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THE MAGNIFIER Issue #25, October 4, 2004
Newsletter from the Macular Degeneration Foundation, Inc.
P.O. Box 531313 Henderson, NV 89053
http://www.eyesight.org
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YOUR HEALTH TRIANGLE
Glencoe Health
"A direct relationship exists among physical, mental, and social health. For example, your physical health is changed by your level of mental health, just as your mental health is affected by your
level of social health. Have you ever been very tired or hungry? How did that feeling affect the way you acted toward others? Consider your total health in terms of an equilateral triangle. To achieve and
maintain a high level of health, you must develop all three sides - physical, mental, and social. The sides do not develop at the same rate. However, it is easy to see how your health triangle can become unbalanced if
you do not work to develop any one of the sides."
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"I LOVE TO DANCE! NOTHING WILL STOP ME!
Lucille Nolte is an excellent example of how the health
triangle works. A widow, Lucille was also a MD victim for many years. Living with the fear of "going blind" Lucille limited her social, mental, and physical well-being. THEN she decided to combine
physical activity and social activity by going to the Senior Citizen dances in her community. As her "health triangle" became balanced she found she was enjoying life once again. After a few months she met a
wonderful man who shared her love of life and dancing. They have been married over a year and dance at least three times a week. Lucille has been using microcurrent stimulation for over a year and her condition has not
only stabilized, but has improved! Good luck, Lucille, and may your story be an inspiration to many others.
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DON'T TELL ME "I CAN'T"!
We get many
phone calls every day from people who are discouraged because of their diagnoses of Macular Degeneration. Many of these victims feel that they "can't" participate in many social activities. Of course there are
some limitations, however, there are many activities a MD patient can be involved in through the many services in his/her community. So don't say "I Can't"!
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ANTI-REFLECTIVE LENSES REDUCE GLARE
www.wytv.com/news/features/1/1001551.html
"If you wear eyeglasses, do you see through them clearly or do you have trouble with glare and reflections?
Laboratories have been
able to put an anti-reflective coating on eyeglasses for some time but improvements in just the past year have made the coatings better, thinner, and longer lasting.
Making your eyeglasses anti-reflective costs about $40.00,
but customers say the price is worth it. Optometrists also say anti-reflective lenses can boost vision for patients with macular degeneration and cataracts, especially when they need it at night."
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LATINOS EXPERIENCE HIGH RATE OF EYE DISEASE
"Latinos have high prevalence rates of visual impairment and blindness, and those who are older, unemployed, divorced or
widowed, or have diabetes are more likely to be visually impaired. This is the conclusion of a multi-part study appearing in the June through August issues of Ophthalmology, the clinical journal of the American Academy of
Ophthalmology, the eye M.D., Association.
Some of the major finding are:
The prevalence of open-angle glaucoma is comparable to that of African-americans: more than 75% of Latinos with open-angle glaucoma were
unaware of their disease.
Almost one of every two Latinos with diabetes has diabetic retinopathy. The longer they have had diabetes, the higher the prevalence of retinopathy.
Latinos have high prevalence rates
of early stage macular degeneration, but not of advanced stage macular degeneration.
One in five Latinos has cataracts. Fifty percent of those with more than one type of cataract are visually impaired.
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NONPROFIT TRUST PROVIDES HEALTH-CARE SERVICES
A deluxe magnifier can cost close to $3000 - out of reach for many people with vision problems, especially ones linked to seniors
on a fixed income with macular degeneration. That's where places such as the Sorenson Adaptive Technology Center in Simsbury, Conn., can help. The center, affiliated with McLean, a nonprofit trust that provides a
variety of health-care services to seniors, lends a small number of electronic magnifiers to people with low vision. Sorenson offers other free services, including having volunteers record oral histories of elderly people and
lending video cameras so families can record milestones and celebrations with an aging loved one.
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Stem Cells May Open Some Eyes
By Kristen Philipkoski
Scientists have derived retinal cells from embryonic stem cells for the first time, in a breakthrough that could lead to the first therapeutic use of the controversial cells.
If animal studies go well, the researchers said
they could begin testing the replacement cells in human eyes in as little as two years.
