FRIDAY, Aug. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Eating plenty of antioxidant-rich food such as blueberries, artichokes and pecans may help protect against macular degeneration, the leading cause of age-related blindness in the United States and other developed countries.

U.S. researchers found that antioxidants disrupt a link between two processes in the retina that, in combination, contribute to macular degeneration. Antioxidants also extend the lifetime of irreplaceable photoreceptors and other retinal cells.

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists from the United States and China have identified the first gene directly associated with the onset of severe "dry" macular degeneration, one of two forms of age-related macular degeneration that currently threatens the vision of up to nine million older Americans.

As we age, our eyes inevitably take on a baggy look. Now scientists think they know why.

Fat in the eye socket expands.

The finding could prove useful to the growing number of people not satisfied with the natural look.

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It is reported that 4 million Americans and 65 people worldwide have a condition known as glaucoma, a group of diseases that affect the eye and results in a gradual loss of vision. Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness.

Causes of Glaucoma
According to the Mayo Clinic, abnormally high pressure inside your eye, or intraocular pressure, is usually what causes the damage to the optic nerve, causing vision loss (glaucoma).

”Smart” Contact Lenses

MONDAY, Aug. 11 (HealthDay News) -- About half of all American adults don't have the 20/20 vision physicians consider optimal because they are nearsighted, farsighted, or have an irregular corneal curve known as astigmatism, a large, new study reports.

The study revealed that such common eye-focus problems -- collectively known as "refractive errors"-- affect young, middle-aged and older adults of all races. Corrective care for such problems amounts to an estimated $3.8 billion to $7.2 billion annually, the researchers said.

THURSDAY, Aug. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists have discovered a gene mutation that may cause a rare eye disease in dogs, and possibly humans as well.

A specific variation on chromosome 5 was associated with cone-rod dystrophy (CRD) in wire-haired dachshunds, according to a study in the Aug. 8 online issue of Genome Research.

If the mutation is also linked to the condition in humans, and researchers think it might be, this could point the way to new therapies.

THURSDAY, July 24 (HealthDay News) -- A genetic mutation that causes a congenital eye movement disorder called Duane syndrome has been identified by American and U.K. researchers, who said the finding may improve understanding of how the visual system develops.

People with Duane syndrome, which affects nerve growth in the eye, have limited sideways eye movement. The condition, which is more prevalent in women and in the left eye, affects about half a million people worldwide.

By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, July 23 (HealthDay News) -- Men and women suffering from coronary heart disease seem to fare worse on measures of cognitive function.

And the longer the person had had heart disease, the worse the performance in such mental processes as reasoning, vocabulary and verbal fluency, according to a study in the July 23 issue of the European Heart Journal.

The research, however, had some limitations that may affect its value.

MONDAY, July 21 (HealthDay News) -- Because they can be nearly silent, hybrid cars pose a serious threat of injury and death to blind and visually impaired people, says the American Council of the Blind, which is pushing the auto industry and government officials to develop ways to reduce this danger.

By Ed Edelson
HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, July 18 (HealthDay News) -- Correcting lazy eye in adults is supposed to be impossible, but researchers report they have been able to do that -- at least partially and temporarily -- by beaming magnetic pulses into the brain.