the best decision shes ever made to move closer to home.

She said: Its brilliant being back. The problem in the US is that there is nowhere has not been touched by gun violence, malls, churches, schools, cinemas, you name it, theres been an incident. You should have to have a low grade fear to walk out your door."

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Victoria Smurfit says finding out daughter will eventually go blind was like wrecking ball out of the s - The Irish Sun

People with vision impairments face substantial challenges in tasks of everyday living that can significantly limit their participation in healthy lifestyle choices.

Laura Dreer, Ph.D.Laura Dreer, Ph.D., associate professor with the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, has been awarded a grant from the Obesity Health Disparities Research Center at UAB to examine how low vision impacts engagement in healthy lifestyle behaviors and weight management and risk of obesity.

People with vision impairments face substantial challenges in tasks of everyday living. These trials can significantly limit their participation in physical activity, healthy dietary intake/nutrition, and lifestyle behaviors. For example, vision loss often interferes with meal preparation, cooking, grocery shopping all of which can impact healthy eating choices. Additionally, problems with restricted vision can also affect balance, mobility and orientation, limiting physical activity and routine exercise.

As such, this type of sensory loss may be associated with unhealthy lifestyle choices that influence greater risk for obesity and secondary health conditions in comparison to individuals with good or adequate sight.

While there is a growing amount of scientific literature documenting the higher prevalence of obesity among people with physical or intellectual disabilities versus people without disabilities, there is a limited amount of obesity research specifically studying people with a sensory disability affected by limited or low vision. Further lacking is the availability of empirically validated weight management and lifestyle programs tailored to the challenges confronted by people with this particular disability.

Dreer and colleagues preliminary data supports this notion withthat weight classification prevalence rates ranging from 53 percent obese, 26.5 percent overweight and only 20.5 percent normal weight among those diagnosed with progressive eye diseases. These rates highlight the health disparity for obesity among persons with a vision-related disability compared to the national rates among those without a disability.

She said this public health issue is particular problematic in the Deep South where obesity rates are much higher compared to other regions of the country.

Dreer and colleagues also found that higher body mass index scores, measured objectively, were significantly associated with being older and having a lower annual household income, poorer perception of health, minority race, greater number and type of chronic health conditions, slower physical activity levels and less intensity, greater sedentary behavior, greater worry over health, and poor sleep.

Greater vision impairment was significantly related to unhealthy lifestyle behaviors and sedentary behavior. However, on a promising note, 70 percent of the sample expressed an interest in losing weight and improving their health behaviors.

As part of the new grant, Dreer and colleagues will expand upon this preliminary work by proposing to further understand the unique challenges related to limited or no vision that interfere with participating in important lifestyle behaviors that are critical for managing weight and overall health. Results will then be used in the second part of the project to inform the adaptation process of an evidence-based and theoretically driven lifestyle and health program tailored to the unique challenges this population.

Local community partners will also participate in this innovative effort.

The ultimate goal is to translate the resulting program into health, recreation or sport-related organizations and agencies locally and nationally, she said. Other formats people with for people with low vision can access from their home are also being developed.

This grant is funded by the National Institute on Minority Health Disparities Research (NIMHD: U54MD000502) of the National Institutes of Health

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Grant will explore low vision's impact on healthy lifestyle behaviors - UAB News

Just like every other part of the body, eyes age as we do. Poor diet, excess sun exposure, toxins, infections, and physical and emotional stressors cause wear and tear on the body, and often translate into poor eyesight. This wear and tear produces free radicals, unstable molecules that harm us at the cellular level. The eyes are prone to damage by free radicals. This damage may result in us having vision problems or suffering from age-related macular degeneration or other eye disorders, but you can help protect your eyes by making healthy food choices.

Antioxidants like vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin A, beta-carotene, zinc, lutein, zeaxanthin, and omega-3 fatty acids protect against free radical damage that can harm our eyes. We can find these nutrients by consuming colourful fruits and vegetables that will protect our eyes and boost our overall health. We'll take a look at these closely.

Vitamin C is a nutrient critical for maintaining good eye health. Vitamin C has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that help decrease the risk of age-related eye disease. The recommended daily allowance (RDA) of vitamin C for adult women is 75 milligrams per day and 90 milligrams per day for men. Raw red peppers have 95 milligrams of vitamin C per half cup. Other great food sources include orange juice, grapefruit juice, papayas, and strawberries. Vitamin C is heat sensitive and breaks down during cooking. Maximise your intake of vitamin C by eating fruits and veggies that contain these nutrients raw.

Vitamin E is another antioxidant vitamin that is critical to eye health. Vitamin E is actually comprised of eight fat-soluble antioxidants called tocopherols. These nutrients help protect fats that make up cell membranes. The retina of the eye is rich in fatty acids, so antioxidant protection is critical for the eyes. The RDA for vitamin E is 15 milligrams per day for men and women. One-quarter cup of sunflower seeds contains 12 milligrams of vitamin E and almonds, peanuts, and peanut butter are also good sources of vitamin E.

Dark leafy greens like collard greens, kale, and spinach are rich in vitamins C and E. They also have carotenoids called zeaxanthin and lutein. These are nutrients that help protect against age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and cataracts. Broccoli, sweet corn, and romaine lettuce are good sources of these nutrients, too. These foods aren't just good for your eyes, but they help prevent other health problems, too.

DHA and EPA are beneficial fats known as omega-3 fatty acids. These fats combat inflammation and boost the health of blood vessels. They reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma. Insufficient levels of these fats may contribute to dry eyes. Herring, salmon, and sardines provide ample amounts of DHA and EPA. Adequate omega-3 fatty acid intake is part of maintaining good nutrition.

