What's Inside
- Incidents of blindness drop dramatically in India
- Eating seeds is not the number one cause of blindness
- Gene therapy can restore night vision after years of congenital blindness
- And, about a dozen more stories about the science and prevention of blindness
Editorial By Chris Hofstader
This was about our third consecutive week with relatively few articles about the science and prevention of blindness. It has a number of really good articles and one that discusses the bad science that happens around blindness that tells us that eating seeds does not actually cause blindness.
Please, do not take medical advice from the articles you read in this digest. Never take any sort of medical advice from a web site without first discussing it with your eye doctor. Sometimes, these bogus cures can even cause blindness but, in most cases, the pseudo-scientific cures do nothing at all but cost you a lot of money for something that may give you some false hope for a while and, take it from me, false hope is more painful than no hope at all.
Science and Medicine
Eye disease risk 'reduces with common drugs for other conditions' – study
Taking drugs to control diabetes and lower cholesterol may reduce a person’s risk of developing a common eye disease, a new study suggests. This story comes to us from: Yahoo News UK.
Ophthalmologists see treatment for vision loss in diabetic retinopathy as major challenge
Though the symptoms might start as a mild disease, but the diabetic retinopathy can cause severe visual impairment and, in some cases, blindness. This story comes to us from: Pharmabiz.
Mosman Sydney Behavioural Optometrist Informs On Serious Eye Issues
Common types of visual impairment include; a loss of Central Vision, Blurred Vision, Generalised Haze, Extreme Light Sensitivity, and Night Blindness. This story comes to us from: Digital Journal.
Cases of blindness and visual impairment decline dramatically across India
There is some good news. Blindness and visual impairment (VI) in India reduced by 47.1% and 51.9%, respectively, in 2019, in overall population as compared to WHO’s figures of 2010.
However, India is yet to achieve WHO's goal of reducing blindness to 0.3% of the total population. This story comes to us from: Times of India.
The prevalence of vision impairment and blindness among older adults in India: findings from the Longitudinal Ageing Study
Vision impairment and blindness are strongly associated with aging and late-life disability. While home to about 17% of the world’s population, an estimated 25% of visually impaired people globally live in India. This story comes to us from: Nature.
Eye disease therapies being developed after Breye Therapeutics' €4M seed financing
Breye Therapeutics ApS a biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for retinal vascular diseases today (November 10) has closed a seed financing of €4 million led by Novo Holdings and Sound Bioventures. Diabetic retinopathy (DR) affects approximately 30% of all patients with diabetes and is the leading cause of blindness among working-age adults. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) affects approximately 25% of people older than 60 years of age and is the leading cause of blindness within the elderly population. Breye has two relevant oral therapies to address both DR and AMD. This story comes to us from: Labiotech.eu.
Fact Check: Eating Seed Oils Is NOT The '#1 Cause Of Blindness
Is the consumption of seed oils the leading cause of blindness in the world? No, that's not true: The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) told Lead Stories that eating seed oils does not cause blindness, and there are no definitively proven adverse eye effects related to the consumption of seed oils or linoleic acid. The claim appeared in a TikTok video on November 6, 2022 (archived here). The caption read: Seed oils are the #1 cause of blindness in the world today! This story comes to us from: Lead Stories.
Gene Therapy Can Restore Night Vision After Decades of Congenital Blindness
Each patient had significant gains in rod-type photoreceptor cell-mediated visual functions in the treated eye within days after treatment. This story comes to us from: SciTechDaily.
Patients from underserved areas are more likely to have glaucoma related blindness
Patients who present with undiagnosed glaucoma at the emergency room, and are therefore more at risk for glaucoma-related blindness, are more likely to originate from underserved rural areas. This story comes to us from: etimesheets.
Preventing Blindness
Drugs to treat lower cholesterol and treat diabetes shown to reduce eye disease risk
As we get older our eyes are more susceptible to certain diseases, blurriness and even potential total vision loss. This risk can be eradicated by ensuring you are taking medicines such as statins. This story hacomes to us from: The Mirror.
Knowledge, Awareness, and Perception of Common Eye Diseases and Eye Donation
Globally billions of people have vision impairment (VI) or blindness, and at least half of the VI could have been prevented or has yet to be addressed. With the policies focused exclusively on treating ailments, we need to recognize the need to educate the country's population regarding diseases and their outcomes. This is evident in the poor eye donation rates, as documented by the Eye Bank Association of India (EBAI). The National Programme for Prevention of Blindness (NPCB) also advocates the need for active campaigning to promote eye donations. This story comes to us from: Cureus.
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