The researchers, who are from Advanced Cell Technology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine and the University of Chicago, said
that while previous studies in retina replacement cells have shown promise only to ward off future vision deterioration, retinal cells derived from embryonic stem cells could actually give vision to those who are already blind.
"These cells actually make the cones and rods," said Robert Lanza, chief scientific officer at Advanced Cell Technology and lead author of the paper. "We're in a position to not only maintain vision so you don't
get further loss, but these cells appear to want to form entire eyeballs."
The cells could help treat people with macular degeneration, which affects more than 30 million people worldwide. The disease gradually causes
complete loss of sight and is the leading cause of blindness in people older than 60 in the United States. The cells could also help people with retinitis pigmentosa, which afflicts about 75,000 people in the United States.
"This ... takes us nearer to being able to treat forms of blindness that affect thousands of people every year for which, at present, there is no effective treatment," said Ian Wilmut, editor in chief of Cloning and Stem
Cells and head of gene expression and development at the Roslin Institute, in a statement.
The study, which was published in the Nov. 3 issue of Cloning and Stem Cells (.pdf), demonstrates the potential of embryonic stem
cell technology, the researchers said.
Embryonic stem cells are primordial cells that differentiate to become every cell in every organ of the body, and researchers believe they can harness that power to create therapies for
disease. President Bush has limited federal funding of stem cell research in the United States because the embryo is destroyed when scientists derive stem cells -- at the point when the embryo is a ball of about 100 cells
approximately the size of the period at the end of this sentence. In 2001, Bush declared that no federal funds could be spent on embryonic stem cell lines developed after that date. Presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry
(D-Massachusetts) has said he will reverse Bush's policy if he wins the election in November.
While the recent results are a boost for the entire field, the researchers did have a leg up when trying to develop retinal cells,
which are a type of neuron.
"Embryonic stem cells like to do what they want to do, and one of the things they like to do is make neurons," Lanza said. "They tend to be much easier to derive."
The
challenge to scientists is to guide embryonic stem cells to differentiate into the specific types of cells the scientists want. It will be more difficult for researchers to coax stem cells to become more complicated cell types,
like those that produce insulin, since those cells would need to precisely calibrate glucose levels in the blood.
Previous research has shown limited success in transplanting retinal cells derived from fetal or adult stem
cells. Lanza and his colleagues are confident that their embryo-derived cells will work even better because the cells are even more similar to natural retinal cells than those that were tested previously.
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CONTACTING MDF
To speak to a support representative directly, you may call 1-888-633-3937. If you reach our voice mail, please speak slowly and distinctly.
ORDERING BOOKS & TAPES
When purchasing items from Amazon.com, please remember to use the MDF search box located at http://www.eyesight.org/Books/books.html . By simply originating your search from our website, Amazon
rewards the Foundation with a small commission from each product you order. Thank you.
MAKING CONTRIBUTIONS:
Please make checks payable to Macular Degeneration Foundation, Inc., P.O. Box 531313, Henderson, Nevada
89053, or you may use your credit card on our web site http://www.eyesight.org/Donations/donations.html . Your contributions make our services available as a support system for macular degeneration patients in the following
ways:
1. We provide toll-free lines for personal contact assistance.
2. We mail brochures and other printed materials upon request.
3. We support an award-winning web site that provides the latest up-to-date information.
4. We fund research proposal grants to provide therapies for both the wet and dry form of AMD. Contributions marked
"research" are used 100% for research.
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PRODUCTS FOR LOW VISION
To order the eye supplement that is endorsed by the Macular Degeneration Foundation, OPTOTABS, visit
http://www.optogon.com. This site also provides low-vision products that have given many victims of vision loss the ability to read important documents. Call this toll-free number for more information
800-924-4393. A percent of the proceeds from the sale of these items is invested into Macular Degeneration Research.
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MDF was founded in 1992 by Edmund J. Aleksandrovich Ph.D
(a victim of macular degeneration). It provides MD patients and their families with the information necessary to understand the disease, the latest news concerning ways to cope with the disease, and supports the efforts of
researchers to find a cure.
Subscribers who wish to cancel their subscription or change their email address may visit: http://www.eyesight.org/Newsletter/newsletter.html .
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