Zinc is a mineral critical for the function of many enzymes in the body. You also need it to maintain healthy eyesight. Zinc functions as an antioxidant, boosts immune function, and is a constituent of cell membranes and proteins in the body. The RDA for zinc is eight milligrams per day for women and 11 milligrams per day for men. People who eat vegetarian diets absorb less zinc than those who eat meat. Three medium cooked oysters provide nearly 25 milligrams of zinc. Crabs, dark turkey, and dark chicken are other good sources of the important mineral. Zinc deficiency is associated with vision problems, immune system problems, skin problems, and psychological disorders.

Animal products are high in zinc, but plant-based foods also supply this mineral. Beans and legumes are high in fiber, low in fat, and are great sources of vegetarian protein. They also supply zinc. Other good vegetarian dietary sources of zinc include yogurt, milk, corn flakes, cheese, cereal, cashews, and almonds. Eggs also contain zinc, which helps your body use lutein and zeaxanthin which are critical for maintaining good eye health.

Broccoli and Brussels sprouts contain beneficial nutrients like lutein, zeaxanthin, beta-carotene, and vitamins A, C, and E. These are nutrients that act as antioxidants. They scavenge free radicals, unstable molecules that can attack and damage healthy tissue. Retinal tissue is especially susceptible to free radical damage. It is important to eat foods rich in nutrients to protect eye health.

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin the body needs to absorb calcium, support bone growth, and modulate immune function and inflammation. There is some evidence that vitamin D also decreases the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Fatty fish like swordfish, tuna, and salmon contain vitamin D. Cod liver oil contains more. Smaller amounts of the vitamin are found in milk, beef liver, eggs, and cheese. Adult men and women need 600 international units (IU) of vitamin D per day. By far the best source of vitamin D is the sun. Your skin produces vitamin D when exposed to sunlight. Just be careful not to get burned.

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Eye Health: Foods, vitamins and nutrients to improve eyesight | Health & Nutrition - Mag The Weekly Magazine

An established carver in Happy Valley-Goose Bay didn't give up his craft after losing the sight in one of his eyes. In fact, he's continuing to create pieces of art in spite of it.

John Neville spent his summer crafting over 300 carvings in a shack outside his house, something he finds to be therapeutic.

"I love carving because it's good for the mind," Neville said at he satin his work shed surrounded by his work.

Neville, originally from Black Tickle,has spent 45 years of his life doing what he loves.

Neville said it has been a difficult year for many reasons as he struggled with depression as well as the loss ofsight in one of his eyes.

He had a stroke in his sleep in January of 2017, resulting in vision loss.

"It's been a hard struggle, knowing that I had good eyesight and now I only got one [good] eye."

Watch the video above to hear John Neville's story and see his carvings

"Close up me eyes aren'tthat good. Even me good eye's not good close up," he said.

Neville said he isn't one to take medication for an illness, and instead uses carving to heal him.

"Carving is my medicine, it was always my medicine when I get down and that medicine is going to bring me back up and make me the same fella I used to be."

Read more stories by CBC Newfoundland and Labrador

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Loss of vision doesn't keep this Happy Valley-Goose Bay carver from his craft - CBC.ca

Mutations in genes related to the immune systems first line of defense are associated with a greater likelihood of more severe forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) linked to faster vision loss, a team led by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers report.

Combining high-resolution eye scans and genetic tests, researchers identified three genes involved in the complement immune pathway that are tied to a more rapid degeneration of nervous tissue in the eye and loss of sight.These genetic variants (mutations) could serve as markers for monitoring MS and predicting its severity, the researchers said.

Their study, Early complement genes are associated with visual system degeneration in multiple sclerosis, was published in the journal Brain.

In MS, the bodys immune system mistakenly attacks the myelin sheaths of nerve fibers the fat-rich coat around nerve fibers resulting in inflammation, degeneration, nerve cell death, and ultimately disrupting communication between the brain and spinal cord, and the rest of the body.

Vision problems are among disease symptoms.

Although several genetic risk factors are known to predispose people to MS, no mutations have been linked with MS severity. This gap results in part due to the inability of current clinical scales to detect early degenerative changes that underlie disease progression.

Optical coherence tomography(OCT) is a noninvasive imaging test that enables doctors to see eye structures with exquisite detail. For instance, it is used to look at nervous tissue of the retina in the back of the eye, and check for signs of disease. Taking advantage of OCTs potential, scientists are exploring it as an imaging tool to measure nerve cell degeneration at early stages in MS, as well as disease progression.

To discover possible genetic predictors of MS severity, Peter Calabresi, MD, the studys senior leader and a professor at Johns Hopkins University, and histeam assessed 374 patients (average age of 43 ) with all MS types using OCT, and crossed this information with genetic tests performed on patients blood samples.

Although we have treatments for the type of MS where symptoms come on in bursts called relapsing-remitting MS we dont have any way to stop the kind of MS in which the nerve cells start to die, known as progressive MS, Calabresi, who is a director of the Johns Hopkins Precision Medicine Center of Excellence for MS, said in a universitynews release.

OCT was used to measure thinning (degeneration) in the layer of nerve cells known as ganglion cells in the retina over time. Onaverage, 4.6 OCT scans were performed on each patient between 2010 and 2017.

Scans showed that MS patients lost an average of 0.32 micrometers (one-millionth of a meter) of retinal nervous tissue per year.

