‘Infrared light can help protect eyes’
People with careers that expose them to bright or artificial light, such as construction workers, fishermen or actors, could be pre-treated with infrared light to reduce vision damage, say resear- chers.
A team at Australia’s Vision Centre has found that treating eyes with gentle infrared light can help prevent the damage caused by subsequent exposure to bright light.
In their research, the researchers have shown that pre-treatment with near infrared light prevents a build-up of scar tissue in the retina causing subsequent harm to sight.
“There’s a group of cells that look after our vision and work behind the scenes called Muller cells. They act to protect the retina by clearing toxins and inducing healing whenever there is injury to the vision cells. However, their protection is a double-edged sword for the eyes. When the retina comes under extreme stress, as when it is exposed to intensely bright light and loses a large number of vision cells, the Muller cells can overreact by multiplying and forming scar tissue behind the retina. We found that the treatment with mild NIR successfully inhibits the Muller cells from multiplying and forming scar tissue,” the researchers said.
Team leader Dr Krisztina Valter added: “It may be possible to pre-treat someone who knows that they will be exposed to bright lights.”
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Is Penn dating ex-beau Petra Nemcova again?
MILK STAR Sean Penn and supermodel Petra Nemcova have reportedly rekindled their romance four years after they first dated.
The 51-year-old Hollywood actor and the Czech model have been seen on a series of dates in recent weeks, reported Daily Mail online.
They were most recently seen at U2 frontman Bono’s birthday party at The Spotted Pig in the West Village of New York. The sighting of the pair comes just weeks after Nemcova called off her wedding to Jamie Belman. The formerly engaged couple had dated for eight months before Belman popped the question in December 2010. But it was announced in April 2012 that they were no longer together. — PTI
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