AMD - Age-related Macular Degeneration and Memory Loss

AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION AND MEMORY LOSS

by BlogUncategorized

February is national Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) awareness month. While there is no cure for Macular Degeneration early detection is key to slowing down vision loss and keeping your sight. Studies have also shown that AMD can have an effect on cognitive functioning. For those that are visually impaired memory is one of the most important things.

Macular degeneration is one of the leading causes of vision loss. It is caused by the deterioration of the central portion of the retina. The central portion of the retina, known as the macula, is responsible for focusing vision for the eye, allowing us to read, recognize faces or colors, drive and do many day-to-day activities.
While there is no cure for this disease there are treatments to help slow it down. It is important to maintain yearly eye exams for early detection. This disease like so many is very difficult to notice until you have already lost a large portion of your vision.

Lifestyle changes can help lower your risk of developing AMD. Some lifestyle changes might include proper exercise and diet, avoiding smoking, and protecting your eyes from the UV rays of the sun. People that run a higher risk of developing AMD are people who have a family history, race, Caucasians are more likely to develop the disease than African American or Hispanic heritage, and smokers.

There are three stages of AMD:

  1. Early AMD: At this stage, most people do not experience vision loss. The presence of medium-sized drusen (yellow deposits beneath the retina), is usually an early sign your eye doctor looks for.
  2. Intermediate AMD: This is where vision loss may start to be noticed, however it may not be enough to be noticeable. Specific tests will look for pigment changes in the retina and larger drusen deposits.
  3. Late AMD: At this stage vision loss has become noticeable.

Additional factors that may increase your risk are:

  • Smoking. Research shows that smoking doubles the risk of developing AMD.
  • Family history. If your family history includes AMD you are at a higher risk.
  • Ethnicity. AMD is more common in Caucasians than other races.

You have the power to take control of your health. These are some things you can do to help prevent AMD:

  • Exercise Regularly
  • Eat a healthy diet rich in leafy veggies and fish
  • Avoid smoking
  • Maintain proper vitals such as blood pressure and cholesterol.

AMD is best detected by maintaining routine eye exams. Be sure to tell your eye doctor if anyone in your family has or had Macular Degeneration. Often people question why dilation is part of a regular exam. This allows us to look into the back of your eyes for any changes that may be occurring.

While there is no cure for this disease things such as changing your diet and adding proper exercise can help to slow down the loss of vision. You have the power to choose. Take control and choose a healthier lifestyle. Your eyes will thank you for it.

About Bissell Eye Care: John D. Bissell, OD owns and operates Bissell Eye Care servicing Northern Pittsburgh and Alle-Kiski Valley regions. With two locations to treat patients, we offer evening and Saturday appointments. Bissell Eye Care provides comprehensive eye examinations for the entire family beginning as early as 6 months, ocular disease detection and treatment, eyeglasses, sunglasses, activewear, contact lenses, and low vision examinations for those with significant vision loss. We accept most types of vision and health insurance plans. For more information, visit bisselleyecare.com or call our Bakerstown Office at 724-443-6767 or Natrona Heights office at 724-226-0444.

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

by ArticlesBlog
new years resolutions

January is Glaucoma Awareness Month. By educating people of what this disease is, how it can negatively affect your everyday way of life, and how early detection is key to slowing or even stopping the progression, we can help to reduce the number of people who will lose their vision from it.

There are over 3 million people in the United States alone who have Glaucoma with roughly 50% unaware that they have the disease. It is the leading cause of preventable blindness, without early detection any damage done is permanent, and cannot be reversed.

At this point you may be asking yourself, what does this disease do? Or what are the signs so I can help to better protect myself? Glaucoma is a group of diseases that damage the optic nerve. This nerve is like the cable that runs from your digital cable or satellite box to your TV. It takes what the eye is seeing and gives that information to the brain effectively allowing you to see.

Glaucoma is often referred to as “the sneak thief of sight”. There is no pain associated with the disease. Because people are not experiencing any symptoms, the disease will slowly degrade your vision. As this happens, your vision is degraded and the optic nerve is permanently damaged. A person can often experience as much as a 40% vision loss before they even begin to notice that their vision is degrading.

Those that are highest risk for developing Glaucoma are individuals over the age of 60, people who are severely nearsighted, and those who have family members that have already been diagnosed. If you are diagnosed with Glaucoma, it is important for your family to know, as it increases their risk of developing the disease. Also, people of African, Asian, and Hispanic descent are at a higher risk than those of Caucasian descent.

Early detection is essential for this disease. I’m sure that by now, you have picked up on our urges to maintain annual eye exams in our past blogs, and this disease is one of the reasons why. By detecting this disease early you can take steps can slow or even stop the progression of vision loss. Having an annual eye exam is one New Year’s Resolution you’ll want to keep.

About the author: John D. Bissell, owner of Bissell Eye Care and Tri-State Low Vision Services, offers comprehensive eye examinations for the entire family, ocular disease detection and treatment, eye glasses, sun glasses, active wear, contact lenses, and low vision examinations for those with significant vision loss. He has undergone specialized training for treatment of low vision by the International Academy of Low Vision Specialists utilizing customized telescopic eyeglasses, prisms and telescopic implants for patients who qualify. The practice accepts most types of vision and health insurance plans.

