Indian ophthalmologist discovers new layer in human
eye!
New York, June 13 (ANI): Scientists led by an Indian researcher have discovered a
previously unknown layer lurking in the human eye. The newfound body part,
dubbed Dua’s layer, is a skinny but tough structure measuring just 15 microns
thick, where one micron is one-millionth of a meter and more than 25,000
microns equal an inch, the Huffington Post reported.
It sits at the back of the cornea, the sensitive,
transparent tissue at the very front of the human eye that helps to focus
incoming light, researchers said. The feature is named for its discoverer,
Harminder Dua, a professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the
University of Nottingham.
Dua said in a statement that the finding will not only
change what ophthalmologists know about human eye anatomy, but it will also
make operations safer and simpler for patients with an injury in this layer.
Dua and colleagues, for example, believe that a tear in the Dua layer is what
causes corneal hydrops, which occurs when water from inside the eye rushes in
and leads to a fluid buildup in the cornea. This phenomenon is seen in patients
with keratoconus, a degenerative eye disorder that causes the cornea to take on
a cone shape.
Dua’s layer adds to the five previously known layers
of the cornea: the corneal epithelium at the very front, followed by Bowman’s
layer, the corneal stroma, Descemet’s membrane and the corneal endothelium at
the very back. Dua and colleagues found the new layer between the corneal
stroma and Descemet’s membrane through corneal transplants and grafts on eyes donated
for research.
The research is published in the journal Ophthalmology.
(ANI)
Source: http://health.india.com
14.06.2013
Low birth weight could be factor for age-related sight
loss
Washington, June 13 (ANI): Researchers have claimed that people who were born with a
low birth weight could be likelier to develop age-related vision loss. Medical
researchers at the University of Alberta recently published their findings that
rats with restricted growth in the womb, causing low birth weights when born,
were most susceptible to developing age-related vision loss, compared to their
normal weight counterparts. The research team members say additional work needs
to be done to see if this same link exists in people, and if it does, doctors
will need to better monitor vision concerns in adults who were born with a low
birth weight. Yves Sauve, the lead Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry researcher
on the team said that the consequence of their findings is that they are
providing evidence for the need for clinicians to log birth weights of their
patients when assessing health.
He said that most age-related eye diseases fall in the
category of complex diseases, meaning that many factors can compound the
severity of the risk, and birth weight could be one of those factors. Sauve and
his colleagues noted that not only did the lab models have overall poorer
vision as they aged, they specifically had poorer night vision. It is normal
for night vision to be slightly affected with age, but loss of night vision was
worse as these lab models aged. An earlier study indicated that children
suffering from low birth weight were also likelier to face developmental
disorders and
Source: http://health.india.com
14.06.2013
Want a healthy life in India? Walk or cycle to your
workplace
Washington, June 12 (ANI): Indian citizens, who go to their
workplace either by cycling or walking, are less likely to be overweight or
obese, or suffer from diabetes or high blood pressure, a study has claimed.
Researchers from Imperial College London and the Public
Health Foundation of India said that these findings suggested that encouraging
more people to use physically active modes of transport could reduce rates of
important risk factors for many chronic diseases.
Physical activity and health information was collected from
almost 4,000 participants in the Indian Migration Study.
The study found that 68.3 per cent of people in rural areas
cycled and 11.9 per cent walked to their workplace, compared with 15.9 per cent
who cycled, and 12.5 per cent who walked in urban areas.
However, 50 per cent of people who travelled to work by
private transport and 38 per cent who took public transport were overweight,
compared with only 25 per cent of people who walked or cycled to work.
The study found similar patterns for rates of high blood
pressure and diabetes.
Dr Christopher Millett, of the School of Public Health at
Imperial and the Public Health Foundation of India, who led the study, said
that people can get the exercise they need by building physical activity into
their travel to work, so they don’t need to make extra time for the gym.
The study has been published in PLOS Medicine.
Source: http://health.india.com
14.06.2013
Honest disagreement is often a good sign
of progress
Mahatma Gandhi
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