Anti-Aging News (8)
New multi purpose contact lenses are just around the corner that will be able to treat presbyopia, a gradual loss of the ability to focus on nearby objects and an array of other vision problems, not just presbyopia.
The next-generation multifocal contact lenses made with silicone hydrogel polymer, a more breathable and safer material than older soft-lens polymers are being pre-market tested by optometrists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Optometry.
The new multifocal contact lenses are manufactured to be multipurpose, meaning they can be used to correct an array of vision problems, not just presbyopia. The new multifocal lenses improve focus on nearby objects that even contact wearers experience.
ontact-lens wearers say freedom from eyeglasses is a great feeling, one they want to keep. Optometrists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Optometry are responding with prescriptions for next-generation multifocal contact lenses.
Bifocal glasses can help aging eyes, but for contacts wearers, presbyopia has been an annoying part of aging.
"There's a huge number of people who don't want to give up contacts due to presbyopia, or don't want to wear reading glasses over their contact lenses," according to Adam Gordon, O.D., M.P.H., an associate professor in the School of Optometry. Gordon directs the Cornea and Contact Lens Clinic at UAB Eye Care, the clinical and retail operation of the School of Optometry.
The new multifocal contact lenses are made with silicone hydrogel polymer, a more breathable and safer material than older soft-lens polymers, according to Gordon. Cutting-edge laser technology is used to manufacture each lens' complex optical designs, which improve focus on nearby objects.
UAB Eye Care doctors are conducting pre-market evaluations of new designs and materials, so patients in the Cornea and Contact Lens Clinic may receive a prescription for the next-generation lenses before they're available to eye doctors nationally.
Spotting Presbyopia
A comprehensive eye exam can spot the early signs of presbyopia. In addition to treating the condition with eyeglass prescriptions, optometrists traditionally have relied on a corrective technique called monovision - that is, prescribing one contact lens for distance vision and another contact lens for reading in the same patient. Monovision is essentially using non-matched lenses to improve sight.
"Before multifocals, monovision worked very well for 50 years or more, but it created compromises in vision that some people could never get used to," Gordon said. "In monovision, the two eyes are always doing something different: one eye is always blurry and the brain has to figure out which eye it should pay the most attention to."
Advantages of the New Multifocal Contact Lens Technology
The new multifocal lenses require fewer brain-sight adjustments and appear to improve vision for a large number of contact wearers. "The new multifocal lenses are a closer simulation of the way natural vision works and the way eyes are designed to focus," Gordon said.
The new multifocal contact lenses are manufactured to be multipurpose, meaning they can be used to correct an array of vision problems, not just presbyopia.
Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that certain types of specializations on nerve cells called “spines” are depleted as a person ages, causing cognitive decline in the part of the brain that mediates the highest levels of learning. These spines receive an important class of synapses that are involved with the process of learning.
It is never to late to start working out according to a new study published in Journal of Aging and Health. Working on preserving strength and agility can help seniors live healthier longer and also improve their quality of living according to the new research.
Concerned about your aging parents' health? Use this health information guide to determine if your aging parents may need some help. As your parents get older, you may want to make sure they're taking care of themselves and staying healthy.
For many Elderly Americans, driving equals independence. Driving gives people the ability to run errands, the ability to visit friends and family and to make important appointments, like doctor appointments. So the decision to hand over the car keys for good can be a difficult one for many elderly people.So When is it Time to Give up the Keys?
To help doctors, seniors and their family members spot the signs of someone who is too to drive, the American Medical Association (AMA) released the Physician's Guide to Assessing and Counseling Older Drivers this week. Though largely directed at doctors, the Physician's Guide to Assessing and Counseling Older Drivers is full of information that can help seniors and their families in determining if it's time to park the car in the garage for good.The guide includes screening tests, information about medical conditions and medications that may impact driving, and ways of approaching seniors about what can be an emotional issue.
How to Prepare for Successful Aging Featured
It’s never too early or too late to start working toward the goal of improving brain health and your future quality of life. The start of a New Year can be a perfect opportunity to consider how to achieve a long, health and satisfying life.
Six months of exercise can reverse the decline in physical conditioning associated with aging, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas reported in a 30-year follow-up to the 1966 landmark Dallas Bed Rest and Training Study.