The eye
represents very exactly the darkroom of a
camera.
It is
to some extent a camera that is highly
specialized.
It
receives and records the images that are
transmitted to the brain by the optical nerve
and a complex network of nervous fibers.
Vision results from the
interpretation of the images received by the
brain.
The various parts of the eye
contribute to the good performance of the
darkroom.
Everything is there:
the obturator, which masks
the objective of the camera, is represented by
the eyelids; the objective consists in a system
of lenses, the cornea and the lens; the
diaphragm is formed by a membrane (the iris),
which surrounds the pupil, whereby the light
rays pass; the sensitive plate corresponds to
the retina, a nervous membrane that papers the
retina itself, consisting of an extremely
developed network of all small arteries.
The
case is a fibrous membrane (the sclerotic one)
that contains the various eye elements.
To
ensure normal vision, all eye components must be
intact.
They
are all essential.
The
muscular elements play a key role into directing
the light rays with precision on the retina.
The
muscles inserted in the eyeballs direct the
glance like a camera.
As the
vision is complete, thanks to the two eyes,
these muscles ensure the convergence of the
light rays to ensure the images’ fusion.
The
diaphragm of the eye opens and is closed thanks
to the muscles located in the iris, making it
possible for the pupil to increase or to narrow
according to the intensity of the light rays.
The curve of the lens is modified by a
musculature attached to the lens. The cornea and
the lens are transparent elements.
The interior of the eye also contains
transparent liquids, aqueous in front of the
lens and gelatinous (containing water 98.7
percent) behind the lens.
The
nerve elements located in the retina comprise
specialized cells for color vision and others
for black-and-white vision.
The
vascular elements form a very rich network
intended for the oxygen and nutritive matters’
contribution necessary to the metabolism of the
various parts of the eye.
To see
clearly, the eye must be able to adapt to vision
far and near.
This
adaptation brings into play the two mechanisms
dependent on the eye musculature:
convergence and accommodation.
Each
eye is animated by six muscles (oculomotor),
which make it possible to direct it in various
directions.
Vision
axes converge to fix to the same point as two
beams of light convergent in an artistic scene.
This
mechanism of convergence brings into play the
various oculomotor muscles.
The
ability of the lens to focalize ensures the
clarification of the image on the retina via the
lens, whose curve is variable.
A specialized musculature is anchored to the
lens’s periphery to make it curve or plane
according to the needs.
The
adaptation of vision depends, consequently, on a
whole system of muscles whose tonicity is
necessary for correct vision.
The
generalized involution of the musculature at the
time of andropause does not spare ocular
muscles.
Eye
troubles that appear at around forty-five years
old sound the alarm for hormonal decline.
Presbyopia
is an anomaly of the vision, a defect of the eye
that badly distinguishes close objects, a
consequence of a reduction in the elasticity of
the lens and of its power of accommodation or a
relaxation of the specialized muscle that
ensures the modifications of the lens
curve.
It
appears at the beginning of andropause disease.
The
lens loses the flexibility that earlier allowed
text to be brought closer without problem or
tiredness.
Accommodation becomes harder, and gradually the
reader must
move his book or the newspaper away
to read.
The
normal distance for reading oscillates around
thirty-three centimeters.
For
those below forty-five, this distance is
shorter.
Around
fifty years, it is forty centimeters; around
sixty years, it is about a meter.
Men
with andropause disease often have arms too
short for reading.
As it
is not possible to lengthen their arms to, the
solution lies in the wearing of glasses.
Many
will say that they are not true glasses but
“work glasses,” “reading glasses,” or “glasses
to rest the eyes,”
reassuring
remarks that don’t prevent this phenomenon
caused by senile involution. It is necessary to
delay it at, all costs, by becoming aware of the
hormonal insufficiency that it implies.
The
popular expression “hello, glasses, good-bye,
Willy” summarizes the situation perfectly.
This
phenomenon announces others that are more
serious: cataracts, glaucoma, and retinal
detachment.
Cataract
Is
partial or total lens opacity.
The
word cataract
finds its origin in an old and erroneous belief, according
to which the cataract consisted of a kind of
curtain that fell like a waterfall in the eye,
resulting the obscuration of the pupil.
It was
thought that it was cerebral liquid that was
spread on the pupil. The opacity is caused by
the accumulation of liquid between the lens
fibers.
They
inflate, break, and form irregular remains,
which opacify the lens gradually. The causes of
cataracts are multiple.
Among
them, the degenerative or senile cataract
occupies the first place in frequency. It is a
condition of advanced age, but it develops
sometimes at around forty years.
