Monday, November 8, 2010
Discontinued blog
I am no longer adding posts to this blog. Please go to my blog lowvisionhelp.blogspot.com for information on how persons with diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration and other causes of vision loss can be helped special low vision glasses. When you have done that give me a call (toll free 866 321-2030) and we'll talk about your condition. I will schedule a low vision appointment only if I feel that I can help you achieve your goals.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Interesting Article
The article below from "AOA First Look" may be interesting to AMD sufferers. There is no doubt that Lutein is beneficial to persons with AMD. I am not endorsing this product but it may be worth looking into.
"AMD patient says supplement containing marigold extracts restored vision."
The UK's Daily Mail (12/11) reports that retired UK optician Harry Marsland, who suffers from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), "could be the first person in the UK to have recovered from" that "devastating condition." Since he began taking 2 mg daily of "a food supplement containing marigold extracts" in early 2007, Marsland says that "he is driving a car again, reads without a magnifier, and has near-perfect vision in the affected eye." The Daily Mail explains that the "vitamin supplement, called Macushield," costs £150 (approximately $245) for a year's supply, and "is not available on the NHS."
The UK's Telegraph (12/11, Wardrop) points out that the supplement taken by Marsland "contains lutein, found in spinach, and zeaxanthin, the yellow pigment found in corn," as well as "mesozeaxanthin, derived from marigolds." Marsland claims to "have recovered 95 percent of the sight in" his left eye.
"AMD patient says supplement containing marigold extracts restored vision."
The UK's Daily Mail (12/11) reports that retired UK optician Harry Marsland, who suffers from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), "could be the first person in the UK to have recovered from" that "devastating condition." Since he began taking 2 mg daily of "a food supplement containing marigold extracts" in early 2007, Marsland says that "he is driving a car again, reads without a magnifier, and has near-perfect vision in the affected eye." The Daily Mail explains that the "vitamin supplement, called Macushield," costs £150 (approximately $245) for a year's supply, and "is not available on the NHS."
The UK's Telegraph (12/11, Wardrop) points out that the supplement taken by Marsland "contains lutein, found in spinach, and zeaxanthin, the yellow pigment found in corn," as well as "mesozeaxanthin, derived from marigolds." Marsland claims to "have recovered 95 percent of the sight in" his left eye.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Woman with Diabetes, Glaucoma and Macular Degeneration helped to read
The three greatest causes of vision loss and blindness are diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and macular degeneration. Any one of them can have devastating effects on a person's eyesight and their life. I had the opportunity to perform a low vision evaluation on a lady (GW) who had all three conditions and was asking for help in seeing better for some of the day to day activities that she had given up.
The top 4 things on GW's wish list were to be able to read her Bible, read her mail, use her checkbook and use her computer. Following a thorough low vision evaluation using low vision glasses she was able to do all of these things.
GW had no prescription glasses. Her doctor had recommended that she go to the store and find a pair of readers, telling her that nothing else could be done to help. She also had a low power hand magnifier. Her distance visual acuity with the right eye was 20/240 and 20/700 with the left. When I measured the power of her eyes I found that there was a moderate amount of astigmatism in each eye. Correcting that alone did not improve her vision very much.
A 4X Clear Image microscopic lens combined with the astigmatism correction allowed GW to read a large print Bible easily. With that lens she read letters one third the size that she could with the readers.
When the astigmatism correction was used along with a 2.2X bioptic telescopic lens for distance vision GW was able to read 20/60 letters, one fourth the size that she was able to read with no lenses. She was able to see her husband's face well from about 20 feet and saw the cars and people well when she tested the bioptics outdoors.
GW has ordered the Clear Image microscopic glasses for reading, the bioptic telescopic glasses for television and to recognize faces when she is at church or shopping. In addition, she will have a lens cap for the telescopic glasses that will allow her to use her computer with them.
Although this nice lady has the three most damaging eye diseases she responded very well to low vision glasses and I expect her to enjoy them.
You might think that someone with this combination of eye diseases could not find help. The reason that I accepted her as a patient and is that I'd interviewed her by phone and was sure in advance of her appointment that I could help. I do not accept low vision patients until we have talked by phone and I feel that they have sufficient vision that I can help them achieve their goals.
