Cataract Surgery Prolongs Life? A Study Implies Such

Science Daily notes that “people with cataract-related vision loss who have had cataract surgery to improve their sight are living longer than those with visual impairment who chose not to have the procedure, according to an Australian cohort study published this month in Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. After comparing the two groups, the researchers found a 40 percent lower long-term mortality risk in those who had the surgery.” Read more.

New Developments in Genetic Testing and Cataract Removal

This month's Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, reports on two new tools for diagnosis and care of inherited eye diseases and cataract surgery. 

1. Scientists in top genetics centers in the Netherlands have taken the first step toward large scale, inexpensive genetic testing for eye diseases. Their new retinal DNA re-sequencing chip and patient pooling strategy enables detection of multiple retinal disease gene sequences in multiple patients, at the same time. The chip is fully validated for DNA diagnostic purposes, and an upgraded version will be available in early 2011 at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam....
2. Who is most likely to benefit from cataract removal? How much improvement in vision and quality of life can people expect after surgery? Cataract removal is the most common surgery in the United States and many other countries, but surprisingly, until now there has been no standard assessment tool to help doctors and health planners answer these questions. A Spanish research group recently developed such a tool and validated it in a large, diverse study population....