http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Two new studies add to the growing evidence that spending time outdoors may help prevent or minimize nearsightedness in children. A study conducted in Taiwan, which is the first to use an educational policy as a public vision health intervention, finds that when children are required to spend recess time outdoors, their risk of nearsightedness is reduced. A separate study in Danish children is the first to show a direct correlation between seasonal fluctuations in daylight, eye growth and the rate of nearsightedness progression. The research was published in the May issue of Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-outdoor-recess-nearsightedness-children.html Ophthalmology Wed, 01 May 2013 09:42:25 EST news286620138 (Medical Xpress)—A single combination pill could reduce cardiovascular disease and stroke in Latin Americans by up to 21 percent at a cost of about $35 per quality adjusted life year gained, according to a study led by a University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health research team. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-combination-pill-effective-heart-disease.html Cardiology Wed, 16 Jan 2013 09:49:47 EST news277552165 A new study has found that adults with diabetes in Ontario are getting significantly fewer government-funded eye exams than they were a decade ago, a key component of high-quality diabetes care essential to preventing diabetes-related eye complications. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-people-diabetes-ontario-government-funded-eye.html Diabetes Mon, 07 Jan 2013 16:15:03 EST news276797693 A new study provides the first clear evidence that vision or eye problems are rarely the cause of recurring headaches in children, even if the headaches usually strike while the child is doing schoolwork or other visual tasks. Many parents assume that frequent headaches mean their child needs glasses, so they ask their doctor to refer their child for an eye exam. This study was conducted by pediatric ophthalmologists who wanted to find reliable answers for parents, family doctors and pediatricians facing this common health question. The research is being presented today at the 116th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, conducted jointly this year with the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-children-headaches-rarely-eyeglasses.html Ophthalmology Mon, 12 Nov 2012 09:41:55 EST news271935703 Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness among working-age adults in the United States. According to recent studies funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI), diabetic retinopathy, one of the most common and debilitating complications of diabetes, increased by 3.7 million new cases over the last decade. Approximately 7.7 million Americans are now affected by diabetic retinopathy. Even more alarming, the rate is projected to climb to 11 million by 2030. People with diabetes are also at greater risk for cataracts, which is a clouding of the eye lens, and glaucoma, which damages the optic nerve. But diabetic retinopathy is by far the most common sight-threatening condition among people with diabetes and is the leading cause of blindness in adults aged 20 to 74 years. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-sharp-diabetic-eye-disease-american.html Diabetes Wed, 07 Nov 2012 07:30:06 EST news271495095 (HealthDay)—Most eye doctors consider it their responsibility to ask older patients about driving problems, but this hit-or-miss approach may not be nearly enough to clear the roads of unsafe elderly drivers, new research suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-eye-docs-unsafe-older-drivers.html Health Thu, 11 Oct 2012 18:10:01 EST news269194300 (AP)—More older drivers are on the road, and an Associated Press review finds a hodgepodge of rules governing what they must do to stay behind the wheel. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-varied-laws-older-drivers.html Health Mon, 17 Sep 2012 04:45:08 EST news267075883