Latest News: November, 2009 - New Treatments

• Retinal Implants & Lost Vision
• Poor Circulation & AMD Study 2009
• Lutein, Blackcurrant & Visual Fatigue
• Discovery of Lymph Channels in Eye May Help Glaucoma
• Factors for Women's Hair Loss
• Retinal Device Helps Retinitis Pigmentosa See
• Role of Reactive Oxygen in the Spreading of Cancer
• Vit D Deficiency puts Elderly at increased risk heart disease
• Choose a low-radiation cellphone

Retinal Implants Can Restore Some Lost Vision

MIT engineers have designed a retinal implant for people who have lost their vision from retinitis pigmentosa or age-related macular degeneration, two of the leading causes of blindness.

The retinal prosthesis would help restore some vision by electrically stimulating the nerve cells that normally carry visual input from the retina to the brain.

The chip would not restore normal vision but could help blind people more easily navigate a room or walk down a sidewalk. "Anything that could help them see a little better and let them identify objects and move around a room would be an enormous help," says Shawn Kelly, a researcher in MIT's Research Laboratory for Electronics and member of the Boston Retinal Implant Project.

Patients who received the implant would wear a pair of glasses with a camera that sends images to a microchip attached to the eyeball. The glasses also contain a coil that wirelessly transmits power to receiving coils surrounding the eyeball. When the microchip receives visual information, it activates electrodes that stimulate nerve cells in the areas of the retina corresponding to the features of the visual scene. The electrodes directly activate optical nerves that carry signals to the brain, bypassing the damaged layers of retina.

The research team, led by John Wyatt, MIT professor of electrical engineering and computer science, recently reported a new prototype that they hope to start testing in blind patients within the next three years, after some safety refinements are made. Once human trials begin and blind patients can offer feedback on what they're seeing, the researchers will learn much more about how to configure the algorithm implemented by the chip to produce useful vision.

Source: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Poor Circulation and Aged Related Macular Degeneration Study 2009

A large study found strong evidence that older people who have age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are at increased risk for coronary heart disease (CHD), although not for stroke. This result adds to mounting evidence that AMD and cardiovascular disease may share some risk factors–smoking, High blood pressure, inflammatory indicators such as C-reactive protein (related to inflammation), genetic variants such as complement factor H–and disease mechanisms.

The Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) followed 1,786 white or african american participants, who were free of CHD or stroke at the study’s outset, for about seven years. The CHS received funding from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, a division of the National Institutes of Health.

The incidence of CHD was 25.76 percent in patients with AMD, compared with 18.9 percent in those without AMD. The association between AMD and CHD was somewhat stronger in people age 69 to 78 than age 79 and up. Data were adjusted to counter potentially confounding factors like hypertension, diabetes, and smoking.

Editor's Notes: It is estimated that the eyes/visual system requires up to 25% of the nutrients we take into our bodies to maintain healthy vision, so this is another study showing the strong correlation between circulation and macular degeneration (and resulting loss of oxygen and nutrients that reach the eyes).

Our whole food eye formula helps strengthen overall circulation while offering specific nutrients for the eyes (and overall health).

Lutein, blackcurrant extract may reduce visual fatigue

Visual fatigue such as computer eye strain caused by staring at the computer for long hours can be eased a by taking a daily supplement containing blackcurrant fruit extract (200 mg), lutein (5 mg), and zeaxanthin (1 mg), according to a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over trial.

Another study showed that supplementing with 6 mg of Astaxanthin also helps reduced related eyestrain.

The findings, published in the journal of Applied Ergonomics, adds to the ever growing body of science supporting the eye health benefits of lutein and zeaxanthin.

Editor's Notes: See more information on how to help prevent or minimize computer eye strain.

Discovery of Lymph Channels in Eye May Help Glaucoma

A Canadian research team has uncovered lymph channels in the eye, a find that could lead the way to improved treatments for glaucoma and possibly other eye diseases. Previously lymph channels were not believed to be associated with the part of the eye related to glaucoma.

The lymphatic system consists of organs, ducts, and nodes that transport a watery clear fluid called lymph, which performs two major functions. The fluid distributes immune cells called lymphocytes and other elements throughout the body, which protect the body against infections. It also interacts with the blood to drain waste and fluids from cells and tissues. Lymphatics are found in every part of the body except the central nervous system and, until now, the eyes were excluded as well.

This discovery provides a new avenue in the potential treatment and possibly cure of glaucoma by specifically targeting the lymphatic circulation to lower eye pressure.

SOURCES: Glaucoma Research Foundation, University of Toronto

Editor's Note: See more information on glaucoma and related nutrients.

