| Medical Dictionary |
A Medical Dictionary of Medical Terminology
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Macular degeneration, or age-related macular degeneration (AMD), is a leading cause of vision loss in Americans 60 and older. It is a disease that destroys your sharp, central vision. You need central vision to see objects clearly and to do tasks such as reading and driving.
AMD affects the macula, the part of the eye that allows you to see fine detail. It does not hurt, but it causes cells in the macula to die. There are two types: wet and dry. Wet AMD happens when abnormal blood vessels grow under the macula. These new blood vessels often leak blood and fluid. Wet AMD damages the macula quickly. Blurred vision is a common early symptom. Dry AMD happens when the light-sensitive cells in the macula slowly break down. You gradually lose your central vision. A common early symptom is that straight lines appear crooked.
Regular comprehensive eye exams can detect macular degeneration before the disease causes vision loss. Treatment can slow vision loss. It does not restore vision.
NIH: National Eye Institute
Wilson disease is a rare inherited disorder that prevents your body from getting rid of extra copper. You need a small amount of copper from food to stay healthy. Too much copper is poisonous.
Normally, your liver releases extra copper into bile, a digestive fluid. With Wilson disease, the copper builds up in your liver, and it releases the copper directly into your bloodstream. This can cause damage to your brain, kidneys, and eyes.
Wilson disease is present at birth, but symptoms usually start between ages 5 and 35. It first attacks the liver, the central nervous system or both. The most characteristic sign is a rusty brown ring around the cornea of the eye. A physical exam and laboratory tests can diagnose it.
Treatment is with drugs to remove the extra copper from your body. You need to take medicine and follow a low-copper diet for the rest of your life. Don't eat shellfish or liver, as these foods may contain high levels of copper. At the beginning of treatment, you'll also need to avoid chocolate, mushrooms, and nuts. Have your drinking water checked for copper content and don't take multivitamins that contain copper.
With early detection and proper treatment, you can enjoy good health.
NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Retinal disorders are conditions that affect the retina, the thin light-sensitive tissue at the back of your eye. The retina senses light and sends signals to your brain so you can see.
Retinal disorders can cause blurred or distorted vision. Some can lead to vision loss or blindness.
What causes retinal disorders?The causes of retinal disorders vary. Aging is a common factor, but other things can raise your risk, such as if you:
Some common retinal disorders include:
Symptoms can vary, but most retinal disorders affect your vision. Common symptoms include:
Seek medical care right away if you notice flashes of light, sudden vision changes, or a sudden increase in eye floaters. These can be signs of a serious retinal problem.
How are retinal disorders diagnosed?Eye care providers check for retinal disorders with a dilated eye exam. Eye drops are used to widen your pupils so your provider can look at the retina for signs of damage.
They may also do other tests, such as:
Some retinal disorders can be treated to slow or stop vision loss, and sometimes to restore vision. Treatment depends on the cause and severity. It may include:
Not all retinal disorders can be prevented. Some are related to aging or genetics. But you can protect your eyes by:
NIH: National Eye Institute
When you play the piano or hit a tennis ball you are activating the cerebellum. The cerebellum is the area of the brain that controls coordination and balance. Problems with the cerebellum include:
Treatment of cerebellar disorders depends on the cause. In some cases, there is no cure but treatment may help with symptoms.
NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Dementia is a loss of mental functions that is severe enough to affect your daily life and activities. These functions include:
It is normal to become a bit more forgetful as you age. But dementia is not a normal part of aging. It is a serious disorder that interferes with your daily life.
What are the types of dementia?The most common types of dementia are known as neurodegenerative disorders. These are diseases in which the cells of the brain stop working or die. They include:
Other conditions can cause dementia or dementia-like symptoms, including:
Certain factors can raise your risk for developing dementia, including:
The symptoms of dementia can vary, depending on which parts of the brain are affected. Often, forgetfulness is the first symptom. Dementia also causes problems with the ability to think, problem solve, and reason. For example, people with dementia may:
Some people with dementia cannot control their emotions and their personalities may change. They may become apathetic, meaning that they are no longer interested in normal daily activities or events. They may lose their inhibitions and stop caring about other peoples' feelings.
Certain types of dementia can also cause problems with balance and movement.
The stages of dementia range from mild to severe. In the mildest stage, it is just beginning to affect a person's functioning. In the most severe stage, the person is completely dependent on others for care.
