Early Warning Signs of Vision Loss
By Paula Spencer Scott, Caring.com senior editor
Eyesight tends to disappear more gradually than suddenly. In fact, the warning signs of vision loss in adults can be so subtle that you don't even notice them until a "nuisance" complaint, like trouble focusing or irritation, sends you for an overdue eye exam. That's when an unrelated but more serious vision robber, like glaucoma, may be discovered.
] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ]
The eyes may be a window to the brain for people with early Parkinson's disease. People with the disease gradually lose brain cells that produce dopamine, a substance that helps control movement. A study has found that the thinning of the retina, the lining of nerve cells in the back of the eye, is linked to the loss of such brain cells. The study is published in the August 15, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
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Discovery: Scientists find for the first time how the eyes drain cellular waste and debris
by Delthia Ricks , Medical Xpress
Just as the brain is a privileged organ, so too are the eyes. Often poetically called the windows to the soul, a unique set of studies has begun to regard the eyes in another way. Like the brain, the eyes lack the classic lymphatic vessels responsible for the circulation of fluids and removal of waste products, as is common in peripheral organs. In recent years, it was discovered that the brain possesses a unique "glymphatic" system, a privileged brain-only method of draining and disposing of molecular wastes. This transport system, when healthy, involves shuttling neurotoxic proteins such as amyloid-β out of the brain. On the flip side, an unhealthy system allows amyloid to accumulate into dangerous, mind-robbing plaques.
Now, an international team led by Dr. Maiken Nedergaard, a neuroscientist at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, and Xiaowei Wang of both the University of Copenhagen and the University of Rochester in New York, have found evidence of a glymphatic system in the mammalian eye. Nedergaard is the discoverer of the brain's waste disposal system and the scientist who coined the term "glymphatic."
The new findings explain how a glymphatic system maintains eye health and underscores that impairment—clogging—of this vital waste pathway can lead to glaucoma, a major worldwide cause of blindness. Nedergaard has defined "glymphatic" as an amalgam of the words glial and lymphatic. Glial cells are the primary cellular components that support neurons—nerve cells. The glymphatic pathway substitutes for a lymphatic system, which exists in neither the brain nor the eye.
Writing in Science Translational Medicine the researchers reported that the glymphatic system in the eye closely resembles the function of the glymphatic pathway in the brain. Moreover, they concluded, the drainage system is responsible for eliminating metabolic, cellular and other debris from the eyes.
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Can You Get COVID-19 Through Your Eyes?
Privacy & Trust Info
Coronavirus COVID-19: Latest News and Information Latest Coronavirus News
May 26, 2020 -- You can get COVID-19 if an infected person coughs or sneezes and contagious droplets enter your nose or mouth. But can you become ill if the virus lands in your eyes?
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WHAT CAUSES AGE RELATED VISUAL CHANGE?
85% of the population aged 40 or above suffer from age-related visual impairment.
This problem remains unnoticeable for years because it develops slowly.
It all begins with a slight loss of vision. After a long tiring day you notice that the page you are reading is blur. You need to hold your reading further away to be able to focus.
You often have headaches and eye strain when your eyes need to focus on close objects.
At first it affects one of the eyes only. The brain automatically compensates the vision loss of the affected eye, but only for a while. Later on the brain gives it up and one of the eyes remains weaker.
As we get older these problems and our vision get worse, eyesight deteriorates, and the eyes are not able to focus perfectly at the objects in the visual field.
This often means that one of the eyes becomes weaker than the other. It has long been known that improving eyesight is just a matter of engaging the muscles which control the focusing mechanism within the eye - the lens. These small ciliary muscles are like any other muscle in your body - they benefit from an easy workout and this helps them function more efficiently.
The reason is that whilst you might think of looking at something being a passive action it actually involves an awful lot of muscular activity.
Our eyes constantly have to focus and refocus and this is a strain on the small muscles that do this.
It is no surprise then that they get a bit fatigued.
In fact, as we get older they almost give up the ghost all together – and this leads to failing eyesight.
Many of us spend hours every day peering into computers, televisions or books and this creates quite a bit of stress on our eyes. When this happens the eyes cannot effectively focus and so cannot achieve clear vision and as a result within a short period of time, it gives up trying and a blurred vision remains constant.
"That's why a baseline exam at age 40 is important," says San Francisco ophthalmologist Andrew Iwach, a spokesman for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. "You may not have major symptoms, yet have a major problem."
