Contributors to the advances of medical science

February 2nd, 2010  Tagged

There were some significant breakthroughs in the medical science field during the 20th century. In 1928, Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin and cardiac surgeon Christian Barnard from South African first developed the human-to-human heart transplantation in 1967. All these advances have significantly contributed to the progression of medical science.

During the long period of medical science development, these individuals mentioned before are lucky that they are remembered by modern people. However, there have been a great number of medical visionaries, who have also made meaningful contribution. Some technological inventions may have resulted from the cooperation or collaboration of many scientists or surgeons.

Indeed, some medical advances have been honed and perfected over a long period of time, so that it is hard to give credit to a specific person or a specific group of contributors. The fact is that many people should receive their deserved credit due to their contribution to certain medical advances.

For instance, there were numerous pioneers of the laser eye surgery. Fyodorov from Russia was performing groundbreaking work in eye surgery field even before the invention of laser eye surgery. Later in 1960, the first artificial crystalline lens was implanted by him. With precise incision near the cornea region, Fyodorov created a surgery for myopia correction.

Besides contributions by Fyodorov, there were other doctors who have helped push laser eye surgery forward. The American physicist Theodore Maiman first developed and patented laser. All these pioneers have made concrete efforts for the invention of laser eye surgery in 1980s.

Another example is the invention of excimer laser eye surgery. Excimer laser was first invented by Nikolai Basov in 1970 but used for silicone computer chips at first. In 1980s, excimer laser was introduced to biological tissue. Steven Trokel from America patented excimer laser for use in corrective eye surgery. All these efforts and pioneering contributions made the first appearance of excimer laser eye surgery in 1987.

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Factors associated with macular degeneration

February 2nd, 2010  Tagged

Age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness among people over 50 years old in industrialized countries. Scientists have found that antioxidants such as carotenoids are helpful in decreasing the risk of AMD. In particular, spinach is one of the best sources of carotenoids, which are considered as normal macular protective pigment (MPP).

UV rays have been long reported to damage eye tissues because they produce free radicals in the eye. What’s more, blue light is particularly harmful to the macula which is the central retina. A common way to fight against these harmful rays is to wear sunglasses with HEV and UV protection. And brown or amber sunglasses are believed to block out HEV most effectively.

In addition to sunglasses, experts also recommend some nutrients for AMD prevention. Zeaxanthin and lutein are two of the powerful antioxidants that have been found in the macular tissue of the retina. Both of the two nutrients protect the photoreceptors against oxidative stress, inflammation and even degeneration.

There are many sources of zeaxanthin, including foods and supplements. Those foods include egg yolks, squash, pumpkin, orange peppers, collard greens, tangerines, romaine lettuce, green beans, spinach and so on. In addition, supplements from various brands such as Eye Promise-Restore are helpful for those who can not get adequate amounts of zeaxanthin from a diet.

Omega-3 fatty acids are also thought to help maintain eye health. The most common way is to consume fish oil extracted from cold water fish such as salmon, mackerel, anchovies as well as sardines. Ordinary people are encouraged to contain certain amount of fish oil in the diet.

Glutathione is an intracellular antioxidant. It can literally prevent degeneration in the delicate photoreceptor cells. This type of antioxidant is a billion more times potent than Vitamin C in neutralizing those free radicals in the eye.

One’s lifestyle is also critical. Obesity and smoking are both thought to increase the risk of severe macular degeneration by 4 times. And regular exercises are usually helpful in maintaining a health life.

more info

·Factors associated with macular degeneration

·Types and treatments of macular degeneration