How is dementia diagnosed?Your health care provider may use many tools to make a diagnosis:
There is no cure for most types of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia. Treatments may help to maintain mental function longer, manage behavioral symptoms, and slow down the symptoms of disease. They may include:
Researchers have not found a proven way to prevent dementia. Living a healthy lifestyle might influence some of your risk factors for dementia.
Eye care is about keeping your eyes healthy through good daily habits, regular checkups, and treatment when needed. Your eyes are an important part of your health. You rely on them every day to see and understand the world around you. Some eye diseases can lead to vision loss without early warning signs, so it's important to catch them as soon as possible. Get your eyes checked as often as your health care provider recommends, or if you notice new vision problems. Just like caring for the rest of your body, it's important to keep your eyes healthy.
How can I keep my eyes healthy?There are many things you can do to protect your eyes and see your best:
What you eat and how you take care of your body can have a big impact on your eyes and vision:
Everyone needs their eyesight tested to check for vision and eye problems. Children usually have vision screening, also called an eye test, in school or at their provider's office during a checkup. This is a brief test that mainly checks how well you can see things up close and far away. Adults may also get vision screenings during their checkups. But many adults need more than a vision screening. They need a comprehensive dilated eye exam.
Getting comprehensive dilated eye exams is especially important because some eye diseases may not have warning signs. The exams are the only way to detect these diseases in their early stages, when they are easier to treat.
The eye exam includes several tests:
If you have a refractive error and are going to need glasses or contacts, then you will also have a refraction test. When you have this test, you look through a device that has lenses of different strengths to help your eye care professional figure out which lenses will give you the clearest vision.
When should I start getting eye exams?How often you need eye exams depends on your age, race, risk factors, and overall health. For example, Black/African American adults are at higher risk for glaucoma and may need to start exams earlier. If you have diabetes, you should have an exam every year. Check with your provider about when you need these exams.
See an eye care specialist right away if you have symptoms like sudden loss of vision, double vision, blurred vision with eye pain, flashes of light, black spots or halos around lights. These symptoms may represent a serious medical or eye condition.
If you have anemia, your blood does not carry enough oxygen to the rest of your body. The most common cause of anemia is not having enough iron. Your body needs iron to make hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is an iron-rich protein that gives the red color to blood. It carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body.
Anemia has three main causes: blood loss, lack of red blood cell production, and high rates of red blood cell destruction.
Conditions that may lead to anemia include:
Anemia can make you feel tired, cold, dizzy, and irritable. You may be short of breath or have a headache.
Your doctor will diagnose anemia with a physical exam and blood tests. Treatment depends on the kind of anemia you have.
NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
The B vitamins are:
These vitamins help the process your body uses to get or make energy from the food you eat. They also help form red blood cells. You can get B vitamins from proteins such as fish, poultry, meat, eggs, and dairy products. Leafy green vegetables, beans, and peas also have B vitamins. Many cereals and some breads have added B vitamins.
Not getting enough of certain B vitamins can cause diseases. A lack of B12 or B6 can cause anemia.
Your brain is the control center of your body. It controls your thoughts, memory, speech, and movement. It regulates the function of many organs. It's part of your nervous system, which also includes your spinal cord and peripheral nerves. The nervous system sends signals between your brain and the rest of the body. Your nerves take in information from your senses and send it to the brain to be processed. Your brain and nerves also communicate to help you move and to control your body's functions.
When the brain is healthy, it works quickly and automatically. But when you have a brain disease, it may affect how well you can function and do your daily activities. Some common brain diseases include:
The symptoms of brain diseases vary widely, depending on the specific problem. In some cases, damage is permanent. In other cases, treatments such as surgery, medicines, or therapies such as physical, occupational, and speech therapies, may cure the disease or improve the symptoms.
Degenerative nerve diseases affect many of your body's activities, such as balance, movement, talking, breathing, and heart function. Many of these diseases are genetic. Sometimes the cause is a medical condition such as alcoholism, a tumor, or a stroke. Other causes may include toxins, chemicals, and viruses. Sometimes the cause is unknown.
Degenerative nerve diseases include:
Degenerative nerve diseases can be serious or life-threatening. It depends on the type. Most of them have no cure. Treatments may help improve symptoms, relieve pain, and increase mobility.