Certain warning signs of vision loss, however, can be seen right under -- er, over our noses.
Warning sign: Your vision is clear one minute, fuzzy a few hours later.
Might be: Diabetic retinopathy. Fluctuating clarity -- sometimes you see fine, sometimes everything's blurry -- may mean that you have a chronic condition such as uncontrolled type 2 diabetes or uncontrolled high blood pressure that can damage the fine blood vessels of the retina, causing vision damage.
Watch for: Changes in visual clarity that happen throughout the day. Some people find it difficult to continue to do close tasks, such as reading or sewing. Pay attention to whether you have other possible signs of diabetes or high blood pressure. If you're diagnosed with one of these conditions, take special care to have regular eye exams. The odds of developing retinal damage increase the longer you have diabetes.
Warning sign: You've had a recent and inexplicable traffic accident.
Might be: Glaucoma. Admittedly, a million things can cause a fender-bender. But a loss of peripheral (side-to-side) vision is a key warning sign of glaucoma, a silent disease in which building pressure on the optic nerve begins to obscure vision because images can't be fully transmitted to the brain. Several studies have found that drivers with glaucoma have an increased risk of accidents, according to a 2011 Review of Ophthalmology report. A 2008 study paired glaucoma patients with a driving instructor and found they needed six times as many interventions from the instructor than age-matched control drivers did.
Watch for: Bumping into things or people is another indicator of losing side vision. Noticing behaviors is useful, Iwach says. The reason: "People don't usually recognize when they lose side vision because it happens slowly and the eye is designed so well that it compensates for changes until late in the disease." Because it's essentially symptomless, most glaucoma is caught during routine exams.
Warning sign: There's a frustrating dark or empty patch at the center of your vision.
Might be: Age-related macular degeneration. AMD is the leading cause of severe vision loss in people over age 50, according to the American Optometric Association. Changes to macula, part of the retina, cause this incurable sight-stealer. (A less common form, called "wet macular degeneration," can be treated with lasers.)
Watch for: Look at a straight line and it may appear wavy. Sometimes people with macular degeneration bob their heads a bit as they try to see "around" the smudgy patch. People with AMD may have trouble reading street signs, or they may give up reading or other close work, such as needlework. There may also be changes to color perception -- everything looks a little washed out.
Warning sign: Your eyelid looks funny.
Might be: Skin cancer. Not all harbingers of vision loss involve vision. Changes in the appearance of the eye itself, including the eyelid, can foretell problems. The thin, delicate tissue of the eyelid is one of the most common sites for basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas. While these types of cancer are rarely fatal, they often cause serious damage and blindness, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.
Watch for: Eyelids that look droopy or asymmetrical, a lump or bump, persistent bleeding or irritation that doesn't go away, or a dark spot on the lid. "Any change in the appearance of the eye itself warrants getting checked out," ophthalmologist Andrew Iwach says.
Warning sign: There's a brownish tint to your vision.
Might be: Cataracts. A clouding of the lens that can affect vision in just one or both eyes, cataracts are so common that by age 80, more than half of all Americans will either have cataracts or have had surgery to correct the condition, according to the National Eye Institute.
Watch for: Generally blurred vision, as clumps of protein reduce the sharpness of the image reaching the retina. This happens so slowly that people are seldom aware of it in the early stages. As damage increases with age (usually not until the 60s but sometimes as early as the 40s), the lens takes on a brownish or yellowish tinge rather than being clear. This can cause vision to be dulled, cloudy, and slightly "dirty." Color perception can become distorted -- socks that look black to you are actually more vivid purple ones, for example. Other symptoms include being irritated by the glare of sun or lights, seeing halos around lights, and poor night vision.
Warning sign: You see a flurry of "flashes and floaters."
Might be: Impending retinal detachment. Usually a sudden event, it's considered an emergency requiring immediate care (usually surgical reattachment). But many people experience a period of increasing flashes before a retinal tear occurs.
Watch for: A greater-than-usual number of little spots and light bits seeming to float before your eyes, and with increasing frequency. Seeing some flashes and floaters is common -- they're images of particles floating in the vitreous fluid of your eye. The red flags are increased amount and frequency, as well as an increase in seeing flashes of light.
"Any difference in what's normal for you merits a call and probably an exam," Iwach says. "The older we get, the busier we get taking care of our families -- and, unfortunately, the less likely we are to take care of ourselves."
