Dozens of people who were blinded or otherwise suffered severe eye damage to their cornea(s) when they were splashed with caustic chemicals had their sight restored with transplants of their own stem cells, a stunning success for the burgeoning cell-therapy field, Italian researchers reported 6/24.

In the study, published online by the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers took a small number of stem cells from a patient’s healthy eye, multiplied them in the lab and placed them into the burned eye, where they were able to grow new corneal tissue to replace what had been damaged. Since the stem cells are from their own bodies, the patients do not need to take anti-rejection drugs.

For information on nutrition and eye health, go to www.naturaleyecare.com

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New study published online and in the August print issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, found that smoking and cholesterol levels affect the risk for early-stage age related macular degeneration (AMD).

Editor’s Note: For information on nutrition, diet and macular degeneration, Click Here

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New study found that women who eat foods that contain high levels of a variety of vitamins and minerals may be less likely to develop nuclear cataract, which is the most common type of age-related cataract in the United States.

This study indicates that healthy diets, which reflect adherence to the U.S. dietary guidelines, are more strongly related to the lower occurrence of nuclear cataracts than any other modifiable risk factor or protective factor studied in this sample of women

The study is published in the June issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology

Editor’s Note: For more information on diet and nutrition related to cataracts Click Here

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A US-based study on Monday linked eating white rice to higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, and backed long-held claims that brown rice is healthier than the white variety.

People who ate at least five servings of white rice per week had a 17 percent greater risk of developing diabetes than those who consumed less than one serving per month, Harvard School of Public Health scientists found.

“These findings could have even greater implications for Asian and other populations in which rice is a staple food.”

Editor’s Note:  For more information on diabetes/diabetic retinopathy, Click Here

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An article published online on June 2, 2010 in FASEB Journal reports the discovery of Temple University researchers of the benefit of a low methionine diet in slowing or reversing early to moderate stage Alzheimer’s disease in an animal model.

Methionine is an essential amino acid that occurs in relatively high amounts in red meat, fish, eggs and other foods. A byproduct of methionine metabolism is homocysteine, another amino acid that has been linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease as well as cardiovascular disease when elevated.

Ref: www.fasebj.org

Editor’s Note: For more information on diet, nutrition and lifestyle related to Alzheimer’s Disease, Click Here

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The biggest study ever done on tanning beds and melanoma finds that indoor tanning can raise the risk of of melanoma (the deadliest form of skin cancer) between 74 percent and 340.

People who tanned longer had higher risk, as did people who tanned in beds that mostly use UVA radiation, not a related kind known as UVB.

For more information, Click Here

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FOLIC acid, the vitamin linked to the prevention of birth defects, may also prevent and help treat depression.

In two trials, around 1,000 people are being given a daily dose of folic acid, the synthetic form of the vitamin folate.

In one new trial, at the University of Oxford, researchers are looking at whether it can prevent new episodes of depression in young people.

In the second trial, at Bangor University, North Wales, researchers are treating adults with moderate to severe depression.

Research shows that up to a third of people with depression have low levels of folate. Studies have also shown that the greater the folate deficiency, the more severe the depression symptoms.

People with low levels also have a poorer response to antidepressants.

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New study shows low skeletal muscle mass and strength often found in those who are older or obese may put individuals at risk for developing type 2 diabetes, and that a good diet may not be enough to prevent type 2 diabetes.

These associations were stronger in people age 60 and under, in whom sarcopenia (the degenerative loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength associated with aging) was associated with high levels of blood sugar in both obese and thin people, and with diabetes in obese individuals.

The findings are published in the journal Plos One.

Editor’s Note: For information related to nutrition and diabetes, Click Here

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Laser therapy, also called laser photocoagulation, is more effective and produces fewer side effects than corticosteroids injected into the eye for the treatment of diabetic macular edema according to a large, two-year multicenter study reported in the journal Ophthalmology (Volume 115, page 1447).

For more details, Click Here

Editor’s Note: For more information in nutrition and diabetes/diabetic retinopathy, Click Here

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Controlled trials have shown that extracts of Ginkgo Biloba can significantly improve visual acuity in Age Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD) patients within six months of use. Both animal and human studies have revealed that Ginkgo extract can help to prevent retinal detachment, while increasing antioxidant activity in patients’ blood, tears and plasma*.

Editor’s Note: Gingko biloba has many potential benefits as a powerful antioxidant, and its effects on improving circulation and even brain function.

*For the gingko biloba study references and for more related studies on nutrition and macular degeneration, Click Here

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