Researchers then searched for mutations in patients with the fastest retinal deterioration rates, and identified 23 DNA variations. They all mapped to gene C3, which codes for a protein involved in the complement pathway of the immune system.

The team employed a similar approach to a separate group of 835 MS patients, but instead of searching for OCT degeneration, they now looked for genetic factors in patients with a rapidly declining ability to see faint letters,mimicking low light conditions using the low-contrast letter acuity (LCLA) test.

Researchers based their analysis on this vision test because it correlates with clinical disability and nerve cell loss in MS, and is emerging as a valid clinical measure of the disease.

Specific mutations in the genes C1QA and CR1 were more frequent in patients whose visual ability deteriorated faster. Those with certain variants in C1QA were 71% more likely to develop difficulty detecting visual contrast, while those with CR1 variants were at a 40% greater risk of such problems.

Like C3, both C1QAand CR1 are genes involved in the complement pathway.

These results showed that early complement pathway gene variants were consistently associated with structural and functional measures of multiple sclerosis severity. These results from unbiased analyses are strongly supported by several prior reports that mechanistically implicated early complement factors in neurodegeneration, the researchers wrote.

We believe that our study opens up a new line of investigation targeting complement genes as a potential way to treat disease progression and nerve cell death, Calabresi said in the release.

[O]ther researchers discovered that complement proteins bind to the connections between neurons and helps them grow in specific directions. But, too much complement was found to causes damage to the nerve cells, eventually killing them. Our findings fit well into this system, he added.

The team believes that these three genes could also be used as markers to monitor and predict disease progression and severity.

Our next step will be to repeat these studies in larger populations, said Kathryn Fitzgerald, ScD,a Johns Hopkins professor and the studys lead author of the study.

Animal studies are likely to follow, to detail how the complement system is involved in neurodegeneration during MS. From there we can possibly think about how to design new therapies, Fitzgerald said.

Ana is a molecular biologist with a passion for discovery and communication. As a science writer she looks for connecting the public, in particular patient and healthcare communities, with clear and quality information about the latest medical advances. Ana holds a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Lisbon, Portugal, where she specialized in genetics, molecular biology, and infectious diseases

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Patrcia holds her PhD in Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases from the Leiden University Medical Center in Leiden, The Netherlands. She has studied Applied Biology at Universidade do Minho and was a postdoctoral research fellow at Instituto de Medicina Molecular in Lisbon, Portugal. Her work has been focused on molecular genetic traits of infectious agents such as viruses and parasites.

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Mutations in 3 Genes Linked to MS Severity and Vision Loss in Hopkins Study - Multiple Sclerosis News Today

By Express News Service

BENGALURU: The city saw at least 40 cases of firecracker-related injuries in just the first two days. Unfortunately, the number of cases did not come down even on the last day of Deepavali.

Sankara Eye Hospital in the city received 16 cases of eye injuries on Tuesday, of which eight of the patients were children. Minto Eye Hospital received six cases of eye injuries caused by firecrackers and unfortunately, two of these patients lost their vision in one eye.

Pavan (22), a resident of Chikagolaratti, was a patient. He had placed a Lakshmi bomb in a paint box to increase the noise level. When the bomb burst, the lid of the paint box flew in the air and hit his right eye. Pavan has now lost sight in his right eye.

The impact of the hot paint lid hitting him and the chemicals in the crackers impacted his eye and he has lost his vision in the right eye. We did a surgery in order to retain the globe but now he has lost his eye permanently and in the left eye he had multiple corneal foreign objects, which were cleared, said Dr Sujatha Rathod, Director of Minto Eye Hospital.

In a similar incident, 13-year-old Rohan tried bursting a bomb inside a pipe in order to make it even louder. But due to the impact of the cracker, the pipe flew in the air and hit Rohans right eye.

Rohan was unable to perceive light and it is clear that he has lost his vision in the right eye. His is also a global rupture, Rathod added.

Narayana Nethralaya, Super Speciality Eye Care Hospital, had 10 cases on Monday. They were all minor cases with most of them coming with red-eye and they were cured immediately, a spokesperson from Narayana Nethralaya said.

Manipal Hospital received patients who suffered from hearing issues. We received two cases of adults who suffered persistent ringing in the ears, called tinnitus, and minimal hearing loss owing to noise levels crossing 125 decibels. This could turn into a life long malady if left untreated. If not, it is either self-resolving or can be rectified with medication, said Dr Vijay Rangachari, consultant ENT surgeon, Manipal Hospitals, Whitefield.

Cleaning up: BBMP draws rangolis, educates citizens

A day after the Deepavali revelry, many streets were strewn with cardboard boxes, paper, burnt sparklers and firecrackers, to say the least. On Sunday and Monday, pourakarmikas gathered all such waste from all the 198 wards and assembled the garbage in all the wards.

On Tuesday, the waste was kept in one spot to show the citizens what they have left behind. The message we wanted to give is that this too is their waste and they must take responsibility to clean it up. We got them to join us in sweeping the waste, said Sandhya, medical health officer, BBMP. Colourful rangolis were drawn at the spots where the black spots were.

