A round-up of the eye-related hot topics that have been trending on social media over the last few weeks.
#Cyborgeye #flashlighteye #prostheticeye #BrianStanleyeye
Brian Stanley is a California-based engineer, who lost his eye to retinoblastoma when he was six-years-old. A couple of years ago, he started making his own prosthetic eye out of titanium so that he could install a flashlight into it. He uses the same shape as his prosthetic eye, and the light emanates from where the pupil would be. He has a collection of about 22 prostheses with different coloured lights. He calls his creation his “Cyborg eye”. You can watch the video where he tells his story to ABC News here, and you can see more of his designs and processes on his Instagram page, @bsmachinst [1,2]. He ends the video as told to ABC News with a positive message about acceptance and realising that we are often our own worst critics [1].
#BenjaminHall #Ukraine #Saved
A British Fox News reporter suffered life-changing injuries when his car was hit during a missile strike in Ukraine in March 2022, while covering the Russian war in Ukraine. He lost an eye, a leg, and his feet in the attack, and was left with one workable hand. Two of his colleagues died in the attack. He has written a memoir called Saved, which has topped the Amazon charts of new releases, moving Prince Harry’s Spare to number two. Hall has also recently returned to live television, and gives a positive message, that despite all of this, he feels “stronger and more confident than [ever]” [3,4]. It’s quite remarkable that he was able to write a memoir while simultaneously undergoing physical rehabilitation for his life-altering injuries.
#eyedrop #recall #contamination
Carboxymethylcellulose sodium artificial tears sold by Aru Pharma / Ezricare and Delsam Pharma in the USA were found to be contaminated with a “rare and extensively drug-resistant strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa”. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found 55 patients suffering adverse events, which included hospitalisations, sepsis and death in one patient, and permanent vision loss from ocular infections in others. Global Pharma Healthcare, the manufacturer, recalled the items after the CDC warning [5,6].
#JudiDench #age-relatedmaculardegeneration
Judi Dench recently shared, while on The Graham Norton Show, the visual impairment she suffers from, age-related macular degeneration, is making it very difficult for her to continue acting. She said that it has become “impossible” to memorise her lines, because her photographic memory means that it is not only about knowing the actual words on the page, but being able to visualise where they are on the page. She shared that before her visual deterioration, she never had problems learning her lines, but now she’s had to find new ways to adapt, one of which is to have her friends repeat the lines to her. Despite her troubles, she remains positive, noting that one just finds ways to get over things that are difficult [7,8].
#obesity #age-relatedmaculardegeneration
Researchers at the University of Montreal have found a link between obesity, even transient obesity, and age-related macular degeneration. On experiments performed on mice, they found that diet-induced obesity triggered epigenetic changes in macrophages and myeloid cells, which predisposed them to neuroinflammatory responses, including “proinflammatory cytokine transcription, aggravation of pathological retinal angiogenesis, and neuronal degeneration associated with loss of visual function” [9,10]. Whilst more research is required to say definitively, their study may help shed light on why not all individuals who are genetically predisposed to age-related macular degeneration become afflicted with the disease. A raised Body Mass Index (>30) is a known modifiable risk factor for age-related macular degeneration [11].
#JillBiden #FLOTUS #Mohssurgery
Jill Biden, the First Lady of the US, underwent Mohs surgery for an eyelid growth on her right upper lid and one on her chest that were discovered during routine cancer screening. Both of these were basal cell carcinomas, and were cleared with good margins [12]. There was another lid lesion removed from her left eye, which turned out to be a seborrhoeic keratosis, a non-cancerous lesion [13].
#EstéeLauder #voice-enabledapp #makeup
Estée Lauder has launched a voice-enabled makeup assistant app, to help those who are visually impaired apply makeup more easily and accurately. It provides feedback on whether the user has applied their lipstick, eyeshadow, and foundation evenly. It uses smart mirror technology to scan the face, and advise the user on the areas that could be touched up. The aim is to help those with visual impairment have independence when using beauty and makeup products. The app is currently available via the Apple Store UK and esteelauder.co.uk. It is planned to be launched on Google Play and other ELC brands and markets within the year [14].
References
1. https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/
Living/video/man-loses-eye-cancer-
turns-prosthetic-eye-flashlight-97430265
2. https://www.instagram.com/bsmachinist/?hl=en
3. https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/
news/benjamin-hall-ukraine-missile-returns-b2271085.html
4. https://www.foxnews.com/media/
benjamin-halls-saved-hits-no-1-amazon
-new-releases-pre-orders-alone
5. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/
us-news/possibly-contaminated-
eye-drops-recalled-29133978
6. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety
-and-availability/fda-warns-consumers-not-
purchase-or-use-ezricare-artificial-tears-
due-potential-contamination
7. https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/
judi-dench-says-degenerative-eye-condition-is
-making-it-impossible-to-act/
8. https://www.eonline.com/news/1365457/
judi-dench-shares-its-impossible-to-learn
-lines-due-to-eye-condition
9. https://www.science.org/doi/
10.1126/science.abj8894
10. https://www.aop.org.uk/ot/
science-and-vision/research/2023/01/24/
exploring-the-link-between-obesity-and-amd
11. https://www.rcophth.ac.uk/
wp-content/uploads/2021/08/AMD
-Commissioning-Guidance-Full-June-2021.pdf
12. https://people.com/health/
jill-biden-is-in-good-spirits-after-having-skin-
cancer-lesions-removed-from-above-right-eye-and-chest/
13. https://thehill.com/homenews/
administration/3819293-jill-biden-eyelid-
growth-non-cancerous-doctor-says/
14. https://britishbeautycouncil.com/voice-
enabled-make-up-assistant/?utm_campaign=
later-linkinbio-britishbeautycouncil&utm_content=
later-32254526&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkin.bio
[All links last accessed February 2023].
