"Dan Abel" <dabel[at]sonic.net> wrote

- quote -

Yes. Look into pirenzepine and atropine. These two drugs have been shown to
slow control axial growth significantly, far more effectively than special
lenses or exercises.

Atropine is too noxious; it disturbs vision too much to use every day.
Pirenzepine is more selective and is under final FDA trials now.

-MT


- quote -

In article <SalmonEgg-00E090.10371318032009[at]news.la.sbcglobal.net> ,
Salmon Egg <SalmonEgg[at]sbcglobal.net> wrote:

- quote -

OK, let's fast forward to some hypothetical time when the gene(s) that
eventually cause myopia, hyperopia or in between, are discovered and
identified. Maybe this is axial length, or corneal structure or maybe
something to do with the shape of the crystalline lens. Maybe it even
has to do with the muscles inside the eye, although I can't get my head
around that one. What's the next step? Can we stop axial length from
increasing, if we know it is likely (I can't imagine a certainty, but
who knows)?

Let's say I had a son who was young, and a doctor told me that a check
of his genes shows he will probably be short. What would I do?
Discourage him from basketball? No, some short people get a lot of
enjoyment from basketball. Refuse to accept hand me downs from
relatives with older, tall sons? Maybe, but perhaps the doctor was
wrong, and he'll be tall.

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA
dabel[at]sonic.net

In article <3sSdndtzXO1bZV3UnZ2dnUVZ_qninZ2d[at]giganews.com> ,
"Mike Tyner" <mtyner[at]mindspring.com> wrote:

- quote -

I think that there are separate populations. There probably are genes
that enhance or repress progressive myopia. It now is technically
possible to compare the genetic makeups of myopes and hyperopes. With
other health issues pressing, I do not expect such studies to get much
in the way of resources any time soon.

Bill

--
Private Profit; Public Poop! Avoid collateral windfall!

In article <SalmonEgg-C79441.22552717032009[at]news.la.sbcglobal.net> ,
Salmon Egg <SalmonEgg[at]sbcglobal.net> wrote:

- quote -

What, exactly, is "accommodative stress"? If I want to run a sub four
minute mile, would I best accomplish that by confining myself to a
wheelchair, or by running some considerable distance every day? Do
gymnasts in the Olympics come to the competition in wheelchairs, so they
can "rest" their muscles for the actual event? Has any athlete ever
done a "warm up" before an event, where they partially use up their
muscles? Doesn't that ensure losing, over another competitor who rests
their muscles beforehand?

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA
dabel[at]sonic.net

"Accommodative stress" is an invented problem, a marketing tool.

Just MHO.

-MT

"Neil Brooks" <neil0502[at]yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:79291c82-6f32-4408-bf82-fc7ca4bc01d7[at]u18g2000pro.googlegroups.com...
On Mar 18, 7:36 am, "Mike Tyner" <mty...[at]mindspring.com> wrote:
- quote -

As always, ... would that it were.

THIS farsighted kid did way too much of that, and ... yet ... became a
farsighted adult.

Also, if a mypic kid brings the reading material closer to his/her
face, it may or may not induce additional accommodative stress. A -4d
myope has a clear view at 1/4 of a meter reading distance.

On Mar 18, 7:36*am, "Mike Tyner" <mty...[at]mindspring.com> wrote:
- quote -

As always, ... would that it were.

THIS farsighted kid did way too much of that, and ... yet ... became a
farsighted adult.

Also, if a mypic kid brings the reading material closer to his/her
face, it may or may not induce additional accommodative stress. A -4d
myope has a clear view at 1/4 of a meter reading distance.

"Salmon Egg" <SalmonEgg[at]sbcglobal.net> wrote

- quote -

What's stranger is farsighted kids do the same thing. Without getting
nearsighted.

-MT

In article <v5SdnRVFgsEN8V3UnZ2dnUVZ_oHinZ2d[at]giganews.com> ,
"Mike Tyner" <mtyner[at]mindspring.com> wrote:

- quote -

FWIW, during the progression of our myopias, I and especially my cousin
would often shed our glasses and read comic books while stretched out on
the floor. The books were held very close to our eyes. Probably closer
than necessary to get sharp focusing. In retrospect, I now wonder if
this behavior helped the myopia progress. That is, even in a myopic
state, there is a certain tendency to move what you are working on
closer to the eyes than necessary, thereby adding accommodative stress.