If you would like to talk about your low vision problem and your goals please give me a call. We can quickly determine if I will be able to help you. Call me toll free 1 866 321-2030.
The top 4 things on GW's wish list were to be able to read her Bible, read her mail, use her checkbook and use her computer. Following a thorough low vision evaluation using low vision glasses she was able to do all of these things.
GW had no prescription glasses. Her doctor had recommended that she go to the store and find a pair of readers, telling her that nothing else could be done to help. She also had a low power hand magnifier. Her distance visual acuity with the right eye was 20/240 and 20/700 with the left. When I measured the power of her eyes I found that there was a moderate amount of astigmatism in each eye. Correcting that alone did not improve her vision very much.
A 4X Clear Image microscopic lens combined with the astigmatism correction allowed GW to read a large print Bible easily. With that lens she read letters one third the size that she could with the readers.
When the astigmatism correction was used along with a 2.2X bioptic telescopic lens for distance vision GW was able to read 20/60 letters, one fourth the size that she was able to read with no lenses. She was able to see her husband's face well from about 20 feet and saw the cars and people well when she tested the bioptics outdoors.
GW has ordered the Clear Image microscopic glasses for reading, the bioptic telescopic glasses for television and to recognize faces when she is at church or shopping. In addition, she will have a lens cap for the telescopic glasses that will allow her to use her computer with them.
Although this nice lady has the three most damaging eye diseases she responded very well to low vision glasses and I expect her to enjoy them.
You might think that someone with this combination of eye diseases could not find help. The reason that I accepted her as a patient and is that I'd interviewed her by phone and was sure in advance of her appointment that I could help. I do not accept low vision patients until we have talked by phone and I feel that they have sufficient vision that I can help them achieve their goals.
If you would like to talk about your low vision problem and your goals please give me a call. We can quickly determine if I will be able to help you. Call me toll free 1 866 321-2030.
"I Finally Received My Driver's License"
Margot Templeton came to me in June of 2009. Her driver's license was about to expire and she knew that she would be unable to renew it due to her vision problem. Mrs. Templeton lost her vision completely, in the right eye, due to a central retinal vein occlusion. Her vision in the left is reduced to about 20/80 from retinal hemorrhaging. A thorough low vision evaluation proved that with the use of a 2.2X bioptic telescopic prescription she would be able to meet the Virginia DMV requirements to drive wearing the bioptic glasses.Mrs. Templeton returned to see me in September, after using the telescopic glasses for 2 months. At that time I was able to certify her to obtain a driver's license using the bioptics.
Due to some confusion at her local DMV office I needed to make a few phone calls on her behalf. This week I received a note from her announcing that she has received the license.
Mrs. Templeton wrote:
Dear Dr. Armstrong,
Finally received my driver's license yesterday.
Peggy and a young man quizzed me, while I sat in the passenger seat, about what I could see. Then Peggy asked me to drive and identify anything my vision allowed.
The end result--They were amazed at how well I could see.
Just wish to thank you for what you do--help people like me to regain a sense of freedom by being able to drive again.
Sincerely,
Margot Templeton
Many people with vision loss like Mrs. Templeton can be helped to return to driving, reading, hobbies, computer use and other visual tasks through the use of properly prescribed low vision glasses.
If you have had to give up some activities that you have enjoyed give me a call. We will talk about your vision and your goals. I'll ask you questions to determine if I can help you. I will be honest with you. If I do not think that I can help I will not schedule an appointment. Only if I feel that I can help you will I schedule an appointment for a low vision evaluation. There is no charge for the call or the telephone consultation. Call me at 1-866 321-2030.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Woman With Macular Degeneration Is Able To Return To Driving
When she came to me for a low vision evaluation Laura Stanley's goals were:
1. To be able to read letters, newspapers, medicine labels
2. Return to driving
3. See the television picture better
4. Recognize peoples faces
As a result of her low vision evaluation I was able to help Mrs. Stanley achieve all of those goals.
Mrs. Stanley suffers from macular degeneration and with her glasses was able to see only 20/120 with her better eye. Not sufficient to drive in Virginia. She hoped to be able to obtain telescopic glasses and get a Virginia driver's permit allowing her to drive with them.