By Paula Spencer Scott, Caring.com senior editor
Eyesight tends to disappear more gradually than suddenly. In fact, the warning signs of vision loss in adults can be so subtle that you don't even notice them until a "nuisance" complaint, like trouble focusing or irritation, sends you for an overdue eye exam. That's when an unrelated but more serious vision robber, like glaucoma, may be discovered.
] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ]
The eyes may be a window to the brain for people with early Parkinson's disease. People with the disease gradually lose brain cells that produce dopamine, a substance that helps control movement. A study has found that the thinning of the retina, the lining of nerve cells in the back of the eye, is linked to the loss of such brain cells. The study is published in the August 15, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Discovery: Scientists find for the first time how the eyes drain cellular waste and debris
by Delthia Ricks , Medical Xpress
Just as the brain is a privileged organ, so too are the eyes. Often poetically called the windows to the soul, a unique set of studies has begun to regard the eyes in another way. Like the brain, the eyes lack the classic lymphatic vessels responsible for the circulation of fluids and removal of waste products, as is common in peripheral organs. In recent years, it was discovered that the brain possesses a unique "glymphatic" system, a privileged brain-only method of draining and disposing of molecular wastes. This transport system, when healthy, involves shuttling neurotoxic proteins such as amyloid-β out of the brain. On the flip side, an unhealthy system allows amyloid to accumulate into dangerous, mind-robbing plaques.
Now, an international team led by Dr. Maiken Nedergaard, a neuroscientist at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, and Xiaowei Wang of both the University of Copenhagen and the University of Rochester in New York, have found evidence of a glymphatic system in the mammalian eye. Nedergaard is the discoverer of the brain's waste disposal system and the scientist who coined the term "glymphatic."
The new findings explain how a glymphatic system maintains eye health and underscores that impairment—clogging—of this vital waste pathway can lead to glaucoma, a major worldwide cause of blindness. Nedergaard has defined "glymphatic" as an amalgam of the words glial and lymphatic. Glial cells are the primary cellular components that support neurons—nerve cells. The glymphatic pathway substitutes for a lymphatic system, which exists in neither the brain nor the eye.
Writing in Science Translational Medicine the researchers reported that the glymphatic system in the eye closely resembles the function of the glymphatic pathway in the brain. Moreover, they concluded, the drainage system is responsible for eliminating metabolic, cellular and other debris from the eyes.
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Can You Get COVID-19 Through Your Eyes?
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Coronavirus COVID-19: Latest News and Information Latest Coronavirus News
- Remdesivir Will Not Be Enough to Curb COVID-19
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May 26, 2020 -- You can get COVID-19 if an infected person coughs or sneezes and contagious droplets enter your nose or mouth. But can you become ill if the virus lands in your eyes?
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
WHAT CAUSES AGE RELATED VISUAL CHANGE?
85% of the population aged 40 or above suffer from age-related visual impairment.
This problem remains unnoticeable for years because it develops slowly.
It all begins with a slight loss of vision. After a long tiring day you notice that the page you are reading is blur. You need to hold your reading further away to be able to focus.
You often have headaches and eye strain when your eyes need to focus on close objects.
At first it affects one of the eyes only. The brain automatically compensates the vision loss of the affected eye, but only for a while. Later on the brain gives it up and one of the eyes remains weaker.
As we get older these problems and our vision get worse, eyesight deteriorates, and the eyes are not able to focus perfectly at the objects in the visual field.
This often means that one of the eyes becomes weaker than the other. It has long been known that improving eyesight is just a matter of engaging the muscles which control the focusing mechanism within the eye - the lens. These small ciliary muscles are like any other muscle in your body - they benefit from an easy workout and this helps them function more efficiently.
The reason is that whilst you might think of looking at something being a passive action it actually involves an awful lot of muscular activity.
Our eyes constantly have to focus and refocus and this is a strain on the small muscles that do this.
It is no surprise then that they get a bit fatigued.
In fact, as we get older they almost give up the ghost all together – and this leads to failing eyesight.
Many of us spend hours every day peering into computers, televisions or books and this creates quite a bit of stress on our eyes. When this happens the eyes cannot effectively focus and so cannot achieve clear vision and as a result within a short period of time, it gives up trying and a blurred vision remains constant.
"That's why a baseline exam at age 40 is important," says San Francisco ophthalmologist Andrew Iwach, a spokesman for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. "You may not have major symptoms, yet have a major problem."
