Vision Care

Avoiding the risk factors for macular degeneration may help prevent it. This includes avoiding tobacco smoke and eating a diet low in saturated fat and rich in antioxidants. Some doctors suggest that wearing UV-blocking sunglasses reduces risk. Use of estrogen in postmenopausal women is associated with a lower risk of developing ARMD. Key Terms DrusenTiny yellow dots on the retina that can be soft or hard and that usually do not interfere with vision. FoveaA tiny pit in the macula that is responsible... more

While vision loss cannot be reversed, early detection is important because treatments are available that may halt or slow the progression of the wet form of ARMD. Some treatments for the dry form were still in early clinical trials in 2001. In wet-type ARMD and in senile disciform macular degeneration, new capillaries grow in the macular region and leak. This leaking of blood and fluid causes a portion of the retina to detach. Blood vessel growth, called neovascularization, can be treated with laser... more

Optometrists and ophthalmologists, with assistance from ophthalmic assistants, technicians and nurses, should carefully screen patients who are at risk for macular degeneration. These include patients older than 60; patients with hypertension or cardiovascular disease; cigarette smokers; patients with a first-degree family (sibling or maternal) history of vision loss from ARMD regardless of age; patients with aphakia or pseudophakia; or someone with a cataract, and patients with a history that indicates... more

Age-related macular degeneration is intrinsic to aging for some individuals, but not all. People with an ARMD-affected family member have an increased the risk for its development. A slightly higher incidence occurs in females, although males and females are considered to be equally at risk. Whites and Asians are more susceptible to developing ARMD than blacks, in whom the disorder is rare. The cause of ARMD is thought to be arteriosclerosis in the blood vessels supplying the retina. Certain risks... more

Macular degeneration is the progressive deterioration of a critical region of the retina called the macula. The macula is 3-5 mm and is responsible for central vision. This disorder leads to irreversible loss of central vision, although peripheral vision is retained. In the early stages, vision may be gray, hazy, or distorted. Macular degeneration is the most common cause of legal blindness in people over 60, and accounts for approximately 11.7% of blindness in the United States. About 28% of the... more

Older adults who eat diets rich in citrus fruits, leafy greens and fish oil, but low in “glycemic index,” may have a lower risk of age-related macular degeneration, according to a study in the journal Ophthalmology.  Read More →

Women with a history of Graves’ disease should be screened for fetal hyperthyroidism at 2426 weeks’ gestation, Dr. Ingrid Block advised at a meeting on antepartum and intrapartum management. These women should have their thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulin (TSI) levels measured at the beginning of pregnancy and again at 24-26 weeks. The results may help confirm a suspicion of fetal hyperthyroidism or prompt further analysis, she said at the meeting, sponsored by the University of California,... more

Patients with two of the most serious, manifestations of Graves disease–acropachy and dermopathy–are three times more likely to have a history of tobacco use and are five times more likely to be current smokers than patients with another thyroid disease, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. A small study presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists found that 31 of 39 patients with acropachy (79%), 81 of 102 patients with dermopathy (79%), and 13... more

Graves’ ophthalmopathy is uncommon in the first year after ablative radioiodine therapy, Julie E. Hallanger-Johnson, M.D., and her associates reported in a poster at the annual meeting of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. Graves’ ophthalmopathy affects up to 30% of patients with Graves’ disease, with severe effects reported in 3%-5%. The influence of radioiodine therapy on the development of Graves’ ophthalmopathy is not clear and is considered a controversial... more

WASHINGTON — Given growing concerns about propylthiouracil-related liver toxicity, “it may be that we should be weighing the relative risks” of this drug and methimazole for the treatment of Graves’ disease during pregnancy, Dr. Susan J. Mandel said. Propylthiouracil (PTU) has been the preferred therapy for Graves’ disease during pregnancy, especially during first-trimester organogenesis, because methimazole (MMI) and carbimazole have been associated with aplasia cutis... more