Study concludes that giving up cigarettes can reduce the risk of cataracts

In a study of nearly 21,000 U.S. male physicians, spanning an average of 13.6 years, researchers found a direct link between smoking and the development of cataracts.  The study, known as Physicians Health Study I, evaluated physicians between the ages of 40 and 84 who had no prior history of cataracts before 1982.  

Participants were asked to complete questionnaires that included information such as: number of cigarettes smoked daily, age when they started smoking, and their age if they stopped smoking.  Each participant received annual eye exams and were required to report the results to the study investigators.  The participants' ophthalmologists and optometrists confirmed the results.  Adjustments were made to account for other cataract risk factors.  

Decreased incidence of cataract among past smokers 

Past smokers were grouped by the number of years they had stopped smoking. The participants who were past smokers were found to have a 23% less risk of cataracts when compared with current smokers; however, they still had a greater risk of developing cataracts than those who had never smoked.  Also of interest is that the past smokers were found to be in better health than smokers and lead more healthy lifestyles.  

Smoking has also been linked to eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration.  St. Luke's surgeon J. James Rowsey, MD hopes that research such as the Physicians Health Study will make smokers think twice before lighting up.  "We learn more every day about the harmful affects smoking has on the body, but not many people realize the connection between smoking and their vision.  Young people who quit while they're ahead are very lucky because much of the damage is reversible.  Long-time smokers on the other hand, aren't always as fortunate."

Special precautions are needed to avoid serious injuries

As the popularity of paintball has increased over the past several years, so have eye-related injuries.  The game is played with gelatin balls measuring about 0.68 of an inch in diameter that are filled with water-soluble paint.  When fired through a gun at 300 feet/second, they turn into small missiles.  Injuries with this sport are often serious because the paintball fits perfectly in eye socket, increasing the risk of perforating the globe.  

According to American Sports Data Inc, the number of paintball players has increased to over 6.4 million in the past ten years.  An estimated 2,000 eye injuries were treated in emergency rooms between 1997 and 1999, but that number excludes private office visits, an impossible number to track.  Interestingly, most injuries don't occur mid-game.  Instead, they're more likely to occur at the very end of the game when the goggles have been removed because the player is hot, or just finished playing.

Paul F. Vinger, MD, clinical professor of ophthalmology at Tufts University, reports that most injuries involve unsupervised children.  Trends in the sale and marketing of paintball gear may impact the number of injuries among school-aged children.  Discount stores now carry guns and paintballs, making it easier and less expensive for youth to get involved in the game.  Many believe that paintball gun sales should limited to gun stores and require a license.

Ophthalmologists stress the importance of eye protection during the game.  "There are many types of eye injuries that can result from this sport," says James Sanderson, MD, oculoplastic surgeon.  "In addition to the problems that threaten the eye itself, the bones and tissues surrounding the eye are very fragile."  Anterior segment surgeon James Rowsey, MD cautions, "The severity of the injuries caused by paintball should make players and especially parents doubly cautious with these devices."
 

A recent study completed shows Visudyne therapy benefits have expanded to certain patients with wet macular degeneration

Atlanta, Georgia -- QLT Inc. announced recently that a randomized study conducted over a 24 month period revealed that Visudyne™ therapy is successful in the treatment of certain previously untreatable forms of macular degeneration.

"Results from this new study are extremely important because they demonstrate that Visudyne™ therapy can reduce the risk of moderate to severe vision loss in a large number of patients each year for whom, previously, there was no proven treatment," said Dr. Neil Bressler, retinal specialist and Chair of the Visudyne Study Advisory Group.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT), a two step procedure that can be performed in a doctor's office, is a technology that utilizes light-activated drugs to treat some "wet" forms of macular degeneration in which abnormal blood vessel growth has caused fluid leakage and swelling in the central portion of the retina.  Visudyne™ is the first drug therapy for patients utilizing the PDT techniques. 

The 24 month study, completed in March, 2001, included 339 age-related macular degeneration patients who were treated at 28 centers throughout North America and Europe.  The patients included were mainly sufferers of occult Choroidal Neovascularization (CNV), a condition with no previous proven treatment and pathologic myopia, abnormal vessel growth under the retina due to abnormal elongation of the eyeball.  70% of patients treated with Visudyne™ loss less than 6 lines of vision on a standard eye chart versus 53% of patients on placebo, a difference of 17%.  The average patient received 5 treatments of the therapy during the 24 month period. 

The study also suggested that the benefits of PDT is greatest among patients with relatively small, younger lesions and poor visual acuity.  PDT may not be beneficial for patients with both large lesions and good visual acuity.  The PDT patient group with the best projected outcome are those suffering with CNV due to pathologic Myopia.  The worldwide incidence of CNV due to this condition is estimated to be 50,000 new cases per year.