Blocking harmful blue light may preserve eye health in cataract surgery patients

Prairie Village, KS--Implanting blue light-filtering intraocular lenses (IOLs) during cataract surgery helps maintainvisual eye function and may preserve the health of the retina, specifically in disease states such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to several published reports--including a recent paper in the American Journal of Ophthalmology from researchers at the University of Kansas School of Medicine.

Prolonged exposure to short-wavelength blue light is harmful to the retina, leading to age-related diseases of the eye and vision loss, says an April 12th report at www.redorbit.com. The report continues:

"As a cataract surgeon, I am committed to helping my patients reduce their vision loss," said review author Bonnie Henderson, MD, Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Assistant Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School. "Blue light-filtering IOLs are an important option I am able to offer my patients to help maximize their visual outcomes and also help potentially prevent damage to the retina."

The report says that with baby-boom demographics on the rise, age-related eye diseases - such as AMD - are expected to become major economic and social factors in health care. Methods to prevent age-related diseases with blue light-filtering IOLs may prove to have lasting, favorable effects on the health of the aging baby-boom generation.

Blue light-filtering lenses are designed to mimic the natural crystalline lens of a 53-year-old, and help reduce the amount of harmful blue light reaching the retina. Several lines of research show exposure to short-wavelength blue light, a portion of the visible light spectrum, may be associated with an increased risk for retinal damage and AMD. Blue light-filtering IOLs prevent potentially damaging light from reaching the retina following cataract surgery.

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--Posted by Gail Overton; [email protected]; www.laserfocusworld.com.