A new study reveals that, like most parts of our eyes, our eyes gradually deteriorate over time human body. and that stress can accelerate premature aging of the eyes, a finding that might help treat eye problems that develop as we age, including the host of diseases responsible for vision loss Known as “glaucoma”. According to the publication of the journal Science Alert.
The study indicates that aging is an important component of the death of retinal ganglion cells in glaucoma, and that new pathways can be directed when designing new treatments for patients with glaucoma “blindness loss”.
As the world’s population ages, glaucoma cases are expected to increase, and may reach regarding 110 million in 2040. If left untreated, these conditions can eventually lead to blindness.
Although there is no way to completely reverse the damage of glaucoma, it can be managed, and being able to discover what causes it and what causes it, would be a major breakthrough in the fight once morest vision loss.
The medical team explains that stress, like elevated intraocular pressure, or fluid pressure in the eye, can cause retinal tissue to undergo genetic and transcriptional changes similar to normal aging. and how repetitive stress in young retinal tissue accelerates aging.
In a clearer sense, even in the healthiest of humans, it appears that physiological stress from ocular hypertension may also be associated with biological signs of aging, which can manifest as changes in molecular markers on DNA and proteins that control which genes are turned on or off. run it.
Aging is a process that affects all cells of a living organism. In the eye, it is a major risk factor for a group of nerves called glaucoma.
And while the new study relied on tests in mice, the team believes the same principles likely apply to human eyes as well.
“The epigenetic changes we observed suggest that changes at the chromatin level (a mixture of DNA and proteins) are acquired in a cumulative manner, following several stressful situations,” says ophthalmologist Dorota Skowronska-Krawczyk. Recognizing the disease early.
The team looked at the optic nerve head of the mice’s eyes – the place where retinal cells converge at the back of the eye to form the nerve that goes to the brain – where intraocular pressure had been artificially raised.
In younger mice, there was little difference when compared to control animals, but in older mice, mice with slightly elevated intraocular pressure showed loss of axons or nerve fibers, which is also the case with glaucoma.
In other words, older mice seemed more susceptible to a change in pressure in their eyes, which leads to damage from inflammation and a gradual loss of cell function that normally takes years to develop normally.
In humans, the intraocular pressure is not constant, but rather fluctuates during the day. Severe and prolonged fluctuations have previously been associated with the development of glaucoma, and researchers believe that the cumulative effect of these fluctuations, and the pressure they exert on the eye, is responsible for the aging of the tissues.
Aside from psychological stress, there are a number of other factors that can cause increased pressure inside the eye, from genetic factors to eye trauma and medications. However, eye pressure increases, so having a way to study its effect might save the sight of millions.