A new study has revealed how staring at a deep red light for three minutes a day can significantly improve declining eyesight.
The discovery could signal the dawn of new, affordable home-based eye therapies, helping millions of people globally with naturally declining vision, said the researchers from University College London (UCL).
"It is possible to significantly improve vision that has declined in aged-individuals using simple, brief exposures to light wavelengths that recharge the energy system that has declined in the retina cells, rather like re-charging a battery,” said lead author Professor Glen Jeffery, from UCL’s Institute of Ophthalmology.
Cells in the eye’s retina begin to age in humans from 40-years-old. The pace of this ageing is caused partly by the decline of the cell’s mitochondria, whose role is to produce energy (known as ATP) and boost cell function, explained Prof Jeffery.
“Mitochondrial density is greatest in the retina’s photoreceptor cells, which have high energy demands. As a result, the retina ages faster than other organs, with a 70% ATP reduction over life, causing a significant decline in photoreceptor function as they lack the energy to perform their normal role.”
