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THE MAGNIFIER Issue #39, January 26, 2006
Newsletter from the Macular Degeneration Foundation, Inc.
P.O. Box 531313 Henderson, NV 89053
http://www.eyesight.org
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PART TWO: "I AM YOUR EYE"
from Your Body And How It Works by J.D.Ratcliff
In our December, 2005 Issue, we started a two-part series, "I AM YOUR EYE". This is the second part of that
article. Learning how your eye/eyes work is important in helping to understand common problems with your eyesight and how various treatments or therapies might help. Using the "first person" to describe the function
of your eye, this text has been taken from Your Body And How It Works , by J.D. Ratcliff. If you are missing the first part of this article, please call 1-888-633-3937 and we will send you the December, 2005 issue.
I
AM YOUR EYE: When you were young, you used to read in dim light. Your mother may have warned you that you were "ruining" your eyes. Nonsense. The young see better in dim light than adults.
I
have a number of other unusual attributes. Tiny though they are, my muscles, milligram for milligram, are among the body's strongest. In an average day, I move about 100,000 times to bring objects into sharp
focus. You would have to walk 50 miles to give your leg muscles similar exercise.
My cleaning equipment is similarly striking. My lacrimal glands produce a steady stream of moisture (tears) to flush away dust and
other foreign material. My eyelids, of course, act as windshield wipers.
You blink three to six times a minute and even more when I am tired. This keeps my cornea moist and clean. The tears also contain a
potent microbe-killer called lysozyme, which guards me from infective bacteria.
I try to ward off fatigue by resting as much as possible. I get time off when you blink because my partner and I relieve each other:
For a while I may carry 90% of the work load, while my partner loafs; then it goes to work and I rest.
Nature gave me superb protection, placing me in a bony cavern with protruding cheekbones and forehead to act as shock
absorbers for direct blows. She also gave me supersensitive nerves to activate the alarm if there should be a potentially damaging intruder such as a cinder.
Still, I do have my troubles. My focusing apparatus
often fails to work perfectly. Eyeglasses can correct 95%of this trouble. Disease is a more serious problem. One potential disorder is really a plumbing problem - either too much fluid entering me or too little fluid
draining away. Pressure builds up, reducing the blood supply to my optic nerve. This is glaucoma.
In severe instances, glaucoma can cause permanent blindness in a few days. More often it is a leisurely performer,
producing symptoms so mild they are apt to go unnoticed. These symptoms: colored halos around bright lights, loss of side vision, difficulty in adjusting to the dark, a blurring of vision. When you are over 50,
you have one chance in 40 of glaucoma damaging your sight or blinding you completely. Your doctor can check for glaucoma simply by pressing a little gadget called a *tonometer against my eyeball. This is a test that
should be done yearly. What is the treatment for glaucoma? Drugs in drop form, or surgery. *(More common now is the "puff" test which is all computerized. The patient sits in a chair with his/her
chin in a "cup" and the patient's head to a bar. Then a puff of air is "shot" into the eye).
Astigmatism is another of my common ailments. In this one, my cornea is not a spherical surface and
distorts vision like a bubble flaw in a piece of glass. Eyeglasses correct this condition. A detached retina is more serious. It occurs when my retinal wallpaper blisters or peels, and usually announces itself
with flashing lights, image distortion, blurring spots. Usually a surgeon can successfully "tack" my wallpaper back in place.
Both my cornea and my lens (normally totally transparent tissue) can cloud and
lead to blindness. If it's the cornea, you can regain sight with a corneal transplant. If it's the lens, you will need a cataract operation.
After the age of 55, I start to age like your other organs. The
transparency of my lens is lower (cataracts), accommodation muscles are weaker, (presbyopia) and hardened arteries are diminishing blood supply to my retina (macular degeneration). These processes will continue. However, the
odds are in favor of my providing him with serviceable vision as long as he lives.
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MultiCell tackles vision degeneration in Columbia UNIVERSITY DEAL From The "Journal of
New England Technology" 12/01/2005
MultiCell Technologies Inc. has entered into a research agreement to fund the investigation of a novel anti-apoptosis compound at Columbia University Medical Center.
The project is designed to determine whether the compound can protect against retinal ganglion cell (RGC) death in acute and chronic in vivo models of optic neuropathy. The underlying mechanisms of RGC death are not
fully understood, though RGC apoptosis has been heavily implicated in many neurodegenerative diseases of the eye. James C. Tsai, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, at Columbia University College of Physician & Surgeons, will
direct the research program
Macular degeneration, a common ocular neurodegenerative disease that causes deterioration of the macula, is a primary focus of the research effort between MultiCell and Columbia. Sharp,
clear, 'straight ahead' vision is processed by the macula, which is located in the central part of the retina.
Comments from Liz regarding the above article: Apoptosis is pronounced APE-oh-TOE sis and is the name for
cellular death. For every cell, there is a time to live and a time to die. Retinal Ganglion Cells calculate color. The purpose of the ganglion cells is not fully known, but they are involved in color vision.
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OPTOTABS! BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND
Due to daily phone calls and emails, the Optotabs eye supplement will be available for shipment after February 21st. Please call
800-924-4393 to reserve your order. You can also order on line at optogon.com. These are available in 12-month supplies.
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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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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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