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Bengaluru: Revellers lose sight of safety and also their eyesight on Deepavali - The New Indian Express

It's a phone call no one ever wants to answer. "He said 'Scotty's come face-to-face with a suicide car bomb and it exploded. There's shrapnel in both of his eyes and I don't know if he's going to live'," Tiffany Smiley recalled.In April of 2005, Tiffany's husband Scott Smiley was serving in Iraq. That's when a car bomb took his vision away and could have taken his life. "My eyesight was taken when he blew his car up. And then I found myself woken up in Walter Reed Army Medical Center blind for the rest of my life," Scott said.His wife, Tiffany, said in the moment, her world blew into a million pieces. She said she was presented paperwork to begin his medical retirement. She chose not to sign them.The doctors said 'Mrs. Smiley, you have power of attorney. Sign the paperwork to begin his medical retirement.' And I looked at them and I said 'no'," Tiffany said.Those papers would have retired Scott from the thing that gave him purpose. She couldn't do that."I took the paperwork, I put it in a drawer and I truly believed that there had to be another path," Tiffany added.Scott said that the journey has been tough, but he wouldn't trade it for anything. "It was my wife and family and friends that stood by me and enabled me, not only to forgive but to begin my recovery," Scott explained."He went on to become the first blind active duty officer to continue service to our country. He wrote a book, became a teacher, we had three beautiful boys along this journey," Tiffany said. It's the Smiley's story of perseverance that has impacted so many people.

It's a phone call no one ever wants to answer.

"He said 'Scotty's come face-to-face with a suicide car bomb and it exploded. There's shrapnel in both of his eyes and I don't know if he's going to live'," Tiffany Smiley recalled.

In April of 2005, Tiffany's husband Scott Smiley was serving in Iraq.

That's when a car bomb took his vision away and could have taken his life.

"My eyesight was taken when he blew his car up. And then I found myself woken up in Walter Reed Army Medical Center blind for the rest of my life," Scott said.

His wife, Tiffany, said in the moment, her world blew into a million pieces. She said she was presented paperwork to begin his medical retirement.

She chose not to sign them.

The doctors said 'Mrs. Smiley, you have power of attorney. Sign the paperwork to begin his medical retirement.' And I looked at them and I said 'no'," Tiffany said.

Those papers would have retired Scott from the thing that gave him purpose. She couldn't do that.

"I took the paperwork, I put it in a drawer and I truly believed that there had to be another path," Tiffany added.

Scott said that the journey has been tough, but he wouldn't trade it for anything.

"It was my wife and family and friends that stood by me and enabled me, not only to forgive but to begin my recovery," Scott explained.

"He went on to become the first blind active duty officer to continue service to our country. He wrote a book, became a teacher, we had three beautiful boys along this journey," Tiffany said.

It's the Smiley's story of perseverance that has impacted so many people.

Originally posted here:
Army Major shares story of loss and triumph - KETV Omaha

Glaucoma is often underestimated by patients. Allergans new campaign, My Glaucoma, looks to raise awareness of the seriousness of the disease, withreal patient and caregiver perspectives on the difficulties of living with it.

The campaign is informed in part by research that Allergan, which markets the glaucoma-fighting treatments Lumigan and Alphagan, did in conjunction with the Glaucoma Research Foundation.They found that while 3 in 4 patients are concerned they will lose their vision to glaucoma, 40% consider it to be only somewhat serious or not serious at all.

In fact, 27% of patients will go blind in one eye over a 10-year period, according to research published inthe American Journal of Ophthalmology.

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RELATED: Eye-med maker Allergan takes on preventable blindness with nationwide vision-screening push

As a pharma company in eye care, Allergan feels responsible that there needs to be more awareness around this. We didnt do this in isolation, we partnered with Glaucoma Research Foundation and did a survey of 500 patients with glaucoma that provided challenges and things that impact their lives, Matthew Bolton, Allergan's executive director of glaucoma marketing, said.

But unlike with the company's previous initiatives, this is "one of the first times we've approached glaucoma from a caregiver's lens," he said.

"I think a lot of times people think about glaucoma and the challenges just that that personal patient experiences, but it impacts a lot of people around them," Bolton added.

In online videos, for instance, the husband and son of Patrice, who has lost 60% of her eyesight to glaucoma, talk about her struggle and its effects on them. Her husband Bob talks about having to give up playing tennis in a group of friends.

RELATED: Rapper Common joins Allergan to warn in rhymeand swirling colorabout vision loss

It was kind of new to me in a sense, how does it affect your life. I didnt really realize. It took me a while to catch on as far as some of the things she needed me to do, her husband Bob says. His voice breaks and he sheds tears as he advises people who are having trouble seeing to get checked before it gets worse. Because it will get worse. Thats what happened to my wife. And it was too late. She makes up for it, but she still cant do a lot of stuff," he says.

The website also includes fact sheets and discussion guides. Another feature on the site is a visual that allows visitors to slide a button to see for themselves the loss of vision over time to glaucoma. The campaign launched on World Sight Day in October but will continue to run through the year and beyond,with additions and evolved content, Bolton said.

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Allergan drives home the seriousness of glaucoma with latest awareness campaign - FiercePharma

PUBLISHED: 14:59 04 November 2019 | UPDATED: 15:28 04 November 2019

Reece Hanson

Nick Barber (right) marching at the Cenotaph. PHOTO: Blind Veterans UK.

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A blind air force veteran who lost his sight through two rare eye conditions has hailed a charity for "changing his life."

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Nick Barber joined the Royal Air Force as a police dog handler in 1983, serving in the UK and in Germany at RAF Laarbruch, the training base for dogs.

He also completed a tour in the Falkland Islands where he was responsible for moving the dog handling facility from Stanley to RAF Mount Pleasant.

In 2001, he lost his sight through a combination of Bull's Eye Maculopathy and the genetic condition Retinitis Pigmentosa.

Mr Barber said: "If you imagine a normal sighted person's sight is like a beach ball, mine is like a ping pong ball.

