Some people decide against Lasik surgery because of fear and because the surgery isn’t reversible. Other people aren’t candidates for Lasik surgery. For example, people with diabetes, certain types of infections in the eye or who have cataracts are usually not able to undergo Lasik surgery. This type of vision correction also isn’t recommended for people with thin corneas or severe myopia.

To address this problem, researchers have developed an implantable lens that could do the same thing Lasik does, but without the permanency. The researchers, in Japan implanted collagen copolymer lenses into the 56 eyes of 34 patients. These patients were followed for four years to check their progress.

According to a press release issued by JAMA and Archives Journals ,

At four years after surgery, 44 of the eyes (79 percent) were within 0.5 diopter (unit of measuring lens power) of the targeted correction and 52 (93 percent) were within one diopter. The authors suggest that collagen polymer lens implantation “results were good in all measures of safety, efficacy, predictability and stability for the correction of high myopia throughout the four-year follow-up,” they write. “To our knowledge, this is the longest study to assess the refractive outcomes and adverse events” of the collagen copolymer lens implantation for myopia.

There were also no complications that could threaten the vision of the patients.

More studies need to be done, but this is a good start.

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Images: StockXchnge.com

Post from: Blisstree

Lens Implant May Help Nearsightedness

The study, from charity Diabetes UK, confirmed that men “35 to 54 are almost twice as likely to have diabetes as women.” Overall, the poor diet and health habits are blamed for this discrepancy. Still, these figures struck me as odd, since poor lifestyle generally happens with both men and women. If a household is generally sedentary, it usually means everyone in the house slacks off on exercise and eating right. I’d say more research on this one definitely needs to be done.

Image: sxc.hu.

Post from: Blisstree

Men More Likely to Get Diabetes

The website cancer.org reports the odds of a person getting pancreatic cancer during their lifetime as “1 in 76 (1.31%).” It is a difficult disease to detect early, however, pancreatic cancer rates have dropped over the past two decades.

Image: Zuma Press

Post from: Blisstree

Kim Jong II: Pancreatic Cancer

A stroke in medical speak is called a cerebral vascular accident, or a CVA. CVAs can happen to anyone at any time, including children - although it’s not common. Strokes can be very mild and passing or they can be devastatingly severe. But despite all the differences, strokes are something that should always be taken seriously.

What is a stroke?

There are two types of strokes: hemorrhagic and ischemic. They are very different but the results can be similar.

Ischemic strokes are the most common types, affecting about 85% of people who have strokes. These are caused when blood vessels that supply the brain are blocked, either by a blood clot or by build up of fat and plaque. The blood cannot pass through and provide much needed nutrients and oxygen to the brain, causing death to brain tissue.

Hemorrhagic strokes occur when a blood vessel in the brain bursts and blood leaks into the brain tissue. As the blood accumulates, it causes pressure on the brain. These aren’t as common.

TIAs, or transient ischemic attacks are strokes, but they’re often referred to as mini-strokes. They don’t last long and they don’t leave a lasting problem. But, they are considered serious because they are usually warnings of something worse to come.

Signs and symptoms

Strokes differ in their effect on people. Some people may end up totally paralyzed on one side, others may not be able to speak, while yet others may not be able to understand. The type of damage done to the brain depends on how severe the stroke is and what part of the brain was deprived of oxygen or was damaged from the pressure.

According to the American Heart Association website:

If you notice one or more of these signs, don’t wait. Stroke is a medical emergency. Call 9-1-1 or your emergency medical services. Get to a hospital right away!

The American Stroke Association wants you to learn the warning signs of stroke:

• Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
• Sudden, severe headache with no known cause

Don’t waste any time. With a stroke, time is not on your side.

Children

Sadly, children can have strokes too. Usually, if a child has a stroke, it’s caused by a problem such as a heart defect or an illness such as sickle cell anemia. Children can also have strokes as the result of an injury. For example, if they have a neck injury, it could block the flow of blood into the brain.

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Images courtesy PhotoXpress.com and Newscom.com

Post from: Blisstree

Let’s Talk About… Strokes

According to a study, published recently in the online journal NeuroReport , reacting to pain by swearing was part of the so-called fight-or-flight response humans feel when they perceive a threat.

Researchers studied 67 students who submersed a hand in ice water. Half the group cursed and the other half didn’t. The researchers found that the students who cursed were able to withstand the ice cold water better than those who didn’t swear. What was particularly interesting is that it wasn’t only the perception of pain that changed with swearing, but it was measurable with heart rate. There was also a bigger difference in the pain response among women than men (women responded better to cursing).

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Image courtesy PhotoXpress.com

Post from: Blisstree

Go Ahead - Curse If You Stub Your Toe

I’ve written about legalizing marijuana for medical reasons (It’s time to legalize marijuana for pain control, Marijuana may be effective for neuropathic pain, and Author of How-To Marijuana, Step-by-Step Guide to Medical Marijuana, to list a few). It has so many uses in helping people with serious illnesses and chronic pain. Opponents bring up the safety issue of carrying medicinal pot and to that I way: Get real.

Do you know what doctors and nurses give now to people in severe pain? Morphine, Demerol, methadone (yes, methadone) and I’ve even administered suppositories of opium and belladonna. All perfectly legal and safe. If we can handle those types of medications, you can’t tell me we can’t handle marijuana safely.

And yet, thousands of people (if not millions) who could benefit from this drug are being denied that right.

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Image: Newscom.com

Post from: Blisstree

NH Vetoes Medical Marijuana

The company has implemented Walk Stations, where employees can still have access to the phones and computer while walking on the treadmill. Answer phones and burn calories? Apparently it works!

I can’t imagine this. My first question was, don’t the employees get winded and tired? But I think even if employees do a mile here and there, it will greatly build up their resistance. What a great idea! I wonder if other companies will do the same?

Image: sxc.hu.

Post from: Blisstree

Combining Working With Exercise

The application, called Pocket First Aid & CPR was “created by the American Heart Association in collaboration with Jive Media.” It features instructions on how to do CPR, save someone from choking, deal with burns or diabetic emergencies, and all kinds of handy dandy medical info. While it’s no substitute for a medical professional, if you were in a bind and needed to jump in and help someone, it would be a very good resource.

Image: Morguefile.

Post from: Blisstree

iPhone Could Save Lives

According to this article, CPR to be taught via Nintendo Wii game , students at the University of Alabama are working with the American Heart Association to come up with a program that can teach the proper way to do CPR.

If it works, the more power to them. Great stuff.

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Image: iStock.com

Post from: Blisstree

Learning CPR Via Video Game

While anyone (obese or not) can still get the swine flu, there is some question as to how well a patient can recover from the disease if they are obese. Apparently “health officials in the U.S. and Europe said, after a report showed a “striking” prevalence of obesity among patients hospitalized in Michigan.” The report indicated that when the obese were hit with swine flu, they became “severely ill” even if they didn’t have any other health problems.

Image: sxc.hu.

Post from: Blisstree

Obese Suffer Most from Swine Flu