The earliest sign of autism is in the eyes, study says

MSN: Scientists think they've found the earliest sign of a child developing autism. Using sensitive eye-tracking software, they measured the eye movements of 110 children starting when they were 2 months old and ending at 2 years old. At around 2 months of age, children who didn't develop autism started looking at people's eyes more. Those who did started looking at people's mouths or at objects instead. Researchers are hopeful that with earlier detection, they can develop more effective therapy. They do warn people though, that the study still needs work. They're examining more children, and they specify that only their eye-tracking technology can detect the difference. It's perfectly fine for children to not look parents in the eye all the time. — By Nick Mangione [Source]

DR. Hibberd on Combat Macular Degeneration

Combat Macular Degeneration

Question: My vision seems to be changing. I am losing the ability to see fine details and I am afraid I have macular degeneration. Can this be treated?

Dr. Hibberd’s Answer:

Macular degeneration (MD) is an age-related disorder that damages the central area of the retina called the macula, which provides fine detail vision and allows us to see crisp sharp imaging. We need this function to read and drive.

Macular degeneration is caused by damage to the areas around blood vessels of the retina that supply the macula. The disorder is seen with increasing incidence as we age, especially after the age of 60, but may be seen beginning as early as 40 years of age.

Macular degeneration is very hard to notice in its early stages without a professional eye examination. It can be quite disabling if permitted to advance unchecked.

Treatment depends on which type of MD you have — "wet" or "dry." Almost all people with MD start with the dry form of it. This type of MD distorts your central field of vision and usually spares peripheral vision. Yellow deposits appear under the macula when the blood vessels there become brittle and thin. You may see well enough to walk, but as the dry MD advances you will experience progressive loss of fine detail and colors will seem more faded.

Treatment of dry MD consists of combinations of vitamins, antioxidants, and zinc that are believed to retard its progression. The most highly recommended supplements contain: vitamin C (500 mg); vitamin E (400 IU); beta-carotene (15 mg) usually labeled as equivalent to 25,000 IU vitamin A; zinc labeled as zinc oxide (80 mg); copper labeled as cupric oxide (2 mg). These levels are difficult to achieve with diet alone and are recommended for those with MD beyond the early stage. No benefit from taking these combinations was seen in people with early-stage, age-related MD.

Wet MD occurs in only 10 percent of MD cases. Brittle blood vessels break and bleed, and new fragile blood vessels grow, creating a condition called neovascularization. The leaking, bleeding vessels cause macular damage and progressive, irreversible vision loss. Lines will appear wavy and distorted, and there may be an enlarging, nonreversible dark spot in your vision.

I encourage you to seek professional advice about remarkable new treatments that exist. They include revolutionary new medications that aim to slow new blood vessel formation and help preserve vision, as well as selected laser surgery to destroy abnormal blood vessel growth and photodynamic therapy that activates an injected drug to destroy leaking blood vessels.

No definitive prevention strategy for MD exists, but these recommendations may help you avoid it:

• Stop smoking. Smokers have an increased incidence of MD.

• Eat lots of fruits and green leafy vegetables, which contain antioxidants. Antioxidants reduce the risk of developing dry MD.

• Eat fish three times a week. Omega-3 fatty acids may reduce the formation of dry MD. Fish is optimal, though other foods such as nuts also contain omega-3. Remember the balance of omega-3 to omega-6 is important, as is the source of your omega-3.

• Maintain your weight to help combat MD and other diseases that affect vasculature (diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, cardiovascular disease).

• Seek regular professional eye examinations or a slit lamp evaluation of your retina. A slit lamp is binocular microscope that gives the examiner a three-dimensional view of the eye.

Find more reliable information at the National Eye Institute's website.

Source: 2010 Newsmax  -  Wednesday, December 15, 2010 10:09 AM

Study: Adult stem cells successful in restoring sight

Posted on Jul 6, 2010 | by Tom Strode

WASHINGTON (BP)--Adult stem cells have restored sight to more than three-fourths of patients blinded by chemical burns to their eyes, according to a new research study.

The results, reported at the International Society for Stem Cell Research meeting in San Francisco, showed success in 77 percent of people in the study after one or two procedures, according to Bloomberg News. It showed partial success in 13 percent of the cases and failure in 10 percent.

Italian researchers tracked participants in the study for an average of three years, some for as many as 10 years.

The procedure involved taking healthy stem cells from a patient's eye and, after growing them, layering the tissue onto the injured eyes, Bloomberg reported. The stem cells were taken from the limbus, which is at the intersection of the cornea and the sclera, the white portion of the eye. The cells produced a healthy cornea in the successful cases, resulting in an eye that is normal in color and appearance.

"The patients, they are happy, even the partial successes," said lead researcher Graziella Pellegrini of the University of Modena's Center for Regenerative Medicine, according to Bloomberg. "We have a couple of patients who were blind in both eyes. Can you imagine for these patients the change in their quality of life?"

The study involved treatment of 112 people.

The method may assist in other therapies, a researcher said.
"This is bigger than just the surface of the eye," said Ivan Schwab, a stem cell researcher at the University of California-Davis, according to Bloomberg. Schwab said it may work on regenerating "livers or other organs."

The study is another success for adult, or non-embryonic, stem cells, which have produced therapies in trials for at least 73 ailments in human beings, according to Do No Harm, a coalition promoting ethics in research. Embryonic stem cell research, which results from the destruction of human embryos, has yet to generate successful treatments in human beings.
--30--

Tom Strode is Washington bureau chief of Baptist Press.

Posted: WallBuilders - Cross-Posted: True Health Is True Wealth

Beginning at 6.22 mins in the GB American Revival Below (Part 3) and into the beginning of Part 4, Glenn Beck talks about having been diagnosed with Macular Dystrophy… and that he could go blind.

EYE CHART... For Old Men..

Sorry!! I Couldn’t Help Myself… and for those of you senior dudes scrambling for the zoom-in function on your computer, let me end with on of my favorite phrases… “No Fool Like An Old Fool!!!”

I’m looking for a Scott Brown Eye Chart for us ole Gals… ;-)

The Essentials You Need To Keep Yours Eyes Healthy

• Lutein and Zeaxanthin are used by your body to produce the macular pigment that absorbs UV rays before they can damage your retina
• Bilberry promotes the strength and elasticity of microcapillaries in the eyes and optic nerve, and supports the millions of nerve cells and blood vessels in the retina
• Vitamin C protects the eye from sunlight-induced diminutions of photoreceptor cells, rod deterioration, and loss of rhodopsin
• Vitamin A helps maintain a crystal-clear cornea and prevent clouding over, and also helps improve night vision
• Vitamin E and Selenium flush out toxic heavy metals like cadmium from eye tissue--levels of which have been found to be higher in the lenses of cataract patients
• Taurine is vitally needed in the retina where it blocks UV rays and helps protect the lens
• Riboflavin is part of the enzyme system that maintains the lens' supply of glutathione -- a major free radical fighter in the eye
• Zinc -- so essential to a normally functioning retina that deficiencies of it can lead to vision loss and inability to see clearly at night.
• Copper attacks free radicals and protects optic nerve fiber by maintaining myelin, the insulating sheath that surrounds nerve cell

It's never too late to begin protecting your eyes against the ravages of free radicals.

Source: HSI

Posted: True Health Is True Wealth