Through testing her vision with various types of low vision glasses I determined that 1.7X bioptic telescopic glasses which included her eyeglass prescription allowed her to read 20/70 letters with each eye. That meets the DMV requirement to drive with bioptics. The same glasses help her recognize her friend's faces from a greater distance.
For television I prescribed wide angle telescopic glasses adjusted for the distance of her TV. A cap with a convex lens can be placed over the left telescopic lens and is used for reading.
Two months after receiving her telescopic glasses Mrs. Stanley returned to me for certification to apply for the special drivers permit. She passed that easily wearing the bioptics and was able to return to driving.
Mrs. Stanley told me, "These glasses are really worth the money. I can read and see TV better. I have used them at meetings and was able to see the person leading it better. I am looking forward to getting back to driving."
If your vision is keeping you from doing the things that you'd like to do give me a call. I'll talk it over with you and tell you on the phone if I can help you. I do not accept low vision patients unless I feel that I will be able to help them achieve their goals. Call me toll free at 1 866 321-2030.
1. To be able to read letters, newspapers, medicine labels
3. See the television picture better
4. Recognize peoples faces
As a result of her low vision evaluation I was able to help Mrs. Stanley achieve all of those goals.
Mrs. Stanley suffers from macular degeneration and with her glasses was able to see only 20/120 with her better eye. Not sufficient to drive in Virginia. She hoped to be able to obtain telescopic glasses and get a Virginia driver's permit allowing her to drive with them.
Through testing her vision with various types of low vision glasses I determined that 1.7X bioptic telescopic glasses which included her eyeglass prescription allowed her to read 20/70 letters with each eye. That meets the DMV requirement to drive with bioptics. The same glasses help her recognize her friend's faces from a greater distance.
For television I prescribed wide angle telescopic glasses adjusted for the distance of her TV. A cap with a convex lens can be placed over the left telescopic lens and is used for reading.
Two months after receiving her telescopic glasses Mrs. Stanley returned to me for certification to apply for the special drivers permit. She passed that easily wearing the bioptics and was able to return to driving.
Mrs. Stanley told me, "These glasses are really worth the money. I can read and see TV better. I have used them at meetings and was able to see the person leading it better. I am looking forward to getting back to driving."
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Macular Degeneration: A New Risk Factor
Risk factors for macular degeneration are well known: family history, age greater than 60, smoking, sun exposure. Now new research has found that in women with high dietary fat intake there is increased risk of developing macular degeneration. The attached article from MedPage Today also mentions the protective role of Omega 3. If you have any of these risk factors it is important that you change those that you can (diet, smoking, sun exposure) and use appropriate dietary supplements which your eye doctor can recommend.
Complex Picture Emerges for Fat's Impact on the Eye
By Crystal Phend, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today
Published: November 11, 2009
Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
Action Points
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Explain to interested patients that the relationship between dietary fat and age-related macular degeneration in the study could not be determined as causal and may have been influenced by other related nutrient intakes and the proportion of different types of fat consumed.
A fat-filled diet may put younger women at risk for future age-related macular degeneration, although the effect varies by type of fat, researchers found.
Women younger than 75 with the highest total fat intake (about 43% of daily calories) had 70% higher odds of intermediate age-related macular degeneration than those in the lowest quintile (21% fat calories).
The multivariate adjusted odds ratio was 1.7, (95% CI 1.02 to 2.7, P=0.10 for trend), according to Julie A. Mares, PhD, of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and colleagues.
The results in younger women, who made up the majority of the cohort, extend the "large body of evidence" for a link between macular degeneration and overall fat intake to earlier stages of the disease, they wrote in the November issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology.
"High-fat diets might be a marker for diets that are poor in many micronutrients that could protect against age-related macular degeneration," Mares' group said.
However, there were complex associations that differed by type of fat consumed and the population examined.
For example, women 75 and older actually saw a protective effect from higher total fat intake (multivariate adjusted OR 0.5 for highest versus lowest quintile, 95% CI 0.3 to 1.0, P=0.02 for trend).
