Pot for Glaucoma!!!

I am sure most of you would have watched Due Date.

In the movie, Galifianakis (Ethan) and Robert Downey(Peter) team up for the most memorable trip of their lives and Galifianakis ends up spending most of his money on medical weed, which he uses for glaucoma. That’s’ why his eyes appear glassy all the time.

This use of marijuana would have definitely generated some curiosity.

Cannabis, aka marijuana/ marihuana, refers to preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug and as medicine.

Helper and Frank (1971), and Helper and Petrus (1976) were the ones to show that smoking marijuana lowered intraocular pressure. The active ingredient of marijuana is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The 1976 study showed that marijuana cigarettes with 4% THC lowered the eye pressure by as much as 27% when compared to placebo.  Oral dosages of 20 mg THC lowered the eye pressure by 17% when compared to placebo.

How marijuana lowers the eye pressure, is not precisely known. In addition to lowering eye pressure, it also lowers the blood pressure. This in turn may compromise the blood supply to the already damaged optic nerve. Unfortunately, marijuana's eye pressure reduction effect lasts for only 3-4 hours, implying that for round the clock eye pressure reduction, it would have to be smoked 6-8 times a day. Additionally, marijuana's mood altering effects are detrimental for patients who are used to driving or operating heavy machinery.

Till date, there is no concrete evidence that shows that marijuana decreases eye pressure enough to reduce optic nerve damage. The adverse effects from smoked marijuana, coupled with the availability of several highly effective anti-glaucoma medications has obviated the need to look into this alternative therapy any further.

NOVEL GLAUCOMA SURGICAL DEVICES

Check out this link folks.....This is the chapter I wrote for a Book:  Glaucoma - Basic and Clinical Concepts, ISBN 978-953-307-591-4, Edited by Shimon Rumelt, by Intech Publishers.

<a href="http://www.intechopen.com/articles/show/title/novel-glaucoma-surgical-devices" title="Novel Glaucoma Surgical Devices">Novel Glaucoma Surgical Devices</a>

Alternative therapy: Vitamin C and Glaucoma

Nutritional therapy for glaucoma is not commonly practiced, but a body of work has been building up across the globe since 1960s’ to support an adjunctive role for the same.

How Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) and Glaucoma? In glaucoma, there is an evidence that ascorbic acid may be decreased in the aqueous humor, while secondary products of lipid peroxidation may be increased. Supplementation with vitamin C is believed to increase aqueous humor drainage by reducing the viscosity of hyaluronic acid and reducing free oxygen radicals.

Suggested dose: Between 750 and 1,500 milligrams of vitamin C daily seems to work best.

Sources of Vitamin C: Excellent food sources of vitamin C include broccoli, bell peppers, kale, cauliflower, strawberries, lemons, mustard and turnip greens, brussels sprouts, papaya, chard, cabbage, spinach, kiwifruit, snow peas, cantaloupe, oranges, grapefruit, limes, tomatoes, zucchini, raspberries, asparagus, celery, pineapples, lettuce, watermelon, fennel, peppermint and parsley.

Is it for every glaucoma patient? Well, logically it should help, so I guess no harm in taking ascorbic acid rich diet or an oral supplemental tablet. Since vitamin C is water-soluble, the body is able to expel any that it does not need and, therefore, it is unlikely to have any toxic effects in a normal dosage. Though, too much Vitamin C may cause nausea, diarrhea, reduced selenium and copper absorption and increased kidney stone formation. Taking too much vitamin C could even cause you to have a false-positive reaction to diabetes tests.

So, I would say just stick to a Vitamin C rich diet.

Supportive literature:

Ongoing research and evidence from across the globe since 1967…..till date

• Yuki K, Murat D, Kimura I, Ohtake Y, Tsubota K.Reduced-serum vitamin C and increased uric acid levels in normal-tension glaucoma. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2010 Feb;248(2):243-8.
•   Leite MT, Prata TS, Kera CZ, Miranda DV, de Moraes Barros SB, Melo LA Jr. Ascorbic acid concentration is reduced in the secondary aqueous humour of glaucomatous patients. Clin Experiment Ophthalmol. 2009 May;37(4):402-6.

• Wendt MD, Soparkar CN, Louie K, Basinger SF, Gross RL. Ascorbate stimulates type I and type III collagen in human Tenon's fibroblasts. J Glaucoma. 1997 Dec;6(6):402-7.   
• Schachtschabel DO, Binninger E. Stimulatory effects of ascorbic acid on hyaluronic acid synthesis of in vitro cultured normal and glaucomatous trabecular meshwork cells of the human eye. Z Gerontol. 1993 Jul-Aug;26(4):243-6.

•  Missiroli A, Neuschüler R, Pecori Giraldi J. [Therapeutic possibilities of the association of oral glycerol and ascorbic acid in the treatment of glaucoma] Boll Ocul. 1967 Nov;46(11):877-90. Italian.
•    Suzuki Y, Kitazawa Y, Kawanishi K.  [The effect of intravenous ascorbic acid on IOP in man] Nippon Ganka Gakkai Zasshi. 1967 May;71(5):481-8. Japanese.

And  many more………………………………

High IOP ......Halloween .....Glaucoma

Those over 40, don't forget to visit your eye doctor for an IOP and optic nerve check!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Losing sight to crackers

Narayana Nethralaya, a tertiary eye care center in Bangalore, issued a public message this Diwali:

“The cost of treating fire work related injury far exceeds the cost of a single fireworks package.”

How very true.

Fireworks are meant to light up the skies but unfortunately lots of people lose their precious eyes to the big “C” of crackers. Losing an eye, a hand, or an arm to a sparkler or a bottle rocket can never be undone.

Conjunctival burns, corneal perforation and secondary glaucoma (due to hyphema or angle recession) may occur.

Satellite picture shows how wonderfully well lit India looks on the Diwali night……So, I just wish this festive season all of us have a big bright smile with a big zero on the injury front.

Have a safe Diwali!!

Glaucoma and Wildlife??

 Retinal Nerve Fibre layer shares its characteristic appearance from wildlife.........The fibres just fan out like the wings of a white peacock and the "double hump pattern" on an OCT scan resembles the humps of a Bactrian camel.
You may think that its a crazy thought but I am just in awe of the wonders of nature and of course, science and scientific correlation.

Check this out folks!! My first book.