Bill

--
Private Profit; Public Poop! Avoid collateral windfall!

<dph[at]funtaff.net> wrote

- quote -

Right. We've found some pharmacological agents and one such agent is under
FDA review now.

But as far as optical manipulation, relieving accommodation with lenses, or
exercises to "strengthen weak eyes", none of these have proven any reliable
benefit. You don't see them advertised because nobody can back up their
advertising with published, accepted results.

- quote -

Serendipity. Evolution tolerates, even cultivates myopia when it benefits
the herd.

- quote -

I used to throw citations at Otis and he'd reply with 80-year-old jargon and
non-sequitur.

My favorite cite on this topic is Br J Ophthalmol 1989 Jul;73(7):547-51
where 300 myopic children were divided into three matched groups. One group
wore myopic glasses all the time. Another group wore bifocals to reduce
accommodation when reading. The third group removed their glasses entirely
for reading. Results: over a three-year interval, all three groups got
nearsighted at the same rate.

There are other papers. There are papers that say bifocals _do_ impact
myopia progress. Out of a dozen or so papers that touch on that subject, the
majority do not show any benefit.

One study was terminated (as reported in New Scientist) because
reduced-power myopic glasses ("undercorrecting") appeared to _accellerate_
myopia instead of slowing it down. One study is not enough to prove all
cases.

- quote -

Not at all. It will make more sense when you study a few corneal topographs.
You'll see how the cornea tends to divide itself into quadrants or halves,
and it should be obvious that separate areas can form separate images. See
http://www.kcec.co.uk/photos/cont_topg1.jpg

- quote -

Even when we measure zero spectacle astigmatism, that doesn't mean the
cornea is actually spherical. There are still hills, valleys and plains on
the topograph.

If you turn up the lights, your pupils get smaller and your diplopia will go
away. This is a powerful treatment for irregular astigmatism and corneal
diplopia.

- quote -

You should expect your doctor to dilate your eyes, but it's for examining
the inside, not determining your prescription. I like to refract before
dilation, more natural that way.

-MT

In article
<8660f8e6-29b5-4776-83a6-793d67ce69df[at]w1g2000prk.googlegroups.com> ,
dph[at]funtaff.net wrote:


- quote -

It's my personal belief that there is a correlation. I also believe
that there is a one to one causative relationship. It's a sample size
of one, but I'll use myself as the example. When I was a kid, I really
sucked at sports, especially ones that involved balls. It just didn't
work for me. In fact, I too often got hit by the damned things! When I
went inside and read, that was a different story. That worked just
great. Therefore, I tended to do a lot of reading, and avoided balls as
much as possible. I bumbled around like this until fourth grade, when
somebody came up with the bright idea that maybe I needed glasses. Sure
enough! So I got glasses. I could not believe that that was what the
world looked like. I just had had no idea at all. Well, it was too
late for the balls, and too late to lose my interest in reading, but it
was obvious why I was a failure at balls, and why I liked to read so
much. So yes, I believe that there is a correlation, and that it is
causative. Myopia causes close work. If you can't see at distance, but
can see fine up close, then you will obviously choose close as much as
possible. The "cause" is myopia.

As far as there being no "cure" for myopia, that is ridiculous. It is
simple and easy. I got glasses in the fourth grade. As long as I wore
my glasses, I no longer had any myopia. Obviously, I wore my glasses
all the time. I took them off to bathe and sleep. If you've ever tried
bathing with glasses, they don't work. They just fog right up. I sleep
with my eyes closed, so the glasses didn't help my vision then anyway,
not to mention that it was too dark to get clear, focused vision even
with glasses. Later there were contacts and refractive surgery. I wore
contacts for ten years and liked them pretty well. I've never been keen
on refractive surgery, but I had to have surgery in both eyes anyway, so
the doctors eliminated my myopia while they were in there. So now I
have no myopia, but am heavily dependent on glasses for close work.

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA
dabel[at]sonic.net