This inverse association could reflect selective mortality bias, the researchers suggested: women who survived likely had healthier diets and lifestyles -- but developing age-related macular degeneration increases mortality risk.
"Thus, potentially adverse relationships between diets high in fat and age-related macular degeneration could be masked in older segments of the sample," they wrote.
Inconsistencies in the relationships between specific fats and age-related macular degeneration may also have reflected other dietary characteristics for which fat intake is a marker, the researchers noted.
The researchers analyzed dietary fat intake measured in 1,787 women participating in the Carotenoids in Age-Related Eye Disease Study (CAREDS), an ancillary of the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study.
CAREDS included only women ages 50 to 79 who had high or low intake of the antioxidant carotenoid lutein (above the 78th or below the 28th percentile), and who had been recruited from three of the 40 Women's Health Initiative study sites.
Photographic assessment for age-related macular degeneration revealed that 4% of the women had intermediate disease -- defined by extensive drusen deposits on the retina or optic nerve head as well as pigmentary abnormalities.
Advanced disease occurred in too few participants to analyze by fat intake.
Among the individual types of fat measured on food frequency questionnaires four to seven years prior to eye examination, saturated fat showed a higher risk with increasing intake among women overall (multivariate OR 1.6 for quintile five versus one, 95% CI 0.7 to 3.6), but not among older women (multivariate OR 0.9, 95% CI 0.3 to 2.6, P=0.01 for age interaction).
Monounsaturated fat, such as that found in nuts and olive oil, appeared to reduce risk with at least average intake overall, after adjustment for saturated and omega-6 fat and lutein intake (OR 0.9 to 0.5 for quintiles three to five versus the lowest quintile, P=0.12 for trend).
Polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids (most commonly from fish intake) have generally been found to reduce risk of age-related macular degeneration in prior studies (See Fish and Vitamin D Linked to Lower Risk of Macular Degeneration and Fish, Nuts Protective Against Macular Degeneration)
But in CAREDS, higher intake of this heart-healthy fat was linked to greater risk of intermediate macular degeneration (multivariate OR 1.8 for quintile five versus one, 95% CI 1.2 to 2.6, P=0.003 for trend).
Another polyunsaturated fat, omega-6 fatty acid, which comes largely from vegetable oils such as those in margarine and salad dressing, has been recommended by the American Heart Association to reduce coronary risk.
But as in some prior studies, macular degeneration risk rose with omega-6 intake (OR 2.0 for high versus low quintiles, 95% CI 1.1 to 3.5) after adjustment for age, and other fat intakes. The same was true for younger and older women alike.
Discounting the effect of omega-6 intake, which was closely linked to omega-3 intake, appeared to eliminate the apparently negative impact of higher omega-3 consumption (OR 1.0 for those above the median for omega-6 versus 2.7 for those below the omega-6 median), though it was not a significant interaction (P=0.38 for interaction).
Omega-6 may promote inflammation, "which is thought to contribute to retinal damage that may promote age-related macular degeneration," the researchers said.
The researchers cautioned that the relative proportion, not just the absolute amount, of each type of fat consumed may be important to the effect on eye health. They noted that the associations found could not be pinpointed to the fat itself, rather than other compounds in the foods in which they are commonly found.
Also, generalizability to more racially and ethnically diverse population and to men may be limited, Mares' group noted.
The study was supported by a grant from the National Eye Institute, by the National Heart Lung Institute (for support of the Women's Health Initiative), and by Research to Prevent Blindness. The researchers reported no conflicts of interest.
Complex Picture Emerges for Fat's Impact on the Eye
By Crystal Phend, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today
Published: November 11, 2009
Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
Action Points
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Explain to interested patients that the relationship between dietary fat and age-related macular degeneration in the study could not be determined as causal and may have been influenced by other related nutrient intakes and the proportion of different types of fat consumed.
A fat-filled diet may put younger women at risk for future age-related macular degeneration, although the effect varies by type of fat, researchers found.
Women younger than 75 with the highest total fat intake (about 43% of daily calories) had 70% higher odds of intermediate age-related macular degeneration than those in the lowest quintile (21% fat calories).
The multivariate adjusted odds ratio was 1.7, (95% CI 1.02 to 2.7, P=0.10 for trend), according to Julie A. Mares, PhD, of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and colleagues.
The results in younger women, who made up the majority of the cohort, extend the "large body of evidence" for a link between macular degeneration and overall fat intake to earlier stages of the disease, they wrote in the November issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology.
"High-fat diets might be a marker for diets that are poor in many micronutrients that could protect against age-related macular degeneration," Mares' group said.
However, there were complex associations that differed by type of fat consumed and the population examined.
For example, women 75 and older actually saw a protective effect from higher total fat intake (multivariate adjusted OR 0.5 for highest versus lowest quintile, 95% CI 0.3 to 1.0, P=0.02 for trend).
This inverse association could reflect selective mortality bias, the researchers suggested: women who survived likely had healthier diets and lifestyles -- but developing age-related macular degeneration increases mortality risk.
"Thus, potentially adverse relationships between diets high in fat and age-related macular degeneration could be masked in older segments of the sample," they wrote.
Inconsistencies in the relationships between specific fats and age-related macular degeneration may also have reflected other dietary characteristics for which fat intake is a marker, the researchers noted.
The researchers analyzed dietary fat intake measured in 1,787 women participating in the Carotenoids in Age-Related Eye Disease Study (CAREDS), an ancillary of the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study.
CAREDS included only women ages 50 to 79 who had high or low intake of the antioxidant carotenoid lutein (above the 78th or below the 28th percentile), and who had been recruited from three of the 40 Women's Health Initiative study sites.
Photographic assessment for age-related macular degeneration revealed that 4% of the women had intermediate disease -- defined by extensive drusen deposits on the retina or optic nerve head as well as pigmentary abnormalities.
Advanced disease occurred in too few participants to analyze by fat intake.
Among the individual types of fat measured on food frequency questionnaires four to seven years prior to eye examination, saturated fat showed a higher risk with increasing intake among women overall (multivariate OR 1.6 for quintile five versus one, 95% CI 0.7 to 3.6), but not among older women (multivariate OR 0.9, 95% CI 0.3 to 2.6, P=0.01 for age interaction).
Monounsaturated fat, such as that found in nuts and olive oil, appeared to reduce risk with at least average intake overall, after adjustment for saturated and omega-6 fat and lutein intake (OR 0.9 to 0.5 for quintiles three to five versus the lowest quintile, P=0.12 for trend).
Polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids (most commonly from fish intake) have generally been found to reduce risk of age-related macular degeneration in prior studies (See Fish and Vitamin D Linked to Lower Risk of Macular Degeneration and Fish, Nuts Protective Against Macular Degeneration)
But in CAREDS, higher intake of this heart-healthy fat was linked to greater risk of intermediate macular degeneration (multivariate OR 1.8 for quintile five versus one, 95% CI 1.2 to 2.6, P=0.003 for trend).
Another polyunsaturated fat, omega-6 fatty acid, which comes largely from vegetable oils such as those in margarine and salad dressing, has been recommended by the American Heart Association to reduce coronary risk.
But as in some prior studies, macular degeneration risk rose with omega-6 intake (OR 2.0 for high versus low quintiles, 95% CI 1.1 to 3.5) after adjustment for age, and other fat intakes. The same was true for younger and older women alike.
Discounting the effect of omega-6 intake, which was closely linked to omega-3 intake, appeared to eliminate the apparently negative impact of higher omega-3 consumption (OR 1.0 for those above the median for omega-6 versus 2.7 for those below the omega-6 median), though it was not a significant interaction (P=0.38 for interaction).
Omega-6 may promote inflammation, "which is thought to contribute to retinal damage that may promote age-related macular degeneration," the researchers said.
The researchers cautioned that the relative proportion, not just the absolute amount, of each type of fat consumed may be important to the effect on eye health. They noted that the associations found could not be pinpointed to the fat itself, rather than other compounds in the foods in which they are commonly found.
Also, generalizability to more racially and ethnically diverse population and to men may be limited, Mares' group noted.
The study was supported by a grant from the National Eye Institute, by the National Heart Lung Institute (for support of the Women's Health Initiative), and by Research to Prevent Blindness. The researchers reported no conflicts of interest.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
