Ask Doctor Etingin: Causes of blurry vision … ALS … Body weight and Alzheimer’s disease risk
Q: What causes blurry vision?
A: Blurry vision can be caused by a refractive error, which occurs when the shape of the eye prevents light from focusing directly on the retina. Common refractive errors include nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism, and presbyopia (difficulty seeing at close distances).
Blurry vision may be caused by a number of eye diseases, such as cataracts, age-related macular degeneration, and glaucoma. Also, blurry vision may be a symptom of diabetic retinopathy (an eye disease caused by diabetes), psoriatic arthritis, a condition called vein occlusion that is caused by high blood pressure, or multiple sclerosis.
Don’t ignore your blurry vision—make an appointment with an ophthalmologist who can check your vision and conduct a thorough examination of the interior of your eye. If you are 65 or older and your health insurance doesn’t cover eye exams, visit EyeCare America’s website at www.aao.org/eyecare-america to find out if you qualify for a free eye exam and eye care. If you do have an eye disease, the sooner it is diagnosed, the sooner you can get treatment that may potentially save your vision or delay the progression of vision loss.
Q: What is Lou Gehrig’s disease?
A: Early symptoms of ALS include muscle cramps, muscle twitches, tight muscles, muscle weakness, slurred and nasal speech, and difficulty chewing or swallowing. In ALS, motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord break down and die, which prevents the transmission of messages from the brain to the muscles. To date, there is no cure for the disease, although medications can slow its progression.Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease after the famous baseball player who was diagnosed with ALS in 1939, is a neurological disease that attacks nerve cells and weakens muscles, causing loss of physical function that affects the patient’s ability to walk, talk, eat, and breathe. ALS patients are usually between the ages of 55 and 75 when they are diagnosed, and it’s estimated that more than 15,000 Americans have ALS.
Genetic factors cause about five to 10 percent of ALS cases; for the other 90 to 95 percent, the cause is unknown.
The National ALS Registry collects data on ALS and provides funding for research. The registry also conducts research on samples of biological materials, such as blood, hair, and DNA, that have been collected from ALS patients. The Registry, which can be accessed online at cdc.gov/als/, also offers resources for patients, including information about ALS support groups and new clinical trials.
Q: Does being underweight raise the risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease?
A: A few years ago, a study found an association between having a low body mass index (BMI) and a higher risk of dementia (Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia), but other studies have linked being overweight or obese with a higher risk. Some researchers have hypothesized that the link might operate in reverse, and that low body weight might actually be one possible consequence of dementia.
However, being underweight (a body mass index of 18.5 or lower) may raise your risk for other health conditions such as osteoporosis. If you haven’t done so already, find out what your bone mineral density is and if you are at an increased risk of bone fracture. Ask your doctor if you need to if it would benefit your health if you gained weight; if the answer is “yes,” alter your diet accordingly. Your doctor can also investigate whether your low weight is being caused by an underlying health problem, such as hyperthyroidism or a digestive disorder.
-Orli R. Etingin, M.D.
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