An Australian study published this month in Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, shows that people with vision loss attributed to cataracts who have had cataract surgery live longer than those with cataract-related vision loss who forgo the procedure. Those who had cataract surgery were found to have a 40 percent lower long-term mortality risk.
From 1992 to 2007, the study followed 354 individuals aged 49 years and older who had been diagnosed with vision impairment due to cataracts. Adjustments were made for a number of mortality risk factors including age, gender, diabetes, smoking, body mass index, hypertension, measures of frailty, and comorbid disease.
Corroborating previous research indicating that individuals with visual impairment were likely to have a greater mortality risk than their peers with normal vision, this study continues to suggest that healthy vision results in general good health.
The correlation between visual impairment correction and reduced mortality is not completely clear, but possible factors include improved physical and emotional well-being, greater optimism and confidence, and ability to comply with prescription medications.
Ophthalmologist Thomas Henderson, M.D., explained, “My experience matches the results of this study. Even with Alzheimer’s, the patients who get their cataracts removed do better because of increased contact with the world. Thirty years ago, I had a patient who was bilaterally blind from cataract. She was on psychiatric medication because she thought people were stealing from her and others thought she was just paranoid. I did cataract surgery giving her normal vision in both eyes. She stopped her medication because she was better oriented to the world, and the stealing stopped because she could see.”
A cataract is a clouding of the lens in the eye that affects vision. Most cataracts are related to aging and by age 80, more than half of all Americans either have a cataract or have had cataract surgery. To determine if you have cataracts, contact your ophthalmologist and schedule a comprehensive dilated eye exam.
Researchers in Japan began recruiting patients on August 1 for a pilot study to determine the possibility of using induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) therapy to treat wet-type age-related macular degeneration.
Age-related macular degeneration is a common eye condition for individuals age 50 and older. There are two forms of the disease, dry and wet. The wet form is more severe and is defined by damage to the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), cells located in the back of the eye.
“Macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss in older adults. Currently, there is no way to cure the disease, only slow its progression,” explained ophthalmologist Clayton Falknor, M.D.
In this study, the damaged RPE is removed and researchers then transplant the iSPC-derived RPE cell sheets into the affected area of the eye. Replacing the RPE cells may repair past damage to the patient’s eye, but the issue is finding and using RPE cells that the patient’s immune system does not reject.
Ophthalmologist Thomas Henderson, M.D. said, “If this works as hoped without significant negative side effects, it will revolutionize the therapy of wet macular degeneration.”
If your family has a history of macular degeneration or you believe may have macular degeneration, contact your eye doctor and schedule a comprehensive eye exam. Although research continues in macular degeneration, the current treatment is still slowing the disease and the sooner it can be detected, the bigger impact treatment can have. SOURCES:
http://www.asianscientist.com/health-medicine/stem-cell-therapy-eye-disease-riken-japan-2013/
http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/maculardegen/armd_facts.asp#1
