StemCell Therapy

Dear Doctor: A friend of our family suddenly lost the vision in his left eye because of something called retinal artery occlusion. What is that? How do you protect against it?

Dear Reader: To answer your question, we should begin with a bit of anatomy. The retina is a layer of light-sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eye. Its job is to receive the incoming rays of light that pass through the lens and translate them into signals. These signals, or impulses, then travel along the optic nerve to the brain, which interprets them as the images we see. As with all tissues within the body, the retina needs a steady supply of blood to function properly. In the case of the retina, this comes primarily from an artery and a vein. If either of these vessels, or any of their smaller branches, become blocked, which is known as an occlusion, the retina sustains damage.

When a blockage occurs in the vein that serves the retina, the blood can't drain away. Instead, it backs up and raises pressure within the eye, which can cause serious damage that affects sight. When the blockage occurs in the artery, as with your family friend, the retina is starved of oxygen and nutrients. Unless blood flow is restored quickly, the blockage will cause the cells of the retina to die. The result is a loss of vision. Unfortunately, there is no way to reverse the damage that arises as a result of retinal vessel occlusion.

Originally posted here:
Retinal artery occlusion related to atherosclerosis | | thetandd.com - The Times and Democrat

This entry was posted on June 6, 2020 at 7:45 am and is filed under Eye Sight & Vision. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |