Eye Health

My Retina Tracker Program (MRT) is a volunteer registry for those who have been diagnosed with an inherited retinal degeneration (IRD). The program provides testing for 266 retinal disease genes. Usually, one or more gene defects are the cause of most inherited retinal degenerative diseases. The genetic testing will be used to help determine which […]

Though it is considered a rare genetic disorder, Usher Syndrome is the main cause of deaf-blindness and the most common condition that affects both vision and hearing. Usher Syndrome is a loss of hearing and an eye condition known as Retinitis Pigmentosa. Usher Syndrome is categorized into three types: Usher type I: People with Usher […]

One of the most common symptoms for those with macular degeneration (AMD) is the loss of clear vision making it difficult to read.  For those with a more advanced stage of AMD, there may be a smudge or a black spot right in the middle of one’s vision which interferes even more.  While handheld magnifiers […]

June 27th is National Sunglasses Day and a good reminder to protect our vision while we are outside enjoying summer time activities.  This is the moment most of us wait for all year:  After a long, cold, bitter winter and a not so warm spring, summer is the chance for us to get some fresh […]

Curcumin is the active yellow ingredient in the herb turmeric which comes from the Curcuma longa plant belonging to the ginger family. While there are many traditional medicinal uses for curcumin, there is also plenty of research that involves the use of this spice.   Research In fact, at the time of this writing there […]

If you do any kind of reading on eye healthy diets, you will see a common recommendation to eat more spinach.  There are lots of good reasons for that.   How Spinach Benefits our Eye Health Rich in free-radical fighting antioxidants, spinach provides us with lutein, zeaxanthin, beta-carotene, alpha-lipoic acid and glutathione. High concentrations of […]

Avocados are not just for making guacamole.  While most of us think of dark leafy greens as superstars for eye health, the nutrient dense avocado is not to be ignored.  Some of the benefits of eating this, yes, fruit,  are:   Rich in Antioxidants “Among the twenty most commonly eaten fruits, avocado ranks number one […]

For those who are receiving regular eye injections to treat their retinal disease, the dread and anticipation of having a needle put into one’s eye can be worse than the actual procedure.  While some patients breeze through this treatment many others experience eye pain, eye swelling, allergic reactions, eye floaters, ocular hypertension and sometimes eye […]

Omega 3 fatty acids play several different roles and function in several different ways in the retina and for our vision. Omega-3’s are called essential fatty acids because they must come from your diet as the body is unable to make them.  The three forms of omega-3’s include eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) […]

There are two forms of age related macular degeneration (AMD), dry and wet, with wet AMD being the less common one accounting for around 10-15% of those with this retinal condition.  A person can have dry AMD in one eye and wet AMD in the other eye. Wet AMD, also called choroidal neovascularization, causes more […]