Vision Loss Cripples Wounded Vets

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Young veterans are coming home with a record number of combat-related brain injuries. For most, the wounds cause damage to vision that makes navigating their world more difficult than people living with multiple sclerosis.

In a new study, 42 veterans with blast-related traumatic brain injuries (TBI) scored lower than multiple sclerosis patients on two tests measuring quality of life related to vision. Participants took the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (VFQ-25) and Neuro-Ophthalmic Supplement (NOS) tests. On the VFQ-25, the veterans scored significantly lower than norms for patients with glaucoma, diabetic eye disease and multiple sclerosis. On the NOS, the veterans' scores were significantly lower than norms for disease-free adults and people with multiple sclerosis.

"The young veterans in our study self-reported compromised visual function in many areas," lead study author Glenn C. Cockerham, M.D., of Stanford University, was quoted as saying.

Eye injuries that can occur as a result of explosions and blasts include optic nerve injury, double vision, visual field changes, structural changes that can lead to glaucoma, and damage to the retina.

SOURCE: Presented at the 2009 American Academy of Ophthalmology - Pan-American Association of Ophthalmology Joint Meeting in San Francisco, Calif.; Oct. 24-27, 2009

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