DIABETES AWARENESS MONTH!

by ArticlesBlog
Diabetes monitor, Cholesterol diet and healthy food eating nutritional concept with clean fruits in nutritionist’s heart dish and patient’s blood sugar control record with diabetic measuring tool kit

Do you or someone that you love suffer from diabetes? With November being National Diabetes Awareness Month, we want to take the time to not only bring awareness to the effects diabetes can have on your eyes, but also on the effects the disease can have on your overall health.

While Type I Diabetes is usually discovered at a young age, and requires insulin injections to maintain the body’s proper blood sugar levels, Type 2 Diabetes (which is usually controlled with diet, exercise and oral medication) can eventually lead to insulin injection dependency. The key to help avoid diabetes is proper exercise, diet and weight management.

Diabetes can have negative effects on all parts of the body. It can cause problems with the circulatory system, central nervous system, cardio vascular system and vision.

How diabetes effects the eye, is caused by swollen blood vessels which can damage your vision and over time can lead to blindness. Some of the symptoms of eye damage conditions include, floaters or spots in your field of vision. People with diabetes are also more likely to develop cataracts at a much earlier age and are also more likely to develop glaucoma. Many of the symptoms may be very mild at first, which is why we stress the importance of regular eye exams for diabetics in particular, to provide early detection of treatable eye problems

There are several ways to help reduce the probability of developing diabetes. Nearly 80% of people who are diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes are considered over weight. It is easy to say that weight loss is the first way to help reduce your chances of developing this disease. While many people may be overwhelmed at losing 40 to 50 pounds, take small steps. Simply losing 10 pounds can have a positive effect on your body.

By losing the extra weight, it allows your body to function more normally and reduces the stresses that the extra weight puts on your body. Exercise also helps the body to function normally by helping the body to burn off excess sugar. This reduces the strain on your body and the amount of insulin needed to help convert the sugar into energy.

By watching your diet, monitoring your weight and exercising regularly, you can help to reduce your chance of developing diabetes. Small changes in your life from what you eat to whether you take the stairs or the elevator are simple changes that you can make today to help you to live healthier and happier!

About the author: John D. Bissell, owner of Bissell Eye Care and Tri-State Low Vision Services, offers comprehensive eye examinations for the entire family, ocular disease detection and treatment, eye glasses, sun glasses, active wear, contact lenses, and low vision examinations for those with significant vision loss. He has undergone specialized training for treatment of low vision by the International Academy of Low Vision Specialists utilizing customized telescopic eyeglasses, prisms and telescopic implants for patients who qualify. The practice accepts most types of vision and health insurance plans.

BIONIC EYE BRINGS SIGHT

by ArticlesBlog

Prostheses come in many forms; limbs, cochlear implants, dental implants and now the bionic eye is making its mark and a difference.

A visual prosthesis, often referred to as a bionic eye, is an experimental visual device intended to restore functional vision in those suffering from partial or total blindness. In 1983, Joao Lobo Antunes, a Portuguese doctor, implanted a bionic eye in a person born blind. Many devices have been developed, usually modeled on the cochlear implant or bionic ear devices, a type of neural prosthesis in use since the mid-1980s. The idea of using electrical current (e.g., electrically stimulating the retina or the visual cortex).

The entire system runs on a battery pack that is housed with the video processing unit. When the camera captures an image — of, say, a tree — the image is in the form of light and dark pixels. It sends this image to the video processor, which converts the tree-shaped pattern of pixels into a series of electrical pulses that represent “light” and “dark.” The processor sends these pulses to a radio transmitter on the glasses, which then transmits the pulses in radio form to a receiver implanted underneath the subject’s skin. The receiver is directly connected via a wire to the electrode array implanted at the back of the eye, and it sends the pulses down the wire.

The electrical signals generated by the stimulated electrodes then travel as neural signals to the visual center of the brain by way of the normal pathways used by healthy eyes — the optic nerves. In macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa, the optical neural pathways are not damaged. The brain, in turn, interprets these signals as a tree and tells the subject, “You’re seeing a tree.”

Just as muscles need retraining following an accident or surgery; it takes some training for patients to actually see a tree. At first, they see mostly light and dark spots. But, they learn to interpret what the brain is showing them, and they eventually perceive that pattern of light and dark as a tree.

There have been two versions of the system created, each version containing substantially more electrodes to enable patients to perceive shapes and detect movement.  Researchers are already planning a third version that has a thousand electrodes on the retinal implant, which they believe could allow for facial-recognition capabilities.   Until then, we believe patients prefer seeing outlines and shapes, right now than nothing at all.

Click here to view a video on how a bionic eye helped a man with impaired vision.  The article is provided by Gillian Mohney with ABC NEWS: “Bionic Eye Helps Man See After Decade of Impaired Vision” 

About the author: John D. Bissell, owner of Bissell Eye Care and Tri-State Low Vision Services, offers comprehensive eye examinations for the entire family, ocular disease detection and treatment, eye glasses, sun glasses, active wear, contact lenses, and low vision examinations for those with significant vision loss. He has undergone specialized training for treatment of low vision by the International Academy of Low Vision Specialists utilizing customized telescopic eyeglasses, prisms and telescopic implants for patients who qualify. The practice accepts most types of vision and health insurance plans.