PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Drop in temperature may explain the increase in dry eye suffering

2011-03-04
(Press-News.org) Springtime may be just what the doctor orders for individuals suffering from dry eye condition, a disorder resulting from insufficient tear production or altered tear film composition. According to a study published in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, a temperature less than 30 degrees Celsius on the eye and eyelid could be the cause for the onset or worsening of the disorder.

The study, (Meibomian Lipid Films and the Impact of Temperature) showed that the cold temperature causes the meibum, the oily substance which helps to form the outermost layer of the tear film, to become too thick and stiff to spread onto the eye surface.

"In outdoor conditions, the wind accelerates the drop in temperature of the ocular surface and the eyelids, thus the effect is even more pronounced," says author Igor A. Butovich, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Ophthalmology and Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. "This mechanism seems to be one of the major factors that cause dry eye to worsen in cold, windy weather such that it can affect even healthy people."

Based on previous experience, the research team expected to see measurable effects of temperature on meibum. However, the researchers were surprised the results of their experiment found that a bulk of meibum abruptly melted in a very narrow range of temperatures, right around an eye surface and eyelid temperature of 32 – 34 degrees Celsius. If the temperature fell just a few degrees below that, the bulk meibum solidified, which could then result in plugging up the meibomian gland ducts.

The experiments further demonstrated that even if the thicker, stiffer substance does reach the eye surface, it may not spread as easily as under normal conditions. The tear film that forms on the eye will not have the right characteristics, which might cause it to evaporate more quickly and decrease its protective capabilities.

Butovich underscores that the goal is to maintain the quality of the tear film as close to normal as possible, under all conditions. "In cold climate, anything that keeps eyes and eyelids warm should help meibum flow easier, and form and maintain a better tear film; in windy conditions, protection from the wind — for example, with eye goggles — should reduce the tear film evaporation."

The authors strongly suggest that temperature be tightly controlled in future studies, especially since over-the-counter and prescription eye lubricant formulations that are being tested are most likely temperature-dependent. "Our experiments provided strong evidence that even a small drop in the ocular surface and eyelid temperatures is critical," stresses Butovich. "It would be logical to use this information and our approaches while designing new eye drop formulations."

###

The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) is the largest eye and vision research organization in the world. Members include more than 12,500 eye and vision researchers from over 80 countries. ARVO encourages and assists research, training, publication and knowledge-sharing in vision and ophthalmology.

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Discrimination creates racial battle fatigue for African-Americans

2011-03-04
University Park, Pa. -- Just as the constant pressure soldiers face on the battlefield can follow them home in the form of debilitating stress, African Americans who face chronic exposure to racial discrimination may have an increased likelihood of suffering a race-based battle fatigue, according to Penn State researchers. African Americans who reported in a survey that they experienced more instances of racial discrimination had significantly higher odds of suffering generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) some time during their lives, according to Jose Soto, assistant professor, ...

Study Suggests Correlation Between Low APGAR Scores and Low Birth Weights by Silvers, Langsam, Weitzman, P.C.

2011-03-04
Physicians have debated the relationship between a low APGAR score and cerebral palsy, especially in children with low birth weight. Although this relationship has previously been inconclusive, a new study by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) indicates a direct association between cerebral palsy and low APGAR scores in children with less than normal birth weights. What is an APGAR score? The APGAR test is a newborn assessment given directly after birth that measures five criteria to determine the child's health: Appearance/skin color -- pink, pale ...

Men in low income neighborhoods drink more than women: Study

2011-03-04
TORONTO, On – March 3, 2011 – Men living in low-income neighbourhoods consume more than three times as many alcoholic drinks each week compared to women in these neighbourhoods, according to a study led by St. Michael's researcher Flora Matheson. The findings, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, suggest neighbourhood affluence affects men and women differently when it comes to alcohol consumption. Heavy drinking is associated with higher death rates and a greater risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer and liver cirrhosis. "While ...

Grazing of cattle pastures can improve soil quality

2011-03-04
A team of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists has given growers in the Piedmont guidance on how to restore degraded soils and make the land productive. Researchers with the USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) found that if cattle are managed so that they graze moderately, soil quality can be restored and emissions of carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas) can be reduced. ARS is USDA's principal intramural scientific research agency. The research, published in the Soil Science Society of America Journal, supports the USDA priority of responding to climate ...

Traumatic Brain Injury is a Cause of Concern in the U.S.

2011-03-04
Many people have heard about traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), but few realize how common these injuries are in the United States. Data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that an estimated 52,000 people die every year in the United States as a result of a TBI. Another 275,000 are hospitalized and 1.365 million more receive emergency services annually. In all, nearly 1.7 million people suffer a TBI each year. One Oxford University report estimates the combined direct and indirect costs of TBI to have reached $60 billion in 2000. CDC data indicates ...

