By Julie Drake
Special to the Herald Times
RBC | Middle age sure does a number on your vision. I had to go to the optometrist the other day to get reading glasses. It was a scientifically interesting experience, learning about macula health, tear production, diet and all those complex machines. Very humbling too; vision changes as we age.
With glasses, I found there is a world about a foot from my eyes that I couldn’t see. As I adjust to the need for a device sitting across my nose, I began to think of people with severe low vision and blindness. People who tragically have lost an eye or those who are rapidly losing vision for one reason or another. A little research revealed there are scientific solutions on the horizon.
The Retina International World Congress meeting is next week in Auckland, New Zealand. This is where new vision research is revealed, and hope is given to the world’s sightless. Big names like surgeon Penny Allen, from University of Melbourne who helped develop some of the first retinal prosthesis (“bionic eyes”), will speak. Jean Bennett, M.D., a PhD from University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine will reveal what she has been working on with retinal gene therapy approaches (fixing genes that will fix vision). Dr. Gerald Chadar from the Keck School of Medicine at USC, who is a big name in the research and development of electronic retinal implants will present also. Many more vision experts will convene in Auckland and I can’t wait to read (and hopefully understand) the scientific news releases from the event.
“Bionic eyes” are artificial eyes that communicate electrically to the brain to give the patient sight. I keep thinking of Geordi La Forge on the “Star Trek the Next Generation” TV series. He wore a visor that restored his vision and near the end of the series had ocular implants. This is no longer science fiction—it is really happening! Sight is being restored! As with most health topics, the future looks bright. As we await these solutions, get an eye exam, learn how diet impacts vision and wear eye protection when risks are high. Prevention is a key piece of eye health!
Julie Drake is the Rio Blanco County Director of Public Health.