"I've got some sight in the centre of my vision but absolutely no peripheral vision.

"Losing my sight hit me really hard and that first six months was terribly frustrating with not knowing what was causing it and finding out there was no treatment. I had to give up my job and was left feeling very depressed.

After discovering the charity Blind Veterans UK, Mr Barber has rediscovered a love for photography, going on to run courses at the charity's training and rehabilitation centres in Brighton and Llandudno.

He said: "My wife and I went for an induction week at the charity's Brighton Centre, which was very nerve-wracking for both of us beforehand.

"A man called Martin showed us around the whole building and at the end we found out he had no sight at all. This was a kick up the backside for me and from then on I haven't looked back.

"The biggest affect it had was the one-to-one meetings encouraging me to talk about how I felt about blindness which then made it easier to discuss with my wife. That changed both our lives."

On Remembrance Sunday, Mr Barber will march with 100 other blind veterans at the Cenotaph in London.

He said: "Being at the Cenotaph is different to anything else. Even the build-up is electric. You feel hugely proud and the hairs on the back of your neck really do stand up.

"The day is all about remembering all those who have served and fallen in war. My grandad served and was injured in the First World War and I always think of him during the silence."

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Air force veteran's fight against blindness from two rare conditions - Eastern Daily Press

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) refers to a group of retinal eye diseases that cause progressive loss of central vision, leaving the peripheral or side vision intact. The condition affects the ability to read, drive, recognise faces and perform activities that require detailed vision.

AMD is the leading cause of legal blindness in Australia, responsible for 50% of all cases of blindness. Vision Australia reports that a person is considered legally blind if they cannot see, at six metres, what someone with normal vision can see at 60 metres or if their field of vision is less than 20 degrees in diameter.

AMD affects one in seven Australians over 50 years and is projected to increase with the nations ageing population.

A recent survey commissioned by the Macular Disease Foundation Australia (MDFA) found that although awareness of AMD is high, one in three Australians have not had their macula checked in the last two years.

In partnership with the MDFA, Novartis has launched the See Whats Next campaign to remind older Australians of the importance of regular eye tests to protect against macular degeneration.

The campaign created a video to simulate what life is like for someone living with AMD.

Detecting the disease early can provide a window of opportunity to avoid or delay the burden of vision loss on both the patient and their families. The earlier that AMD is detected, the earlier steps can be taken to help slow its progression and save sight through treatment and/or lifestyle modifications.

The MDFA advises that an optometrist or ophthalmologist should be sought immediately in the case of any sudden changes to vision.

The early signs of AMD may not always be noticeable, but with wet (neovascular) AMD, the most aggressive form, vision changes are often sudden and severe, said MDFA CEO Dee Hopkins.

At the Macular Disease Foundation Australia, we believe in the value of awareness and early detection. It is important to have your eyes examined and macula checked by an eyecare professional on a regular basis.

AMD often affects the ability to read, drive, recognise faces and perform activities that require detailed vision.

Paul Mitchell, Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Sydney and Director at the Centre for Vision Research at the Westmead Institute for Medical Research, emphasised the importance of seeking help early.

Wet AMD typically causes rapid and severe vision loss, particularly if untreated.

Current anti-VEGF therapy has now been shown in many countries to be associated with a major reduction in blindness and visual impairment from wet AMD. As overall AMD prevalence and incidence are exponentially age related, the ageing of the Australian population is leading to an increase in presentation of wet AMD cases, he explained.

It is critical for the best outcomes from treatment of wet AMD that patients present as soon as possible after developing worsening vision. Regular eye examinations with sensitive testing of retinal function are critical to achieving early diagnosis of wet AMD; the starting vision is the principal determinant of the final vision after treatment, and wet AMD leads to scarring that leads to permanent vision loss.

The aim should be to see patients within days or a week or two of new symptoms, or signs indicating possible progression to wet AMD, Professor Mitchell said.

Two-thirds of AMD-related blindness is caused by wet (neovascular) AMD, a condition that affects 133,000 Australians. Wet AMD is caused by the formation of fragile blood vessels that leak fluid and blood within and under the retina.

As a chronic, degenerative eye disease, wet AMD often has a rapid and devastating impact on patients lives, causing them to lose their independence and struggle to do the things the things they enjoy, particularly if the disease is not managed early.

Dry (atrophic) AMD iscaused by the gradual lossof retinal cells. It may lead to a gradual loss of central vision. Currently there is no treatment available for the dry form.

Read more here:
The importance of early detection in macular degeneration - Australian Hospital + Healthcare Bulletin

New York City, NY: November 04, 2019 Published via (Wired Release) Global Gesture Recognition Market 2019 can be defined as a board in which proficiency test is done to get the statistical surveying Gesture Recognition Market informationwhich will be useful for the new market participants or recognized Gesture Recognition players. Huge informatic data is enclosed in Gesture Recognition market examine through which a record of an advantageous hot spot for investigators, administrators, Gesture Recognition industry specialist and additionally other important individuals prepare to-access alongside Gesture Recognition self-structured examination together side tables and charts which help to derive Gesture Recognition market patterns, drivers and currency or financial battles. As a combination of the Linear Motors data coordination and investigation limits with the findings that are appropriate. Similarly, this report has predicted a strong future rise of this Gesture Recognition market in each geographic and its segments.

