Glaucoma Awareness Month
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7:11 PM (1 hour ago)
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Thank
you Alok. It is a good idea to publish this in Keemat, after deleting
some items and make it short.The information is useful to our readers.I
will ask V>M>Kamat to send me a copy of the print. Regards,
Dr.S.G.Bhat
On Sun, Jan 20, 2013 at 7:37 PM, Alok Tholiya <atholiya@gmail.com> wrote:US celebrates Glaucoma month in every January. But in India we hv heart week, brain week, diabetes week etc etc but no eye/ glaucoma week.Why?? Why eye specialists, equipment manufacturer medicines producers are evading their responsibilities? ........Alok
NIH urges dilated eye exams to detect glaucoma
Statement of NEI Director Dr. Paul A. Sieving for Glaucoma Awareness Month
The
National Eye Institute (NEI), a part of the National Institutes of
Health, observes Glaucoma Awareness Month each January by encouraging
Americans at higher risk for glaucoma to schedule a comprehensive
dilated eye exam and to make a habit of doing so every one to two years.
While anyone can get glaucoma, people at higher risk include African
Americans age 40 and over; adults over the age of 60, especially those
who are Mexican American; and people who have a family history of the
disease.
Glaucoma
is a major cause of vision loss in the United States and it is becoming
more prevalent as our population ages. About 2.7 million Americans 40
and older have primary open-angle glaucoma, the most common form, and
this number is expected to grow. Several large studies have shown that
eye pressure is a major risk factor for optic nerve damage. In
open-angle glaucoma pressure inside the eye rises to a level that may
damage the optic nerve. When the optic nerve is damaged from increased
pressure, vision loss may result. "Vision Problems in the U.S.," a
report released in 2012, by Prevent Blindness America and NEI, predicts
that by 2030 the disease will affect 4.2 million Americans.
Glaucoma
can be detected in its early stages through a comprehensive dilated eye
exam before vision loss occurs. During this exam, drops are placed in
the eyes to dilate, or widen, the pupils. This allows an eye care
professional to examine the optic nerve for signs of damage and other
possible problems. An eye pressure test alone is not enough to detect
glaucoma. People in the higher risk categories should not wait until
they notice a problem with their vision to have an eye exam. Primary
open-angle glaucoma often has no symptoms in its early stages, so people
may not know they have glaucoma until they start to have noticeable
vision loss.
NEI
leads the nation's vision research efforts and is committed to finding
better prevention, detection, and treatment of eye diseases and
disorders. In 2012, NEI invested $71 million in a wide range of studies
to understand causes and potential areas of treatment for glaucoma.
The
broad scope of NEI-funded glaucoma research ranges from gene therapy to
stem cells, drug treatments, vaccines to protect the optic nerve cells,
advanced imaging tools to view the retina and optic nerve, and new
techniques to study glaucoma disease mechanisms, such as new mouse
models that simulate glaucoma. These models enable scientists to study
how increased eye pressure causes optic nerve cell death. For more
information about glaucoma research programs at NEI, visit http://www.nei.nih.gov.
As
part of its National Eye Health Education Program (NEHEP), NEI develops
a variety of education materials in English and Spanish describing the
leading causes of blindness, including glaucoma, diabetic eye disease,
age-related macular degeneration, and cataracts. To learn more about
glaucoma, how to keep your eyes healthy, tips for talking with your eye
care professional, the benefits of getting a comprehensive dilated eye
exam, and where to get financial assistance for eye care, visit http://www.nei.nih.gov/
The
National Eye Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health,
leads the federal government's research on the visual system and eye
diseases. NEI supports basic and clinical science programs that result
in the development of sight-saving treatments. For more information,
visit http://www.nei.nih.gov.
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH,
the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and
Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting
basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is
investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare
diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visithttp://www.nih.gov.
Alok Tholiya,
Marigold Hall,Tholiya Bhavan,
10Th Rd., Santacruz East,
Mumbai 400055
