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#13
Cases of Blindness Expected to
Double
The number
of blind or visually impaired Americans is likely to double over
the next 30 years as the giant baby boom generation ages, the
National Eye Institute reported ;ast week.
Currently,
more than 1 million Americans are blind and another 2.4 million
suffer some vision impairment, according to the report, "Vision
Problems in the U.S."
"Disturbingly, the number of Americans with age-related eye
disease and the vision impairment that results is expected to
double over the next three decades," according to the report,
prepared in conjunction with Prevent Blindness America.
Dr. David
S. Friedman, lead author of the report said: "The bottom line is,
if nothing is done and we just go on the way we're going now,
we're going to have a massive increase in the number of visually
impaired and blind in America,"
Friedman
says, "The demographics of the U.S. is such that one would expect
very large increases."
Indeed
the millions of baby boomers born between 1946 and 1965 are now in
the age group where vision problems become increasing evident. The
study lists four primary threats:
 Diabetic
retinopathy, a common complication of diabetes in which blood
vessels in the retina break, leak or become blocked, impairing
vision over time. It affects nearly half of all people with
diabetes to some extent and risk increases with age. There are
approximately 5.3 million Americans currently affected.
Age-related
macular degeneration currently affects 1.6 million Americans. It
primarily affects the part of the retina responsible for sharp
central vision. There are two forms of this disease, called dry
AMD and wet AMD. AMD is the most common cause of legal blindness
and vision impairment in older Americans.
Research
indicates a combination of zinc, beta-carotene and vitamins C and
E may also reduce the risk of advanced AMD by 25 percent.
Cataract,
which is a clouding of the eye's naturally clear lens. Most
cataracts appear with advancing age, but there are additional
factors, such as smoking, diabetes and excessive exposure to
sunlight.
Surgical
treatment can eliminate vision loss due to the disease, but
cataracts still account for a significant amount of vision
impairment in the United States.
Glaucoma,
a disease that causes gradual damage to the optic nerve that
carries visual information from the eye to the brain. Because the
loss of vision is not noticed until a significant amount of nerve
damage has occurred, as many as half of all people with glaucoma
are unaware of it. About 2.2 million Americans age 40 and older
have been diagnosed with glaucoma.
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DID YOU KNOW:
Your kidneys
maintain your body water volume, regulate your blood pressure,
remove waste products from the 200 quarts of blood they filter
every day, and release essential hormones, but all that many
people know about them is that these fist-size organs are shaped
liked their namesake, the kidney bean. The kidneys are so
efficient that even people born with just one kidney can lead
healthy lives; however, the kidneys are not indestructible. The
two most common causes of kidney disease are diabetes and high
blood pressure.
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