Computer Vision Syndrome

What is Computer Vision Syndrome?

Your work environment could be hazardous to your health! Computer Vision Syndrome is a very real eye problem that affects many individuals who spend a good part of their days staring at computer monitors. But it’s not just the computer monitor that is causing this eye problem.

The environment in which the computer work is taking place can be adding to the problems associated with Computer Vision Syndrome. Inadequate lighting, glare from windows, fluorescent lighting, sitting too close or too far away from the computer monitor and the manner in which the contents are being displayed on the monitor can all aggravate this syndrome.

The letters on a computer screen are not straight lines as they are on printed material, which the eye can easily focus on. They instead consist of pixels or tiny dots on which the eye has to constantly focus and refocus, and that creates fatigue and strain.

Symptoms of Computer Vision Syndrome

The most notable symptom of Computer Vision Syndrome is eyestrain which causes eyes to feel tired and/or sore. However, other parts of the body can also be affected. Headaches, neck aches and backaches are common symptoms. Problems with vision are also symptoms and can include any or all of the following: blurred vision, double vision and/or distorted color vision.

Another symptom is eyes that are slow to change focus. For example, when looking at something in the distance and then quickly changing to look at something close up (or vice versa) there is a lag in the eye’s ability to bring the newer image into focus. The constant work being performed by the focusing muscles makes eyes tired. With Computer Vision Syndrome eyes tend to also have a dry or a burning sensation.

Who is at risk?

Anyone, male or female is at risk of developing Computer Vision Syndrome if he or she spends long periods of time working at a computer. The people who develop symptoms of this syndrome tend to not take breaks, whether physical or visual. Getting up from the workstation and periodically focusing on something other than the computer monitor are important to prevent the onset of Computer Vision Syndrome.

Early detection/treatment

When a person’s daily routine consists of 2 or more hours of work on a computer, it’s important to tell the eye doctor. If the patient is experiencing the symptoms mentioned above, the eye doctor can use a PIRO instrument to test for Computer Vision Syndrome. The purpose of this instrument is to simulate what an individual sees on a computer screen. It’s positioned at a distance comparable to that of the patient’s monitor. Using this instrument, vision is tested. A reduced Snellen card can also be used.

In most cases, computer eyeglasses need to be prescribed to put an end to the symptoms of Computer Vision Syndrome. They generally will have a different prescription than regular eyeglasses. Computer eyeglasses may also include a computer tint, UV tint, anti-reflective coating and possibly a prism.

               

Color Blindness

What is Color Blindness?

Color blindness is a condition in which a person cannot distinguish color properly. There are several variations of color blindness and each one relates back to a problem with the functionality of the cells inside the retina that deal with processing light sensitivity. The rod cells are activated by low light while the cone cells are activated by daylight.

The pigments inside each of the 3 cone cells react and respond differently as each absorbs light. Each pigment processes a different wavelength: short, medium and long. In a normal eye, this interaction and overlap between the cones, pigments and the amount of light each absorbs as the eye processes various images is what makes it possible to create the wide spectrum of color that most individuals are able to view.

Color blindness results when one or more of the 3 cone systems is not functioning properly or at all. Some affected individuals are unable to detect any color and the life they see is monochrome. It’s as if these individuals constantly view black and white movies. Called monochromacy, this is the rarest form of color defect. Dichromacy (red-green defects) of which there are 3 different types and anomalous trichromacy (blue-yellow) are more common.

Symptoms of Color Blindness

The main symptom of color blindness is an inability to distinguish and/or correctly identify colors, particularly reds and greens and blues and yellows.

Who is at risk?

In the majority of cases, color blindness is hereditary, something that runs in the family. However, color blindness can also develop as the result of damage to the optic nerve, the eye (specifically the retina) and even the brain. In a few instances, this eye condition has been traced back to chemical exposure including exposure to medicines and poisons.

Interestingly, color blindness is more prevalent in men than women. Age is also a factor in partial color blindness. As the eyes ages, the lens tends to become darker which translates into images taking on a darker hue.

Early detection/treatment

Color blindness is very easy to detect with Pseudoisochromatic Plate tests. The plates contain colored dots, with the background dots being one color. Another dot color forms the image of a number. Someone with normal color vision will be able to distinguish the number whereas someone with a color defect cannot discern the pattern that has been created using the different colored dots.

Color blindness that is inherited cannot be ‘cured’ because pigments are lacking. In cases of acquired color blindness, vision may be corrected if the underlying problem can be treated.

Once the type of color blindness has been determined, an affected individual’s only option is to rely on visual aids to help ’see’ better. Specially-tinted contact lenses or glasses can help compensate for the inability to distinguish certain colors, but cannot restore ‘normal’ color capacity.

Affected individuals are generally capable of developing their own methods for accommodating their eye condition, and with the help of others, they make modifications to their environments to ensure their safety.

               

Multiple Sclerosis Drug Combined with Lipitor May Stop or Reverse Disease - Dosages Cut in Half with Fewer Negative Side Effects

March 16th 2006

Combining treatments may improve outcomes for patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), according to research done on mice and published online by the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Scott S. Zamvil and colleagues at the University of California, San Francisco found that mice treated with a combination of Glatiramer acetate (GA) and atorvastatin (Lipitor) demonstrated “a significant prevention and reversal of clinical MS severity” of MS symptoms.

Lipitor is a cholesterol lowering drug that has previously been shown to improve MS symptoms. Glatiramer acetate (Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.’s Copaxone) is a drug currently approved for MS treatment. The researchers found that treating MS with combinations of immune modulating drugs can greatly reduce MS disease.

According to the researchers, treating EAE (experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis) mice with the combination therapy caused the animals to lose less myelin, prevented CNS inflammation, and MS disease incidence.

The researchers then treated isolated inflammatory cells called macrophages with these drugs and found that the combination therapy mediated its effects by promoting the secretion of the anti-inflammatory molecule IL-10 and suppressed production of the proinflammatory molecules IL-12 and TNF-alpha.

The researchers believe that the combined delivery of drugs, which act through different mechanisms, may enhance the therapeutic efficacy of MS and reduce the negative side effects. Also the drug dosages were less than the dosages used in regular single drug treatments.

Copaxone has been shown to be 30 to 35 percent effective alone. According to Bloomberg News, all MS drugs have to be injected, and have “severe side effects”. None of the MS drugs are very potent.

Lipitor on the other hand can be taken orally and is considered relatively safe. Lipitor, the best selling drug in the world, appears to block production of immune system agents, called cytokines, involved in the disease process. Currently the University of California, San Francisco is looking for 152 patients at 14 hospitals to participate in clinical trials. These trials will investigate the effect Lipitor alone has on MS. Contact the office of Scott Zamvil, associate professor of neurology at University of California, San Francisco, for more information.

There are 400,000 MS sufferers in the US. The illness causes neurological symptoms that include loss of motor control, blindness and temporary recurring paralysis. The condition occur when the body’s natural defenses are over stimulated and begin stripping the protective insulation, called myelin, from nerve fibers in the central nervous system, which includes the brain, optic nerves and spinal cord.

Dan Wilson
Best Syndication

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Copyright 2005 Best Syndication
Last Updated Thursday, March 16, 2006 06:07 PM