Gaining on Glaucoma: Detection and Treatment

Posted on November 21, 2010 by admin

Q. Who’s at greatest risk?
A. Like a lot of vision conditions, it typically happens to older people.
Most often, people over 40. If there’s a family history of glaucoma,
risk goes up. Also, people who are very nearsighted or diabetic have
a higher risk. Race can also play a role. Some research has shown
that black Americans are about seven times more likely to develop
glaucoma. In fact, it’s the leading cause of blindness among black
Americans. Hispanic people also are at higher risk.
Q. What causes glaucoma?
A. As part of normal functioning, your eyes produce an internal fluid to help the eyeball keep its shape.
The fluid drains out of the eye all the time, but sometimes the drain “backs up” – and that’s what usually
happens with glaucoma. When this happens, the pressure from the fluid starts building up inside the eye
and damages sensitive nerve tissues. In most cases what you get is chronic glaucoma that slowly worsens
over time. There’s also a type of glaucoma in which damage occurs without elevated pressure, but it’s
very rare. Continue reading →

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New Treatment Poor Vision In Old Age

Posted on November 20, 2010 by admin

(Ivanhoe Newswire) – Presbyopia is an inevitable eye disorder. It occurs mostly in people over 40. It is characterized by blurred vision, where the lenses gradually lose their ability to focus on close-up objects. There is a new and effective way to permanently treat presbyopia that is currently being used in Europe, and soon in the U.S.

Almost everyone by the age of 50 or 60 experiences blurry close-up vision, but their ability to see distance remains good. More than 60 million people in the U.S., and 400 million people worldwide, are presbyotic. Reading glasses are a solution, but many people are interested in a glasses-free solution. Options now available include a form of LASIK that improves near vision in one eye, called monovision, and intraocular lenses (IOLs) that replace the eyes’ natural lenses. Within a few years, several new presbyopia treatments described in today’s Scientific Program will likely be available in the U.S.

A new type of micro-lens, the Flexivue, was implanted in the corneas of 15 patients. The patients were followed for 12 months after the surgery. The procedure lasted only 10 minutes. Continue reading →

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