Certain warning signs of vision loss, however, can be seen right under -- er, over our noses.
Warning sign: Your vision is clear one minute, fuzzy a few hours later.
Might be: Diabetic retinopathy. Fluctuating clarity -- sometimes you see fine, sometimes everything's blurry -- may mean that you have a chronic condition such as uncontrolled type 2 diabetes or uncontrolled high blood pressure that can damage the fine blood vessels of the retina, causing vision damage.
Watch for: Changes in visual clarity that happen throughout the day. Some people find it difficult to continue to do close tasks, such as reading or sewing. Pay attention to whether you have other possible signs of diabetes or high blood pressure. If you're diagnosed with one of these conditions, take special care to have regular eye exams. The odds of developing retinal damage increase the longer you have diabetes.
Warning sign: You've had a recent and inexplicable traffic accident.
Might be: Glaucoma. Admittedly, a million things can cause a fender-bender. But a loss of peripheral (side-to-side) vision is a key warning sign of glaucoma, a silent disease in which building pressure on the optic nerve begins to obscure vision because images can't be fully transmitted to the brain. Several studies have found that drivers with glaucoma have an increased risk of accidents, according to a 2011 Review of Ophthalmology report. A 2008 study paired glaucoma patients with a driving instructor and found they needed six times as many interventions from the instructor than age-matched control drivers did.
Watch for: Bumping into things or people is another indicator of losing side vision. Noticing behaviors is useful, Iwach says. The reason: "People don't usually recognize when they lose side vision because it happens slowly and the eye is designed so well that it compensates for changes until late in the disease." Because it's essentially symptomless, most glaucoma is caught during routine exams.
Warning sign: There's a frustrating dark or empty patch at the center of your vision.
Might be: Age-related macular degeneration. AMD is the leading cause of severe vision loss in people over age 50, according to the American Optometric Association. Changes to macula, part of the retina, cause this incurable sight-stealer. (A less common form, called "wet macular degeneration," can be treated with lasers.)
Watch for: Look at a straight line and it may appear wavy. Sometimes people with macular degeneration bob their heads a bit as they try to see "around" the smudgy patch. People with AMD may have trouble reading street signs, or they may give up reading or other close work, such as needlework. There may also be changes to color perception -- everything looks a little washed out.
Warning sign: Your eyelid looks funny.
Might be: Skin cancer. Not all harbingers of vision loss involve vision. Changes in the appearance of the eye itself, including the eyelid, can foretell problems. The thin, delicate tissue of the eyelid is one of the most common sites for basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas. While these types of cancer are rarely fatal, they often cause serious damage and blindness, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.
Watch for: Eyelids that look droopy or asymmetrical, a lump or bump, persistent bleeding or irritation that doesn't go away, or a dark spot on the lid. "Any change in the appearance of the eye itself warrants getting checked out," ophthalmologist Andrew Iwach says.
Warning sign: There's a brownish tint to your vision.
Might be: Cataracts. A clouding of the lens that can affect vision in just one or both eyes, cataracts are so common that by age 80, more than half of all Americans will either have cataracts or have had surgery to correct the condition, according to the National Eye Institute.
Watch for: Generally blurred vision, as clumps of protein reduce the sharpness of the image reaching the retina. This happens so slowly that people are seldom aware of it in the early stages. As damage increases with age (usually not until the 60s but sometimes as early as the 40s), the lens takes on a brownish or yellowish tinge rather than being clear. This can cause vision to be dulled, cloudy, and slightly "dirty." Color perception can become distorted -- socks that look black to you are actually more vivid purple ones, for example. Other symptoms include being irritated by the glare of sun or lights, seeing halos around lights, and poor night vision.
Warning sign: You see a flurry of "flashes and floaters."
Might be: Impending retinal detachment. Usually a sudden event, it's considered an emergency requiring immediate care (usually surgical reattachment). But many people experience a period of increasing flashes before a retinal tear occurs.
Watch for: A greater-than-usual number of little spots and light bits seeming to float before your eyes, and with increasing frequency. Seeing some flashes and floaters is common -- they're images of particles floating in the vitreous fluid of your eye. The red flags are increased amount and frequency, as well as an increase in seeing flashes of light.
"Any difference in what's normal for you merits a call and probably an exam," Iwach says. "The older we get, the busier we get taking care of our families -- and, unfortunately, the less likely we are to take care of ourselves."