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Growth Focusing on Major Key Players- Apple Inc, eyeSight Technologies Ltd., Infineon Technologies AG, Cognitec Systems GmbH, GestureTek Inc, PointGrab Ltd., SoftKinetic-Optrima S.A., Cross Match Technologies Inc, Elliptic Laboratories AS, Intel Corporation

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North America (USA, Canada, and Mexico)

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Asia-Pacific (China Korea, India, Japan, and Southeast Asia)

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The Middle East and Africa (Nigeria, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and South Africa)

Global Gesture Recognition Market Segmentation Analysis:

Segmentation by technology:

Touch-based Gesture Recognitiono Multi-Touch Systemo Motion GestureTouchless Gesture Recognitiono Capacitive/Electric Fieldo Infrared Arrayo Ultrasonic Technologyo 2D Camera-Based Technologyo 3D Vision TechnologiesSegmentation by end-use industry:

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The researchers have provided quantitative and qualitative analysis along with absolute opportunity assessment in the report. Also, the report offers Porters Five Forces analysis and PESTLE analysis for more detailed contrast studies. Each section of the report has something valuable to offer to companies for improving their sales and marketing strategy, gross margin, and profit margins. Using the report as a tool for gaining insightful Gesture Recognition market analysis, players can identify the much-required changes in their operation and improve their approach to doing business. Moreover, they will be able to give a tough competition to other players of the global Gesture Recognition market while identifying key growth pockets.

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Chapter 6: Evaluate the leading key vendors of the Global Gesture Recognition market which consists of its Competitive Landscape.

Chapter 7: Gesture Recognition Research Findings and Conclusion, Appendix, system and information source

Browse Complete Report with TOC @https://marketresearch.biz/report/gesture-recognition-market/#toc

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Effective Tactics of Gesture Recognition Market Development History Forecast 2028 | Apple Inc, eyeSight Technologies Ltd. - 5Gigs News

Your eye health may be the furthest thing from your mind if you have diabetes, but what you might not know is that the disease can directly impact your vision. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, diabetic retinopathya vision complication from diabetes leading to damage or swelling of blood vessels in the retinais the most common cause of vision impairment and blindness in adults in the U.S. and by 2050 will affect roughly 14.6 million people.

That's not the only diabetes-related condition that can damage eye health. "Diabetic eye diseases can affect almost all parts of the eye and surrounding structures," says Matthew Gorski, M.D., a Northwell Health ophthalmologist at the Ophthalmology and Ocular Surface Center in Great Neck, NY. "The lens of the eye (where cataracts form) and the retina, the inside wallpaper where light rays are absorbed, are the most common areas where diabetes can cause eye problems."

Here, experts explain the main types of diabetic eye disease, the role glucose plays in the severity of these conditions, and most importantly, how people living with diabetes can protect their vision.

High blood sugar can damage the pancreas, harden blood vessels, and over time, increase your risk of heart attacks and kidney disease. But in addition to these health risks, glucose that spikes too high can also harm your sight. "Fluctuations of blood-glucose levels significantly affect vision in both the short term and long term," says Orlin Sergev, M.D., Ph.D., owner of Equilibrium Endocrinology & Diabetes Center in Ladson, SC.

"In the short term, both high and low blood-glucose levels (especially with sudden changes) can cause vision to become blurry [due to fluid moving in and out of parts of the eye]," he says. "Long-term mismanaged glucose affects the blood vessels in the retina, which can cause permanent vision damage, including blindness."

This is why it's important for people with diabetes to see their eye doctor at least every nine to 12 months even if they have no symptoms, says Dr. Gorski, as the earliest stages of diabetic eye disease can often be asymptomatic.

Think of DR as the gateway condition to all other diabetic eye diseases. "With DR, elevated blood-glucose levels progressively damage the vessels in the retina, leading to swelling and bleeding that ultimately damages vision," says Dr. Sergev. "The severity is usually dependent upon the length of disease and the level of [glucose] control."

So while high glucose levels initially wreak havoc on blood vessels surrounding the eyes, affecting your vision by increasing blurriness or interfering with your ability to distinguish between colors, it's the continuous swelling and leaking of these vessels that can lead to other conditions like cataracts, glaucoma, and DME (more on that below).

How many people are affected by DR? The overall prevalence of diabetic retinopathy in adults with diabetes in the U.S. is 28.5%. There's also a class of diabetic retinopathy called vision-threatening diabetic retinopathy, and that's about 4.4% of diabetic adults.

"This means almost one-third of all diabetics have some form of diabetic retinopathy, and about five percent of them are going to have it severely affect their vision," says Dustin French, Ph.D., associate professor of ophthalmology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

Currently, there's no known cure for diabetic retinopathy. However, retinal specialists can preserve sight and may reverse vision loss from diabetic retinopathy through various methods. Those might include injecting medication into the back of the eye, performing laser procedures, and/or retinal surgery.

According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms of DR include:

One of the most common eye conditions people with DR encounter (especially those with type 2 diabetes) is DME, which happens when uncontrolled blood sugar causes swelling of the retina, says Dr. French. This causes vessels in the eye to leak out or restrict blood flow, leading to a loss in the central-most part of your vision.

"Over time, this creates black spots in a person's vision as their vessels begin to deteriorate," says Dr. French. And while the thought of your vision being taken away can be terrifying, DME can be easily treated, says Dr. French. (Yet another reason to stay on top of those checkups.) Eye injections with anti-VEGF medications can manage the abnormal vessels and help prevent blindness. (OK, yes, they do require shots into your eye, but we can help you prepare for that.)

According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, symptoms of DME include:

Even if you aren't dealing with conditions like DR and DME, it's important to get your eyes checked regularly to stay on top of other eye conditions like cataracts (a clouding of the eye lens) and glaucoma (a group of conditions that damage the optic nerve). "Cataracts are five times more frequent in diabetics and glaucoma is two to three times more frequent," says Dr. Sergev.

