October 14, 2008

Informs about eye health

Dr. Dennis Marcus of Wilkes Eye Center was the guest speaker at the regular meeting of the Washington Kiwanis Club on Tuesday, October 14. Speaking on diseases of the eye, Dr. Marcus focused on the number one cause of blindness for people 55 years of age and older - macular degeneration. He explained to members that macular degeneration is a disease which deteriorates the macula of the eye and impairs central vision. Dr. Marcus pointed out that over 200,000 new patients are identified with the disease each year in the United States. He said that over 90 percent are of the "dry" variety and only about 10 percent are "wet" - wet being growth of blood vessels in the eye that bleed. He noted that recent research indicated that antioxidants help reduce the growth of blood vessels by about one-third and that these include vitamin C, beta carotene, and zinc. Sherry Hudson (right) was the program host for the day.