Though
both eyes may be affected, the opacity
progresses more quickly in one of the eyes.
The
complete opacity of the lens is done during a
variable time, from a few months to several
years.
It can be stabilized at any stage of its
evolution.
At the
beginning, the symptoms appear in the form of a
reduction in vision with an impression of fog
that dissimulates contours.
Then
dazzling lights appear, which require putting a
hand up or a visor on when the light is intense,
the eye being more comfortable in weak lighting.
These
alarming signs must make one consult an
ophthalmologist immediately.
When
the cataract is too advanced, one can
fortunately remove the sick lens and replace it
with an artificial one.
Great progress was made in this field, and,
today, artificial antidazzle lenses are
available.
Beyond
the traditional ophthalmologic treatment, it
should not be forgotten that the cataract
evolves in the total degeneration of the
organism.
Remember that.
It is here that
it is necessary to act in a
preventive way quickly.
The
transparency of the eye is ensured by a complex
metabolism utilizing vitamins and hormones that
influence, in a decisive way, the very small
arteries of the eye and its metabolism of
glucose and calcium .
Andropause is a permanent vascular disorder
caused by
arteriosclerosis, atherosclerosis, and
arterial hypertension.
The
very small arteries that constitute the end of
the arterial network are particularly
vulnerable.
They
constitute the essence of the eye
vascularization.
Diabetes and intolerance of sugars must be
fought with all one’s energy because they
increase vascular risk.
In
addition, the metabolism of the eye needs
glucose, which is necessary for the maintenance
and the restoration of the crystalline lens.
To
penetrate there, the tissue calcium rate must be
normal.
However, andropause disease causes a calcic
deficit of the whole of the organism, including
the crystalline lens. By regularizing the
metabolism of glucose and calcium, male hormones
take part in the prevention of cataracts.
Glaucoma
Is
an eye disease characterized by an abnormal
increase of the tension in the ocular cavity.
Eye
tension is variable and is generally between
twenty and twenty-five millimeters of mercury.
The abnormal rise in the pressure in the eye
results from a mechanism.
The
aqueous humor that nourishes the crystalline
lens is evacuated normally by small pores
located in the angle formed by the iris and the
cornea.
These
small canaliculi are surrounded by fibrous
tissue that takes part in the
general
degeneration of support tissues.
It
results in a contraction of the pores and a
closing of the angle whereby the aqueous humor
evacuates itself.
Being
secreted permanently, a pressure is exerted in
front of the lens; the pupil, forced by the
abundance of liquid, widens; and the hyper
pressure is transmitted in the ocular cavity.
The
compressed optical nerve degenerates, involving
blindness.
As soon
as eye trouble appears, one should not hesitate
to consult an ophthalmologist because there are
solutions to correct this frightening
affliction.
The
basic treatment should not neglect the
administration of male hormones, which act
favorably on fibrous tissue, surrounding the
pores whereby the aqueous humor is eliminated.
Retinal
Detachment
The
retina is papered by a nervous membrane that
contains the vision sensory cells.
It
rests on a vascular membrane, true feeder
network of the eye, made up of small arteries
and capillary vessels.
The
hormonal disturbances of andropause disease
cause the particularly
dangerous contraction and arterial spasm of this
final arterial network.
Disorders of the retinal oxygenation follow; the
retina deteriorates and is detached from the
back of the eye. At the beginning, one perceives
bright lights, and the visual acuity decreases.
When
the retina is separated, the field of view
narrows, and the view is veiled by a curtain
resembling shade.
It is
necessary to intervene precociously on the
separated zones by using photo coagulation with
the laser, which makes it possible to stabilize
the affliction.
Age-Related Macular Degeneration
(AMD)
Senile macular degeneration
is a retinal
disease
caused by a progressive
degeneration
of the central part of the retina (macula
of retina),
which can appear from fifty years of age and,
more frequently, from sixty-five years, causing
a weakening of vision that worsens with age.
The generally accused causes are genetic
influence, arterial hypertension, ultraviolet
rays, and food imbalance.
According to the
World Health Organization,
circulatory
insufficiency, with reduction in the circulatory
flow of the macular area, also plays a part.
AMD is the third-leading cause of visual
deficiency in the world and accounts for 8.7
percent of blindness causes.
It is the first cause of visual deficiency in
industrialized countries.
As one
knows the importance of the influence of male
hormones on the arterial network, can one
neglect preventive hormonal treatment?
Eye
troubles in men with andropause disease are the
result of important vascular rehandlings, of
sclerosis phenomena, of glucose and calcium
disturbances, and of
consequences of an
insufficient secretion of male hormones.
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