Factors Contributing to Women's Hair Loss

Most female-pattern baldness is inherited. Other causes of hair loss include:

• illnesses such as diabetes, lupus and thyroid disease.
• poor nutrition - fad diets, crash diets and certain illnesses, such as eating disorders, can cause poor nutrition.
• medications - certain drugs used to treat gout, arthritis, depression, heart problems and high blood pressure may cause hair loss in some people. Also, the acne medication Accutane contributes to hair loss. Taking birth control pills also may result in hair loss for some women.
• medical treatments - undergoing chemotherapy or radiation therapy may cause you to develop alopecia. After your treatment ends, your hair typically begins to regrow.
• recent high fever, severe flu or surgery. You may notice you have less hair three to four months after events such as an illness or surgery.
• childbirth - Some women experience an increase in hair loss several months after delivering a baby. This increased hair loss usually corrects itself.
• hair treatments - chemicals used for dyeing, tinting, bleaching, straightening or perming can cause hair to become damaged and break off if they are overused or used incorrectly. Excessive hairstyling or hairstyles that pull your hair too tightly also can cause some hair loss.
• scalp infection. Infections such as ringworm can invade the hair and skin of your scalp, leading to hair loss. Once infections are treated, hair generally regrows. Ringworm, a fungal infection, can usually be treated with a topical or oral antifungal medication.

Source: Mayo Clinic

Editor's Notes: From a Chinese medicine perspective, loss of head hair for both men and women can be related to Kidney Qi Deficiency, which can result from excess stress, poor diet and/or chronic lack of sleep for example.

See an excellent Chinese based Kidney tonic (and eye tonic).

Retinal Device Helps Some With Retinitis Pigmentosa See

More than thirty blind people can now see thanks to new technology that has restored their vision. To date, thirty-eight subjects from the United States, Mexico and Europe with retinitis pigmentosa have received retinal prostheses. While the degree of success has been variable across subjects, the results are encouraging.

Procedures currently help individuals with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a disease responsible for roughly 200,000 cases of blindness in the United States.

The restoration process starts with an image captured by a small camera attached to a pair of glasses. After streaming through a video processor, the data is then transferred back through the glasses to a tiny electrode “sheet” implanted on the retina. These electrodes use electrical impulses to communicate visual information to undamaged retinal tissue (just as healthy rods and cones would have done). The result is some degree of sight.

Currently the devices have only 60 electrodes, compared to more than 2 million in HD televisions, so images are still rough. Researchers from Second Sight will follow project participants for the next three years to track progress. They hope to develop versions with 200 and 1000 electrodes in the future,

Editor's Notes: Certain nutrients have been researched as helping to preserve vision for those with Retinitis Pigmentosa.

New Study Shows Role of of Reactive Oxygen in the Spreading of Cancer

Scientists at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research in California say they've discovered reactive oxygen plays a key role in cancer metastasis.

The researchers, led by Professor Sara Courtneidge, said they determined reactive species, such as superoxide and hydrogen peroxide, help form invadopodia which are cellular protrusions implicated in cancer cell migration. They found inhibiting reactive oxygen reduces invadopodia formation, thereby limiting cancer cell invasion.

Editor's Notes: In aerobic organisms like humans, oxygen is converted to water at the end of the respiratory chain in the mitochondria. Mitochondria are the "power plants" in our cells that provide the energy needed to maintain normal body function and metabolism. However, in this same mitochondria respiratory chain, oxygen is "partially reduced" to form superoxide.

Antioxidants such as Vitamins A, C and E, superoxide dismutase, and carotenoids such as alpha and betacarotene, lutein and zeaxanthin help protect us by neutralizing reactive oxygen molecules and other free radicals.

For daily whole food nutrient/antioxidant formulas, see Advanced Eye & Vision Support Formula and Dr. Grossman's Whole Food Multivitamin.

Insufficient levels of vitamin D puts elderly at increased risk of dying from heart disease

A new study by researchers at the University of Colorado Denver and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) shows vitamin D plays a vital role in reducing the risk of death associated with older age. The research, just published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, evaluated the association between vitamin D levels in the blood and the death rates of those 65 and older. The study found that older adults with insufficient levels of vitamin D die from heart disease at greater rates that those with adequate levels of the vitamin, with more than one-third of older adults considered to be deficient in vitamin D.

Older adults are at high risk for vitamin D deficiency because their skin has less exposure to the sun due to more limited outdoor activities as well as reduced ability to make vitamin D.

Editor's Note: Vitamin D3 is the best absorbed form of vitamin D. During the winter months, it is recommended to supplement with at least 1,000 mg of Vitamin D3. Other experts suggest higher dosages in the range of 4,000-6,000 mg per day. Note that during the summer months, exposure to sun for 45 minutes can product 10,000 IU of vitamin D.

Make a safe call: Choose a low-radiation cellphone

Recent studies suggest that there may be long term physical consequences using cells phones. While the debate continues, the Environmental Working Group, based in Washington, says it makes sense to chose a cellphone or wireless device with low radiation.

They've made it easy by providing an interactive database with radiation ratings for more than 1,000 cellphones marketed in the United States on their Web site. View it and to read the full report.

Health and Peace

Marc Grossman, O.D., L.Ac.
Michael Edson, MS, L.Ac.