US scientists have said that chronic social stress could worsen neuro-degenerative disorder — a condition where cells of the brain and spinal cord are destroyed. The brain and spinal cord are composed of neurons that do different functions such as controlling movements, processing sensory information, and making decisions.
In experiments on mice, researchers at Texas A&M University found that social stress increased the inflammation of the central nervous system (CNS) that consists of the brain and spinal cord, reported health portal Health Central. Stress appeared to elevate levels of protein cytokine called interleukin-6 (IL-6), which led to increased severity of multiple sclerosis-like illnesses in the mice.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a serious and incurable neurological disease that causes blindness and paralysis. Cytokines are pro-inflammatory proteins that regulate immunity and inflammatory functions.The researchers also found that giving the mice IL-6 neutralising antibody treatments during stressful events prevented the stress-related worsening of the MS-like diseases.
"People exposed to chronic social conflict experience high levels of stress and consequent dysregulation of the immune system, thereby increasing vulnerability to infectious and auto-immune diseases," lead researcher Mary Meagher said.
An Implantable Telescope (in Retina) to Reverse Vision Loss
Washington: A small telescope-like device developed by ophthalmologists in the US may be able to halt and even reverse vision loss caused by macular degeneration, an age-related eye disease.
--- Picture: An illustration of how the miniature telescope projects data back to the eye ---
According to a new study published in the Archives of Ophthalmology, the tiny optical prosthetics dramatically improved the vision of about 140 patients studied in a clinical trial over two years.
Macular degeneration is a medical condition found in elderly people. Due to the disease, the centre of the inner lining of the eye, known as the macula area of the retina, suffers thinning, atrophy and also bleeding in some cases. This can result in loss of central vision, which leads to inability in seeing fine details, reading or recognising faces. There is no known treatment to correct macular degeneration yet.
Now, the new Implantable Miniature Telescope (IMT), developed by US-based VisionCare Ophthalmic Technologies, could offer relief to those suffering from the disease.“This is a good device and it offers hope for people with no other options,” says Kathryn Colby, lead author of the study and an ophthalmologist. The IMT is a compound telescope system which consists of a glass cylinder that is 4.4mm in length and 3.6mm in diameter, and houses wide-angle micro-optics.
The prosthetic telescope is implanted by an ophthalmic surgeon in the eye that provides central vision. The device works with the eye’s cornea like a telephoto system, rendering an enlarged retinal image designed to reduce the area of diminished vision, reported the online edition of Scientific American. Doctors caution that this is not an easy fix, and they are developing special techniques to properly implant the device without damaging the eye. However, the regulatory body for medicine in the US has given the green signal to ophthalmologists for implanting the device.
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