Although the link between diabetes and cataracts is still murky, Dr. French says cataracts or glaucoma are often diagnosed at the same time a person gets screened for diabetic retinopathy, and this diagnosis may be due to certain lifestyle risk factors (such as smoking, excessive alcohol intake, or obesity) in addition to being diabetic.

What's more, the symptoms of cataracts and glaucoma, like blurry vision, distortion, and other eyesight changes, can often overlap with more serious conditions like DR and DME. This is why in addition to maintaining your glucose levels, eating a well-balanced diet, and not smoking, people with diabetes should closely monitor their eye health with a yearly dilated eye exam to help decrease the chances of developing diabetic eye diseaseas well as get proper treatment for any eye issues that do arise as quickly as possible.

See more helpful articles:

9 Tips to Prevent Eye Problems When You Have Diabetes

Watch Out! Home Hazards for People With Diabetes

Here Come the Sunnies: The Best Shades for People With Diabetes

See original here:
Everything You Need to Know About Diabetic Eye Disease - HealthCentral.com

Aaron Hudson, PhDvice president and general manager of global marketing, SCIEX

Glaucoma is called the silent thief of sight because in its most common form, there are usually no symptoms until the disease has insidiously progressed to the point of irreparable optic nerve damage and irreversible sight loss.1,2 If left untreated, the initial loss of peripheral vision will continue to become tunnel vision, which will then shrink down until all sight is lost.

The thought of being blind sent me into a deep depression.3

Looking back, I could find out that there were many times, and a couple of auto accidents, in which I didnt see cars coming from the left or the right sideand that was a consequence of losing that peripheral vision. But you never know that when you dont know you have any disease.4

I find myself, since Im half-blind, constantly worrying about: what if I lost the vision in my right eye? Because that would change everything about my life. It would change my dreams, it would change my relationships, it would change everything.5

These quotes, all shared by glaucoma patients, dramatize how people who lose their vision also lose peace of mind. Even eye diseases that do not impair vision can be devastating.

After getting dry eyes, I became very frustrated and almost depressed for a while. Its hard to deal with.6

The most common form of glaucoma, open-angle glaucoma, is also the most mysterious. Although a strong hereditary component has been implicated, the underlying disease mechanisms remain largely a mystery.2

To unravel the mystery and to identify biomarkers for the diagnosis and stratification of patients for precision medicines, researchers in Finland and Singapore are working together to analyze the proteome of tears from individuals with eye disease. Specifically, the researchers are using advanced analytics techniques with liquid chromatography (LC) triple time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) and SWATH Acquisition to rapidly obtain complete data on tear samples from individual patients.

Tear fluid is especially useful because it is a more accessible and less complex body fluid than serum or plasma, and sampling is much less invasive. Using the SWATH Acquisition method enables the capture of a wealth of information from each sample in one go, meaning that researchers can go back to interrogate their data time and time again as more information emerges about the biology of the eye and tears. The advantage of the MS method is that it allows researchers to process samples from individual patients quickly, sensitively, and precisely, eliminating the need to pool samples.711 With MS, it is possible to analyze the proteomic profiles of individual patients, even in large clinical trials. Eventually, it may bring proteomic analysis to clinical practice. It has the precision needed to achieve precision/stratified therapy.7,11

In one clinical study, LC-MS and the TripleTOF system were used to evaluate the expression levels of proteins in tears between patients with glaucoma. People with glaucoma are prone to getting concomitant ocular surface disease, such as dry eye disease. During a year-long study of patients with glaucoma who were experiencing dry eye symptoms, the researchers were able to identify protein biomarkers that predicted which patients would benefit most from a switch of eye drop medication from one with preservatives to one without preservatives.7

Using SWATH Acquisition, the researchers discovered that the dry eye symptoms of patients with increased levels of proinflammatory proteins and decreased levels of protective proteins improved more after the medication switch than those of other patients. The study went on to define three subpopulations based on these and other biomarkers: a group that did not respond to the medication switch, a group that had moderate improvement in symptoms in response to the switch, and a group that benefitted the most from the medication switch.7

Another study using the TripleTOF system with SWATH Acquisition to examine the proteomic expression of tears has found proteins that could be used as biomarkers to stratify patients with dry eye disease, identifying those who would benefit most from treatment with flourometholone, as opposed to polyvinyl alcohol.8 Similarly, studies using SWATH Acquisition have revealed proteins that may be potential biomarkers for predicting progression to severe thyroid eye disease in patients with autoimmune thyroid disease,9 whereas other proteins have been discovered that may be indicative of aging and the effects of aging in eye tissues and functions.10

Tears are also being analyzed to understand a host of other eye diseases and infections, such as diabetic retinopathy, peripheral ulcerative keratitis, aniridia, ocular allergies, and trachoma.12 Research continues apace to better understand the physiology and pathophysiology of the eye and eye diseases, particularly over time, as many eye diseases occur more often with older age.

The increasingly common utilization of advanced analytical technologies such as MS to better interrogate biological samples from individual patients and healthy controls means that we are getting ever closer to the identification and use of biomarkers to predict and diagnose disease, as well as to monitor patient responses to therapeutic agents, marking progress in the field of predictive, preventive, and personalized medicine, both in general and in terms of addressing eye disease. Precision medicine promises to revolutionize healthcare for many people, not only those with eye disease but also individuals with other diseases, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease.

