Hours of work on a computer screen not only favor the development of myopia: US researchers found another worrying link.
Blue light from digital devices and the sun turns vital molecules in the eye's retina into cell killers, according to results from optical chemistry researchers at the University of Toledo, Ohio. One finding from the study recently published in the journal Scientific Reports:
Blue light promotes age-related macular degeneration *, a leading cause of blindness in the United States.
"We are constantly exposed to blue light and the cornea and lens of the eye cannot block or reflect it," said Dr.
Ajith Karunarathne, assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, quoted in a press release from the University of Toledo: "
It's no secret that blue light affects our eyesight by damaging the retina of the eye
. Our experiments explain how this happens and we hope this will lead to therapies that slow macular degeneration, such as a new type of eye drop. "
Blind by blue light?
“Photoreceptor cells do not regenerate in the eye.
When they're dead, they're dead forever. "
Macular degeneration, an incurable eye disease that leads to a significant loss of vision on average from the age of 50 or 60, is the death of photoreceptor cells in the retina.
These cells need molecules called the retina to sense light.
"
You need a continuous supply of retinal molecules if you want to see,
" says Karunarathne: "Photoreceptors are useless without retinal, which is produced in the eye."
+
The nightly look at the smartphone: for the sake of your eyes, it shouldn't be part of the routine.
© Carlos Giusti / dpa
Karunarathne's lab found that exposure to blue light causes retinal to trigger reactions that create toxic chemical molecules in the photoreceptor cells. "It's poisonous. Exposing retinal to blue light kills the photoreceptor cells because the signaling molecule on the membrane dissolves," said Kasun Ratnayake, a graduate student in Karunarathne's group on cellular photochemistry. "
Photoreceptor cells don't regenerate in the eye. When they're dead, they're dead forever."
Karunarathne introduced retinal molecules into other cell types in the body, such as cancer cells, heart cells, and neurons.
When exposed to blue light, these cell types died from the combination with retinal.
Blue light alone or retinal without blue light had no effect on the cells.
"
Green, yellow or red light does not trigger any activity,
" said Karunarathne.
"The toxicity of blue light produced by retinal is universal. It can kill any type of cell."
Don't look at your smartphone in the dark and wear sunglasses outside
The researchers found that a molecule called alpha-tocopherol, a vitamin E derivative and a natural antioxidant in the eyes and body, prevents cells from dying off. However, as a person ages or the immune system becomes suppressed, people lose the ability to fight back against the attack of the retina and blue light. "
That's when the real damage occurs,"
said Karunarathne.
"When you look at the amount of light coming out of the cell phone, it seems to be moderate," said Dr.
John Payton, visiting assistant professor at the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry: "Some cell phone manufacturers add blue light filters to their screens, and I think that's a good idea," he continues.
To protect your eyes from blue light,
Karunarathne advises wearing sunglasses that can filter both UV and blue light outside and avoiding looking at cell phones or tablets in the dark.
Read more
: Detecting corona with your smartphone: after analyzing the dermis, the eye scan app should display corona infections *
(jg)
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List of rubric lists: © Carlos Giusti