Maria Abaca, RN Examines Glaucoma Testing and Treatment

Maria Abaca, RN examines new reports that look at testing and treatment for glaucoma. As Maria Abaca, RN explains, there is still much confusion regarding the effectiveness of current testing and treatment options.

There are many different types of glaucoma, including angle-closure or acute glaucoma, open-angle or chronic glaucoma, congenital and secondary glaucoma, but in general the term glaucoma refers to a group of conditions of the eye that cause damage to the optic nerve and is the second-most common cause of blindness in the US.

Recently the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) examined a plethora of studies and reviews to evaluate the effectiveness of current testing and treatments for glaucoma. What they discovered was that inadequate evidence exists to fully determine if certain methods of treatment and testing are effective. [1]

In terms of testing the study looked at whether screening was effective for adults that did not exhibit vision problems and found that they could neither say that early screening was or was not helpful in prevention. In terms of treatment, the USPSTF determined that while they could say that treatment methods such as surgical, laser, and other medical procedures were effective, they could not determine if one treatment was more effective than the other.

Roughly 2.5 million residents of the United States suffer from open-angle glaucoma, which is the most common form of glaucoma.

An expert not associated with the study, Dr. Louis Pasquale of the glaucoma center at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, had this to say about the findings:

"What this study is saying is there are many ways of lowering eye pressure and we don’t know which one is best for minimizing visual disability and maximizing patient happiness while they’re being treated for glaucoma.” [2]

What is clear from the study is that more evidence will need to be collected by the task force in order to determine what methods are most effective for treatment and prevention.

Maria Abaca, RN

[1] http://news.nurse.com/article/20130224/NATIONAL02/103040014/-1/frontpage
[2] Salamon, Maureen. "Best Glaucoma Treatments Still a Puzzle, Task Force Reports." Health News / Tips &Trends / Celebrity Health. Health Media Ventures, 18 Feb. 2013. 

What Affect Does Sleep Have On Your Diet?

Maria Abaca discusses the affect that diet has on sleeping habits. Maria Abaca cites new research that indicates that good eating habits are imperative to getting enough sleep. 

The importance of a balanced diet are well-known; a balanced diet will help you in maintaining a healthy weight and assist in preventing heart disease, diabetes, and many other diseases and disorders. It has also been known that getting enough sleep contributes to better overall health. Now, research is suggesting that diet may also be linked to sleep patterns.

Researchers from Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania investigated information culled from the 2007-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which encompassed data from over 4,500 individuals. What they found was a correlation between separate groups of individuals who had varying sleep patterns. [1]

The findings broke down in this manner:

• Short sleepers (those who received less than five hours of sleep per night) consumed the most calories.
• Long sleepers (those who slept for nine hours or more each night) consumed the least number of calories in a given day. 
• Those who slept for what was qualified as a "normal" period of time (between 7 and 8 hours each night) had a diet that was the most varied, an indicator of good health due to its inclusion of several sources of nutrients. Short sleepers additionally had the least varied diet on top of consuming the most calories.

 Additional findings of the study included the discovery that those who slept for very short periods of time consumed less tap water and fewer total carbohydrates, and that long sleepers consumed more alcohol.

While the study posed a good deal more questions than it answered about the correlation between diet and sleep, it is being looked at as a stepping stone to discover aid scientists in one day discovering the ideal mix of nutrients and calories to promote better sleep.

By Maria Abaca

[1] Sifferlin, Alexandra. "Does Your Diet Influence How Well You Sleep?" Time. Time, 07 Feb. 2013.