References1. University of Utah Health. Glaucoma: The Silent Thief of Sight.2. National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health. Glaucoma: The Silent Thief Begins to Tell Its Secrets. 01/12/14.3. Nttinen J, Jylh A, Aapola U, et al. Patient Stratification in Clinical Glaucoma Trials Using the Individual Tear Proteome. Sci. Rep. 2018; 8: Article 12038.4. Glaucoma Australia. My Glaucoma Story. Victorias Story.5. Glaucoma Research Foundation. Art Takahara: Learning about Glaucoma.6. Glaucoma Research Foundation. Personal Story: Hannah Eckstein.7. Cook N, Mullins A, Gautam R, et al. Evaluating Patient Experiences in Dry Eye Disease Through Social Media Listening Research. Ophthalmol. Ther. 2019; 8(3): 40720.8. Nttinen J, Jylh A, Aapola U, et al. Topical fluorometholone treatment and desiccating stress change inflammatory protein expression in tears. Ocul. Surf. 2018; 16: 8492.9. Chng CL, Seah LL, Yang M, et al. Tear Proteins Calcium Binding Protein A4 (S100A4) and Prolactin Induced Protein (PIP) are Potential Biomarkers for Thyroid Eye Disease. Sci. Rep. 2018; 8: Article 16936.10. Nttinen J, Jylh A, Aapola U, et al. AgeAssociated Changes in Human Tear Proteome. Clin. Proteomics 2019; 16: 11.11. Jylh A, Nttinen J, Aapola U, et al. Comparison of iTRAQ and SWATH in a Clinical Study with Multiple Time Points. Clin. Proteomics 2018; 15: 24.12. Hagan S, Martin E, Enrquez-de-Salamanca A. Tear Fluid Biomarkers in Ocular and Systemic Disease: Potential Use for Predictive, Preventive and Personalised Medicine. EPMA J. 2016; 7: 15.

The SCIEX clinical diagnostic portfolio is for In Vitro Diagnostic Use, Rx Only. Product(s) not available in all countries. For information on availability, please contact your local sales representative or refer to https://sciex.com/diagnostics. All other products are forResearch Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.

SCIEX is a Danaher operating company.

2019 DH Tech. Dev. Pte. Ltd. RUO-MKT-19-10424-A.

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Surveying the Tear Proteome to Stratify Glaucoma Patients - Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News

RICHMOND, Va.(WRIC)Conexus needs your help this Fall to help give area children the gift of sight. The non-profit goes into schools to give children eye tests. 80% of what a child learns in school is through vision, and 1 in 4 school children have a vision problem significant enough to impact learning, and in Greater Richmond, that number is closer to 1 in 3. Studies indicate that children with uncorrected vision of less than 20/20 are 3 times more likely to fail a grade in school. Undetected and untreated vision problems impact incidences of juvenile delinquency, adult illiteracy, and unreached potential.

During the 2018-2019 school year, Conexus screened over 54,000 children across the Commonwealth and 16,959 were referred for additional exams; a rate of 31.2%. The national average is 25%. In Greater Richmond, 12,006 children were screened by Conexus with a referral rate of a staggering 39%.

Through the Conexus Gift of Light campaign, you can help the organization get into schools and help children. For a charitable gift of $10, Conexus can provide a child a VisioCheck screening; for a charitable gift of $50, Conexuscan provide an eye exam and glasses for a child; for a charitable gift of $150, Conexus can provide screening for anentire classroom; and for a larger charitable gift of $500, Conexus can provide an entire day of Mobile Vision Clinicservices. You can donate online here.

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Conexus needs help to give the gift of clear sight to kids across RVA and beyond - 8News

BALTIMORE, Oct. 31, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --Deadly. Blinding. Costly. Epidemic. These are the words used to describe diabetes, a devastating condition affecting more than 30 million Americans (about 9.4% of the population). Of those, nearly 30 percent (or 10 million people), have diabetic retinopathy, a potentially blinding disease that costs Americans more than $500 million every year.

The new Versant Health white paper, The health and financial costs of diabetic retinopathy, outlines the toll both physically and financially that diabetic retinopathy can take on a person. Not only can the disease have a debilitating impact on vision, but medical costs associated with diabetic retinopathy are higher than with other diabetes-related conditions, including neuropathy and chronic kidney disease.

"Early intervention is critical when it comes to the successful treatment of diabetic retinopathy," says Mark Ruchman, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Versant Health and contributor to the white paper "In its early stages, when treatment has the greatest likelihood of success, patients are typically asymptomatic. Thus, a regular eye exam is a critical component of any health and wellness program to reduce blindness from this disease."

Versant Health supports the overall health of its diabetic members in several ways, striving to reduce the risk for and/or severity of diabetic eye disease, including Diabetic Outreach, medical management, and detailed provider portal questionnaires. To learn more, download the health and financial costs of diabetic retinopathy white paperfrom the Versant Health website.

About Versant HealthVersant Health is one of the nation's leading managed vision care companies serving more than 33 million members nationwide. Through our Davis Vision plans and Superior Vision plans, we help members enjoy the wonders of sight through healthy eyes and vision. Providing vision and eye health solutions that range from routine vision benefits to medical management, Versant Health has a unique visibility and scale across the total eye health value chain.As a result, members enjoy a seamless experience with access to one of the broadest provider networks in the industry and an exclusive frame collection.Commercial groups, individuals, third parties, and health plans that serve government-sponsored programs such as Medicaid and Medicare are among our valued customers.

For more information visitversanthealth.com.

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Versant Health releases white paper: The health and financial costs of diabetic retinopathy - Herald-Mail Media