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Regular exercise can stave off degenerative eye disease
October 31, 2006Physical activity and the 15 year cumulative incidence of age related macular degeneration: The Beaver Dam Eye Study Online First Br J Ophthalmol 2006; doi: 10.1136/bjo.2006.103796
Regular exercise can cut the likelihood of developing the degenerative eye disease, age related macular degeneration by 70%, suggests research published ahead of print in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.
Age related macular degeneration, or ARMD for short, refers to a condition in which the light sensitive cells in the macula at the back of the eye stop working. This affects central vision and therefore activities, such as driving.
It is usually divided into two types-"dry" or non-exudative AMRD-and "wet" or exudative AMRD.
The authors base their findings on the number of cases of AMRD arising over 15 years among almost 4,000 US men and women in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin .
Participants were aged between 43 and 86 at the start of the study in 1988-90, and were assessed at five yearly intervals. As well as detailed eye examinations, they were asked about their lifestyle and the amount of regular physical activity they took, including climbing flights of stairs, daily walks, and sessions of formal exercise.
One in four had an active lifestyle, and nearly one in four climbed more than six flights of stairs a day while around one in eight walked more than 12 blocks a day.
After taking account of other risk factors, such as weight, blood fat levels, and age, those with an an active lifestyle were 70% less likely to develop "wet" AMRD than those who had a sedentary lifestyle.
Regular walkers were 30% less likely to develop this variant.
Other factors, such as diet, may explain the findings, caution the authors. But physical activity is known to reduce systemic inflammation and irregularities in cells lining the arteries, both of which are thought to have a role in the condition, they say.
Physically active people are also likely to be "biologically" younger than those with a sedentary lifestyle, which could also be important as AMRD is associated with ageing, they add.
BMJ Specialty Journals
It is usually divided into two types-"dry" or non-exudative AMRD-and "wet" or exudative AMRD.
The authors base their findings on the number of cases of AMRD arising over 15 years among almost 4,000 US men and women in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin .
Participants were aged between 43 and 86 at the start of the study in 1988-90, and were assessed at five yearly intervals. As well as detailed eye examinations, they were asked about their lifestyle and the amount of regular physical activity they took, including climbing flights of stairs, daily walks, and sessions of formal exercise.
One in four had an active lifestyle, and nearly one in four climbed more than six flights of stairs a day while around one in eight walked more than 12 blocks a day.
After taking account of other risk factors, such as weight, blood fat levels, and age, those with an an active lifestyle were 70% less likely to develop "wet" AMRD than those who had a sedentary lifestyle.
Regular walkers were 30% less likely to develop this variant.
Other factors, such as diet, may explain the findings, caution the authors. But physical activity is known to reduce systemic inflammation and irregularities in cells lining the arteries, both of which are thought to have a role in the condition, they say.
Physically active people are also likely to be "biologically" younger than those with a sedentary lifestyle, which could also be important as AMRD is associated with ageing, they add.
BMJ Specialty Journals
Macular Degeneration Current Events and Macular Degeneration News RSSCataract surgery does not appear associated with worsening of age-related macular degeneration
Age-related macular degeneration does not appear to progress at a higher rate among individuals who have had surgery to treat cataract, contrary to previous reports that treating one cause of vision loss worsens the other.
Breeding better broccoli
Carotenoids-fat-soluble plant compounds found in some vegetables-are essential to the human diet and reportedly offer important health benefits to consumers.
Cataract surgery helps AMD patients; steroid improves DME; online eye health forum
This month's Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (Academy) reports on a national study that finds cataract surgery is likely to benefit patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) at all stages of the disease, on a clinical trial showing that the steroid triamcinolone may be effective in advanced diabetic macular edema (DME) patients when standard treatment fails, and on the public's use of two Academy-sponsored online eye health forums.
1 shot of gene therapy and children with congenital blindness can now see
Born with a retinal disease that made him legally blind, and would eventually leave him totally sightless, the nine-year-old boy used to sit in the back of the classroom, relying on the large print on an electronic screen and assisted by teacher aides.
Experimental treatments restore partial vision to blind people
Two experimental treatments, a retinal prosthesis and fetal tissue transplant, restored some vision to people with blinding eye diseases. The findings, presented at Neuroscience 2009, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world's largest source of emerging news on brain science and health, may lead to new treatments for the blind.
Researchers discover mechanism that helps humans see in bright and low light
Ever wonder how your eyes adjust during a blackout? When we go from light to near total darkness, cells in the retina must quickly adjust. Vision scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified an intricate process that allows the human eye to adapt to darkness very quickly. The same process also allows the eye to function in bright light.
Cancer drug is no different in effectiveness as gold standard treatment for macular degeneration
Investigators from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and the VA Boston Healthcare System have shown, at 6 months in a small group of patients, that there is no difference in efficacy between Bevacizumab (Avastin) and Ranibizumab (Lucentis) for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Designing drugs and their antidotes together improves patient care
Imagine a surgical patient on a blood-thinning drug who starts bleeding more than expected, and an antidote that works immediately - because the blood thinner and antidote were designed to work together.
World's most sensitive astronomical camera developed at the Universite de Montreal
A team of Université de Montréal researchers, led by physics PhD student Olivier Daigle, has developed the world's most sensitive astronomical camera.
MIT retinal implant could help restore some 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.
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