Treatment for amblyopia begins as soon after diagnosis as possible. Early treatment usually can reverse the condition. Treatment should begin before a child’s vision has fully developed (around age 9 or 10). The younger the child is when treatment begins, the better his or her chances are for developing good vision. Amblyopia can be hard to correct after age 9. But studies suggest that treatment beyond this age can still correct amblyopia. Glasses or contact lenses improve some conditions, such as unequal vision. Other conditions, such as cataracts and some forms of strabismus, may require surgery.
A child born with a cataract or any defect that keeps light out of the eye needs immediate treatment because amblyopia may become permanent within a few months. Amblyopia that results from misaligned eyes (strabismus) or unequal vision in the eyes (anisometropia) usually develops more slowly. Treatment corrects amblyopia by training the brain to use visual signals from the eye with weaker vision, building a stronger connection between the brain and the weak eye, and allowing vision to develop normally in that eye.There are several ways to force the weak eye to get stronger. Methods include wearing an eye patch (also called occlusion) and using eyedrops or glasses (also called penalization). The most common type of penalization treatment uses eyedrops (usually atropine) to blur the vision in the stronger eye and force the brain to use the weaker eye. Eyeglasses with a blurry lens over the stronger eye force the brain to use the weaker eye.

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Amblyopia generally develops in young children, before age six. Its symptoms often are noted by parents, caregivers or health-care professionals. If a child squints or completely closes one eye to see, he or she may have amblyopia. Other signs include overall poor visual acuity, eyestrain and headaches.

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A misalignment of the eyes (strabismus) is the most common cause of functional amblyopia. The two eyes are looking in two different directions at the same time. The brain is sent two different images and this causes confusion. Images from the misaligned or “crossed” eye are turned off to avoid double vision. In Anisometropia there is a difference of refractive states between the two eyes. Cataract cause the image to be blurrier than the other eye. The brain “prefers” the clearer image. The eye with the cataract may become amblyopic. Ptosis is the drooping of the upper eyelid. If light cannot enter the eye because of the drooping lid, the eye is essentially not being used. This can lead to amblyopia. Nutritional deficiencies or chemical toxicity may result in amblyopia. Alcohol, tobacco, or a deficiency in the B vitamins may result in toxic amblyopia. Amblyopia can run in families.

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Dengue Fever is an infectious disease which is characterized by severe pains in the eyes, head, and extremities. It is transmitted by the bite of a mosquito. It is transmitted to humans by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which feeds during the day. Dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever are acute febrile diseases, found in the tropics and Africa, and caused by four closely related virus serotypes of the genus Flavivirus.

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Amblyopia is also known as lazy eye. It is a disorder of the visual system that is characterized by poor or indistinct vision in an eye. The problem is caused by either no transmission or poor transmission of the visual image to the brain for a sustained period of dysfunction or during early childhood. It is otherwise physically normal, out of proportion to associated structural abnormalities. It has been estimated to affect 1–5% of the population.Detecting the condition in early childhood increases the chance of successful treatment. Amblyopia normally only affects one eye.”Lazy eye” is frequently used to refer to amblyopia because there is no “laziness” of either the eye or the amblyope involved in the condition.

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The disease usually begins in late childhood with increasing night blindness due to degeneration of the retina (retinitis pigmentosa) and loss of the sense of smell (anosmia). If the disease progresses, other symptoms may include deafness, problems with balance and coordination (ataxia), weakness or numbness (peripheral neuropathy), dry and scaly skin (ichthyosis), and heartbeat abnormalities (cardiac arrhythmias). With the loss of sense of smell there can also be a loss of taste. Distortion of function-foods or odors that normally are pleasant may taste or smell odd or distorted, perhaps with an unpleasant smell. Some individuals will have shortened bones in their fingers or toes, or a visibly shortened fourth toe.  Although the disease usually appears in early childhood, some people will not develop symptoms until their 40s or 50s.

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A new study by Japanese scientists shows that cells from menstrual blood may be useful in repairing heart damage.

Researchers obtained menstrual blood from nine women and focused their study on a kind of cell that can act like stem cells.

About 20 percent of these cells began beating spontaneously about three days after being put together in vitro with cells from the hearts of rats, the study says. The cells later formed sheet-like heart muscle tissue.

The success rate is 100 times higher than the 0.2 to 0.3 percent for stem cells taken from human bone marrow, researcher Shunichiro Miyoshi, a cardiologist at Keio University’s school of medicine, told French news agency AFP.

Experiments showed that rats who had suffered heart attacks improved after they received the menstrual blood cells, according to the study, which appeared in the medical journal Stem Cell.

Source : FOXNews

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All fat people know how difficult it is to get rid of their tummy tyres, escpecially if they are lazy.

Now rejoice you lazy bums, according to a new study, help may be just a rub away.
Yes rubbing of a topical cream containing 0.5% aminophylline, two times a day, can burn away the adipose tissue.
This is according to a new study. Though the sample size was small, 50 precisely, with a BMI of 27 and over, still this gives a new hope in research related to weight reduction in the obese.
Aminophylline is a member of the theophylline group and is used in treatment in bronchial asthma.
However this is an add on and is to be used along with calorie maintenance and an exercise regimen.

Popularity: 74% [?]

Japan has the highest incidence of gastric cancer worldwide.

Lower blood cholesterol is always associated with decrease in the incidence of CHD.

However, in a study conducted in Japan, it was found that low blood cholesterol levels were associated with a greater risk of developing gastric cancer, especially the intestinal types.

Till date, no such co-relation has been found between CHD and Gastric cancer.

Doctors now have advised that people having low cholesterol should go for periodic gastrointestinal check ups. Really strange.

Popularity: 70% [?]

This refers to the contraceptive options after unprotected sexual intercourse.

The most popular drug is ‘Ovran’, where the female should take 2 tablets within 72 hours of intercourse and then 1 tablet after 12 hrs of taking the first dose.

Keep in mind that the efficacy of the drug decreases as time goes by, hence it would be better if the pills are taken immediately after intercourse for better results.

Prostinar contains levonorgesterol and is to be taken as a single pill within 72 hours and next pill after 12 hours. You can also take 2 pills at a time within 72 hours.

Mifepristone is a steroid and is to be taken as a single pill. It is very effective, however very expensive.

Centochroman: 2 tablets taken twice in 24 hours within 24 hours of intercourse is also effective

The latest entrant in this segment is Cipla’s I-Pill. It is very easily available over the counter and is to be taken as a single dose within 72 hours. It has virtually no side effects and costs Rs. 75.

If the female doesn’t want to eat pills then she can opt for Copper T, which is to be inserted within 5 days of intercourse.

Popularity: 66% [?]