When small details and fine print become difficult to read or when a person has to hold printing at arm's length to read, he probably needs bifocals. Presbyopia is a condition that affects people beginning around the age of 40 and is corrected by...
Wearing multifocal contact lenses gives individuals the ability to focus through different strength prescriptions, but through the same lens. The technology uses a single lens for each eye rather than multiple lenses. One of the most common types...
Multifocal contacts are lenses that can help you see both near and far objects. There are two prescriptions built into the single lens and are intended for patients with presbyopia. Presbyopia occurs when individuals over the age of 40 have...
Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a rare disease that typically affects patients with compromised immune systems. The cause is the JC virus which infects more than 90 percent of the adult population worldwide and is reactivated...
When you have a cataract, the natural lens of the eye becomes cloudy, impairing your vision. In cataract surgery, the natural lens is removed and replaced with an intraocular lens implant. The natural lens of your eye is able to focus at varying...
A cataract describes a clouding of the eye lens, which focuses images on the nerve tissue at the back of the eye. A significant cataract causes loss of visual clarity and dimmed vision. The definitive treatment for a cataract is the removal of the...
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurological disease in which your nerve fibers deteriorate. According to the Mayo Clinic, common MS symptoms include double or blurry vision, fatigue, dizziness, transient loss of vision and lack of coordination. MS...
The white matter of the brain contains nerve fibers (axons), interstitial space and supporting cells. Most of these nerve fibers--specifically, axons--are covered with myelin, a type of fat that insulates nerve fibers and increases the speed of...
According to the Cleveland Clinic, about 2 million cataract surgeries are performed annually in the United States, and in nearly all of cases, the patients receive intraocular lenses after the surgeries. Before the development of intraocular...
Cataracts, clouding of the lens that adjusts to help people see objects close up and far away, develop with age. Over half of all people 80 and older have cataracts or have had cataract surgery, according to 2009 data from the National Eye...
A cataract is a gradual, painless clouding of the crystalline lens of the eye. Most people develop cataracts later in life. Risk factors for developing cataracts are medical conditions such as diabetes mellitus, medications such as steroids, and...
Rituxan, the registered name for rituximab, is considered a frontline treatment for certain leukemias and B-cell lymphomas. Rituxan is also prescribed for patients with rheumatoid arthritis who do not respond to other therapies. Rituxan is given...
Neuropathy is the result of disease or injury that affects the nerves. One particular type of neuropathy is multifocal motor neuropathy. This type of neuropathy is a progressive muscle disorder that causes muscle weakness, cramping and muscle loss...
Multiple sclerosis is a nervous system disease in which the immune system of the body attacks the coverings of the nerves. This leads to damage to the nerves themselves, which causes symptoms such as numbness, difficulties with balance and changes...
Toric lenses are contact lenses prescribed to correct astigmatism. Astigmatism, a common vision disorder, results when light hits the back of the eye in two focal points instead of one spot. Toric lenses redirect the light coming into the eye and...
There are many diseases linked with HIV/AIDS. Many of these diseases are due to opportunistic infections that invade the body when the immune system is compromised. According to MedlinePlus, AIDS is the most advanced stage of HIV infection, and...
Eyeglass prescriptions must be precise. Correcting vision allows little room for mistakes. The first time you put on a new pair of glasses, you expect your vision to be clearer and sharper than with your previous prescription. If, instead, your...
The human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, causes the AIDS disease. It duplicates itself after it enters white blood cells called the CD4+ T lymphocytes. The infection progresses as the virus destroys these blood cells. As the number of CD4+ T...
Pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) is a contagious infection that primarily affects the lungs. It is caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis. While pulmonary tuberculosis is curable, it can lead to serious complications in certain...
Demyelinating diseases are medical conditions that damage the myelin sheath that protects the brain, spinal cord and other parts of the central and peripheral nervous systems. These diseases can cause progressive neurological difficulties, which...
The most current statistics produced by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS in 2009 reported that an estimated 35 million individuals currently live with HIV globally. Of the 35 million, 1.4 million live in the North America. This...
Neuropathy is a functional disturbance or pathological change in the peripheral nervous system. Disorders that disrupt the normal functioning of the axons of the nervous system are called axonal neuropathies, and conditions that affect the myelin...
Eyeglasses were first used in 1000 A.D. and have changed tremendously throughout the ages. Eyeglasses continue to be popular, despite advances in technologies to improve vision, such as contact lenses and laser surgery. Many that use eyeglasses...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that in the United States, about 1.1 million people had HIV or AIDS by the end of 2006. HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, passes to people through sexual contact, needle sharing or...
As you age, it is a natural progression for changes to occur with your eyes. Once you reach your 60s, your eyes will likely not perform as well. Poor vision as you age may affect your ability to drive and read without glasses. Also, you are at an...
Natalizumab is a medication used to manage multiple sclerosis (an autoimmune disease affecting your spinal cord and brain) and Crohn's disease (inflammatory bowel disease). Natalizumab is given intravenously (through your vein) every four weeks at...
AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is caused by an infection with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). As the Journal of the American Medical Association explains, HIV is spread via bodily fluids. HIV can be transmitted during sexual...
Many people in their 40s start having problems reading, and they may need multifocal lenses to improve reading vision. Trifocals offer a top for distance, a middle section for the distance of a dashboard and a bottom portion for reading up close....
According to the American Optometric Association (AOA), nearsightedness (myopia) is a vision impairment in which faraway objects are out of focus but objects near the eyes are clearly viewed. Nearsightedness is caused by either an excessively long...
