According to a study published in the January issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology, high caloric and sodium intake appear to be associated with the progression of diabetic retinopathy (DR) among African American patients with type 1 diabetes.

In a study population of 469 individuals at risk for the progression of DR, researchers found that baseline total caloric intake was significantly associated with a six-year incidence of vision-threatening Diabetic Retinopathy (either proliferative DR or macular edema [ME]) and of severe hard exudates, while high sodium intake at baseline was a significant, independent risk factor for six-year incidence of ME.

Limitations of this study include single measurement of nutrient intake, failure to adjust for multiple comparisons, and lack of generalizability to other populations.

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Researchers question causes of myopia

On its "Morning Edition" program, NPR reports on the search for the causes of myopia. Epidemiologist Susan Vitale, of the National Eye Institute, explained that a study she coauthored in December's Archives of Ophthalmology found about a 66 percent increase in myopia over 30 years.


NPR notes that near-work the things you do close up with your eyes, like reading or watching television, has been suspected as contributing to nearsightedness, but a study by researchers at the College of Optometry at the Ohio State University found that near-work had no influence. They did discover, however, that the amount of outdoor activity a child had an influence the development of myopia.

Now, researchers are studying whether outdoor light somehow changes the way the eye grows

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The New York Times reported that the decline of written language has become a reality for only the blind, as fewer and fewer visually impaired people learn Braille, many preferring instead to rely upon synthetic voice technology and computer-screen-reading software.

In fact, a report released last year by the National Federation of the Blind, an advocacy group with 50,000 members, said that less than 10 percent of the 1.3 million legally blind Americans read Braille. The report found that while approximately half of all blind children learned Braille in the 1950s, today that number is as low as one in 10.

Increased number of blind children born with additional physical or mental handicaps, often the result of premature birth. And a large percentage of these students were partly sighted. There is a wonderful article explaining this so well in the Arizona Republic June 1, 2006 . The reporter interviewed Arielle Silverman President of the Arizona Association of Blind Students.

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