Green Tea May Protect Against Eye Diseases

"New research from Hong Kong suggests that green tea may protect against eye diseases such as glaucoma because the researchers found green tea antioxidants called catechins present in various tissue structures in the eyes of laboratory rats after they had ingested green tea.

The researchers, based at Hong Kong Eye Hospital, Kowloon, and the Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, in the New Territories, Hong Kong, have written about their findings in a paper that appeared in the 10th February print issue of the American Chemical Society's bi-weekly Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Green tea contains catechins which belong to the family of antioxidants that includes vitamin C, vitamin E, lutein, and zeaxanthin and is well-known for its disease-fighting properties.

Until this study, however, nobody knew if green tea catechins actually passed from the stomach and gastrointestinal tract into the tissues of the eye.

For their investigation Dr Chi Pui Pang, of the Hong Kong Eye Hospital, and colleagues examined the eyes of dead rats that had been fed green tea extract for varying amounts of time.

When they examined the cornea, lens, retina, choroid-sclera, vitreous humor, and aqueous humor, they found evidence that these various eye structures had absorbed significant amounts of individual catechins.

For example, the retina absorbed the highest levels of gallocatechin and the aqueous humor absorbed epigallocatechin.

They also found that the time of maximum concentration of the catechins varied from 0.5 to 12.2 hours and their effects in reducing harmful oxidative stress in the eye lasted for up to 20 hours after consumption.

Chi Pui Pang and colleagues concluded that: "Our results indicate that green tea consumption could benefit the eye against oxidative stress."

However, more studies are needed to verify the same effects occur in humans." ~ Source: MedicalNewsToday.com

For more eye news, contact Eyeoptix, Charlottes top eye doctor.

Artificial Eye Muscles?

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — Eye Surgeons from UC Davis Medical Center have demonstrated that artificial muscles can restore the ability of patients with facial paralysis to blink, a development that could benefit the thousands of people each year who no longer are able to close their eyelids due to combat-related injuries, stroke, nerve ierve injury or facial surgery.

In addition, the technique, which uses a combination of electrode leads and silicon polymers, could be used to develop synthetic muscles to control other parts of the body. The new procedure is described in an article in the January-February issue of the Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery.

"This is the first-wave use of artificial muscle in any biological system," said Travis Tollefson, a facial plastic surgeon in the UC Davis Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery. "But there are many ideas and concepts where this technology may play a role."

In their study, Tollefson and his colleagues were seeking to develop the protocol and device design for human implantation of electroactive polymer artificial muscle (EPAM) to reproducibly create a long-lasting eyelid blink that will protect the eye and improve facial appearance. EPAM is an emerging technology that has the potential for use in rehabilitating facial movement in patients with paralysis. Electroactive polymers act like human muscles by expanding and contracting, based on variable voltage input levels. ~ ScienceDaily.com

Contact Lenses Often Prescribed For Infants With Serious Eye Problems

Infants as young as one-month-old are prescribed contact lenses at pediatric eye surgery centers so their visual system will develop correctly. Infants may be fitted for contacts if they have had cataract surgery, need extremely high-strength prescription glasses, or have very different prescriptions for the two eyes.

According to Dr. Natalia Uribe, who directs the Contact Lens Program in The Vision Center at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, "The brain's visual system is not fully mature until about age eight. It is critical that infants and very young children with eye problems have their sight corrected so the visual pathway develops properly. Otherwise it may not be possible for them to enjoy normal vision as an adult."

Dr. Uribe, an optometrist, said her clinic is growing and will treat more than 700 young patients this year, making it one of the largest centers in the nation. She said more infants are being diagnosed with major eye problems due to better screening and to the higher rate of survival among extremely preterm infants.

Premature infants are at risk for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), a disease affecting the blood vessels feeding the retina and for other eye problems. Medical studies have shown that approximately 20 percent of all premature babies will develop some form of strabismus (crossed eyes), amblyopia (lazy eye) or serious refractive error (require glasses) by the time they are 3 years of age. ~ Source: Medical News Today

Cataracts & Crystalens

Crystalens is an accommodating intraocular lens that, unlike a standard IOL, can treat both a person's cataracts and presbyopia—loss of near and intermediate vision. You probably noticed in your forties that you started to lose some of your up-close vision and had to start wearing reading glasses. Crystalens not only treats your cataracts (a clouding or hardening of your lens), but can also reduce or eliminate your dependence on glasses. It does so by recreating accommodation similar to your eye's natural lens. The unique Crystalens can reduce or eliminate glasses for most activities, including: reading a book, working on the computer, and driving a car.

Crystalens was modeled after the human eye. Like the natural lens, it uses the eye muscle to flex and accommodate in order to focus on objects in the environment at all distances. Crystalens dynamically adjusts to your visual needs.

Crystalens is:
* The first and only FDA-approved accommodating intraocular lens
* The only FDA-approved intraocular lens that uses the natural focusing ability of the eye
* The only FDA-approved presbyopia correcting IOL for cataract patients that provides a single focal point throughout a continuous range of vision

For more information on Charlotte Crystalens, please visit our website.

Ageless Vision

Our doctors are committed to providing our patients with every option possible to meet the challenges of ageless vision.

In addition to traditional vision treatments such as eyeglasses and conventional contact lenses, our doctors have received advanced training in hybrid multi-focal contact lenses and Conductive Keratoplasty (CK). We are constantly searching for solutions to help our patients see their best and look their best.

What are hybrid multi-focal contact lenses?

Hybrid multi-focal contact lenses are a unique design that offers the comfort of soft lenses in combination with the clarity of vision of a gas permeable lens. The soft skirt offers all day comfort while the breathable rigid center keeps eyes healthy while providing crisp, clear vision. The multi-focal hybrid lens allows you to experience perfect vision while reading as well as for distance. Our doctors are thrilled to be able to offer our patients the latest in contact lens technology.

For more information on ageless vision and our Charlotte Optometrists, please visit our site!

Frames and Lenses

EyeOptix has a wide selection of fashion-forward frames, from the names you know and a few you won’t find anywhere else, all so you can see and look your very best. We have over 1,000 frames in our optical departments in all price ranges.

Some of the collections you will see displayed in our offices include:

Gucci
Maui Jim
Kate Spade
Paul Smith
Lulu Guiness
Hugo Boss
Banana Republic
Claiborne
Jones New York
Valentino
LA Eyeworks
Vera Wang
Giorgio Armani
Nine West

For more information on our Charlotte Eye Doctors, please visit our site.

Dry Eyes

Are you one of the many patients that suffer from dry eyes? The usual symptoms include: stinging or burning eyes, scratchiness, stringy mucus in or around the eyes, eye irritation from smoke or wind, excess tearing and difficulty wearing contact lenses.

What causes dry eye?

Tear production decreases as we age. Although dry eye can occur in both men and women at any age, women are most often affected. This is especially true after menopause. Dry eye can also be associated with arthritis and accompanied by a dry mouth.

How is dry eye diagnosed?

Your eye doctor is usually able to diagnose dry eyes by examining the eyes. Sometimes tests that measure tear production may be necessary.