If you have been reading FitEyes.com, you already know we have documented, through thousands of intraocular pressure measurements in real life situations, that stress can raise eye pressure in glaucoma patients. I just came across this abstract of an older study done in Japan that is of interest in this regard.

Purpose. To test whether encagement and volume load as stressors influence the intraocular pressure in rabbits.

[Association between 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and cognitive performance in middle-aged and older European men J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2009; doi 10.1136/jnnp.2008.165720]

Vitamin D may have a key role in helping the brain to keep working well in later life, suggests research published ahead of print in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

Previous research indicates that inadequate vitamin D intake may be linked to poorer mental agility in the ageing brain, but the results have been inconsistent.

Spilling the Beans, May 2009

The following story illustrates that different forms of meditation build different types of skills. My own research also suggests that different forms of meditation have differing effects on intraocular pressure. 

Meditation May Boost Short-Term Visual Memory

05.21.09, 02:00 PM EDT

Study involving DY meditation could have wide-ranging implications

THURSDAY, May 21 (HealthDay News) -- A certain type of meditation may help the brain retain images for short periods, says a new study on visual-spatial abilities.

NEW ULM, Minn. — A judge issued an arrest warrant Tuesday for the mother of a 13-year-old boy resisting chemotherapy after the pair missed a court hearing on his welfare.

Brown County District Judge John Rodenberg also ordered that Daniel Hauser be placed in protective custody so he can get proper medical treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The Ayurvedic herb saffron may hold one of the keys to preventing the loss of sight in old age – and may even help to improve vision in people suffering certain blinding eye diseases.

Research by Professor Silvia Bisti of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Vision Science (The Vision Centre) and University of L’Aquila, Italy, has established that saffron has remarkable effects on the genes which regulate the performance of the eye’s key vision cells.

In order to come to a fuller use of the senses, the organism has to be in a state of balance, in a state of rest. At the same time, the organism has to be in a state of alertness. So these two necessary things seem to contradict each other: restfulness and alertness. Restfulness is a state of quiet. Alertness is a state of dynamism, aliveness and receptivity. Restfulness allows the impressions to reach us; alertness allows the impressions to be sensed.

Read about Dave's thoughts regarding best ways of consuming turmeric and its component curcumin whose beneficial properties are backed up by a quoted research paper. Remember, it's not all about the single molecule though...

Previously, I wrote an article about the role of glial cells in retinal ganglion cell death. Now researchers at Universite de Montreal led by Dr. Lebrun-Julien have submitted new research to The Journal of Neuroscience that sheds additional light on this subject. Immediately below I provide the editor's introduction to this new research and an abstract of the research publication. Below that I provide a copy of a press release picked up by the main stream media. 

Here's an interesting article from Wired magazine.

How researchers can tap the plasticity of the brain to hack our 5 senses — and build a few new ones.

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/15.04/esp_pr.html

Correct instillation of eye drops is crucial for successful treatment of eye disease. Many patients have difficulties instilling eye drops, especially patients with loss of fixation, who cannot see the tip of the bottle. These patients may turn to harmful techniques, such as touching the dropper tip to the eye, or wasteful ones, such as feeling the sensation of drops hitting the eye or lower lid.¹ Non-compliance may become an issue as well, resulting from a combination of poor drop administration and frustration. The frustration stems from an inability to see the bottle tip.

We describe a new method of drop instillation which increases the accuracy with which eye drops are dispensed, thereby decreasing the incidence of harmful techniques, and possibly increasing compliance.

If you want to check the latest glaucoma news, take a look here: http://fiteyes.com/aggregator

We are in the process of implementing a feature that will automatically notify users, via email, of all new content published on FitEyes.com.

I would appreciate your comments about this new feature.

FitEyes.com is now running on a new website platform that is open source and that offers lots of enhanced features. We have invested a very large number of hours, for several months, in this upgrade so that you, the reader, can get more from your FitEyes.com experience.

However, even with all the time we have invested, there may still be some pages of pre-existing content that are less than 100% correct after the upgrade. If you notice any missing links or other issues, please let us know.

Question: Does reading a computer monitor for an hour and feeling eye strain raise your IOP?

My Answer: The question of computer use and intraocular pressure is a common topic. Many people report that using the computer (even for several hours) for relaxing activities does not raise intraocular pressure. I have found this to be true for myself as well.

However, when a feeling of eye strain or psychological stress is involved, it is a different issue in my opinion.