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Disease leads to vision loss more often in
Blacks
Newswise — Black people are more likely to lose vision as a
result of idiopathic intracranial
hypertension, or increased pressure in the
brain, according to a study published in the
March 11, 2008, issue of Neurology®, the
medical journal of the American Academy of
Neurology.
“The racial difference does not appear to be based on differences
in diagnosis, treatment or access to care,”
said study author Beau Bruce, MD, of Emory
University School of Medicine in Atlanta,
GA.
“The disease affects black people more
aggressively. Doctors may need to monitor
their black patients more closely and take
steps to prevent vision loss earlier than
with other patients.”
The cause of idiopathic intracranial hypertension is not known.
Symptoms include headache, ringing in the
ears, and vision problems such as blurriness
and double vision. It is most common in
young, obese women.
For the study, researchers reviewed the medical records of all
patients at Emory University with
intracranial hypertension ov
er a 17-year
period. Of the 450 people, 197 were black.
There were 246 whites, five Hispanic people
and two Asian people in the study.
The black patients were 3.5 times more likely to have severe
vision loss in at least one eye, and they
were nearly five times as likely to become
legally blind than the non-black patients.
Bruce noted that the blacks in the study had other risk factors,
such as higher body mass index and higher
frequency of low blood iron, and higher
pressures around the brain than non-black
participants, and that these factors could
partially account for the increased risk of
vision loss.
The study was supported in part by grants from Research to
Prevent Blindness, Inc., and the National
Institutes of Health.
The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than
21,000 neurologists and neuroscience
professionals, is dedicated to improving
patient care through education and research.
A neurologist is a doctor with specialized
training in diagnosing, treating and
managing disorders of the brain and nervous
system such as stroke, Alzheimer’s disease,
epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple
sclerosis.
For more information about
the American Academy of Neurology, visit
http://www.aan.com.
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