Mapping human vulnerability to climate change

Mapping human vulnerability to climate change
2011-03-04
Researchers already study how various species of plants and animals migrate in response to climate change. Now, Jason Samson, a PhD candidate in McGill University's Department of Natural Resource Sciences, has taken the innovative step of using the same analytic tools to measure the impact of climate change on human populations. Samson and fellow researchers combined climate change data with censuses covering close to 97 per-cent of the world's population in order to forecast potential changes in local populations for 2050. Samson's team found that if populations continue ...

South Carolina Juvenile Justice: Protecting Children's Best Interests

2011-03-04
Children who face criminal charges, along with their families, may have some concerns about the legal process. They may feel compelled to ask advice from a South Carolina juvenile defense lawyer about student alcohol and drug charges, an alleged assault, burglary or sexting. But the first thing they need to know is that juvenile crimes are prosecuted in the Family Court system involving different procedures than adult crimes, with important exceptions. Recent discussion about reforms of the South Carolina criminal justice system has advocated a holistic approach to the ...

Latest findings of Dartmouth HIV/AIDS study could turn treatment 'on its head'

2011-03-04
LEBANON, NH - A clinical study of anti-HIV/AIDS medicines in the developing world is on the verge of turning "the whole treatment world on its head," according to Dartmouth pediatrician Paul Palumbo. Palumbo, a professor of pediatric medicine at Dartmouth Medical School and executive director of the Dartmouth-affiliated DarDar Pediatric program in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, unveiled the latest findings of the International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials Group (IMPAACT ) during the 2011 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in ...

Researchers find new mechanism behind the formation and maintenance of long-term memories

2011-03-04
Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that lactate, a type of energy fuel in the brain, plays a critical role in the formation of long-term memory. These findings have important implications for common illnesses like Alzheimer's disease, other neurodegenerative disorders, aging-related memory impairment and diabetes. The research is published in the March 4th issue of the journal Cell. The study is the first to closely evaluate the role of lactate and the effect of its transport from astrocytes—a subtype of brain cells—to neurons in long-term memory ...

The Forgotten Laborer

2011-03-04
The White House has created a panel comprised of 18 members to consider changes to Social Security in order to keep it solvent. Among the changes being considered is raising the retirement age. One Republican representative has called for raising the retirement age as high as 70 over the next 20 years; some Democrats are endorsing similar steps. These considerations and discussions focus largely on employees who work sedentary or less demanding jobs at desks and computers. Lawmakers and those promoting raising the retirement age are comprised largely of those who spent ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

SwRI-built instruments to monitor, provide advanced warning of space weather events

Breakthrough advances sodium-based battery design

New targeted radiation therapy shows near-complete response in rare sarcoma patients

Does physical frailty contribute to dementia?

Soccer headers and brain health: Study finds changes within folds of the brain

Decoding plants’ language of light

UNC Greensboro study finds ticks carrying Lyme disease moving into western NC

New implant restores blood pressure balance after spinal cord injury

New York City's medical specialist advantage may be an illusion, new NYU Tandon research shows

Could a local anesthetic that doesn’t impair motor function be within reach?

1 in 8 Italian cetacean strandings show evidence of fishery interactions, with bottlenose and striped dolphins most commonly affected, according to analysis across four decades of data and more than 5

In the wild, chimpanzees likely ingest the equivalent of several alcoholic drinks every day

Warming of 2°C intensifies Arctic carbon sink but weakens Alpine sink, study finds

Bronze and Iron Age cultures in the Middle East were committed to wine production

Indian adolescents are mostly starting their periods at an earlier age than 25 years ago

Temporary medical centers in Gaza known as "Medical Points" (MPs) treat an average of 117 people daily with only about 7 staff per MP

Rates of alcohol-induced deaths among the general population nearly doubled from 1999 to 2024

PLOS One study: In adolescent lab animals exposed to cocaine, High-Intensity Interval Training boosts aversion to the drug

Scientists identify four ways our bodies respond to COVID-19 vaccines

Stronger together: A new fusion protein boosts cancer immunotherapy

Hidden brain waves as triggers for post-seizure wandering

Music training can help the brain focus

Researcher develop the first hydride ion prototype battery

MIT researchers find a more precise way to edit the genome

‘Teen’ pachycephalosaur butts into fossil record

Study finds cocoa extract supplement reduced key marker of inflammation and aging

Obesity treatment with bariatric surgery vs GLP-1 receptor agonists

Nicotinamide for skin cancer chemoprevention

Novel way to ‘rev up’ brown fat burns calories, limits obesity in mice

USC Stem Cell-led team makes major advance toward building a synthetic kidney

[Press-News.org] Drop in temperature may explain the increase in dry eye suffering