Week 2 - Sensory Changes with Aging

Question 1

Age-related changes to the eye

Answer 1

• lens gets opaque and stiff
• cornea thickens, flattens, gets rigid
• decreased density of cells of neural retina
• degeneration of the sclera, pupil, iris

Question 2

Presbyopia

Answer 2

• normal age-related gradual loss of the eye’s ability to focus on close objects
• noticeable as early as 40’s
  -caused by lens stiffness (no longer able to recoil as well when the ciliary muscles contract)

Question 3

Presbyopia treatment

Answer 3

lens correction

Question 4

4 pathological conditions of the aging eye

Answer 4

1. cataracts
2. glaucoma
3. age-related macular degeneration
4. diabetic retinopathy

Question 5

Cataracts

Answer 5

• opacity in the lens of the eye
• crystallin misfolds and misfolded proteins aggregate (makes lens opaque)

Question 6

Cataract symptoms

Answer 6

decreased acuity, hazy vision, increased sensitivity to glare, harder to see low-contrast

Question 7

Cataract treatment

Answer 7

surgical removal of the lens and replace with a prosthetic lens

Question 8

Age-related macular degeneration

Answer 8

• loss of central field of vision
  dry and wet AMD

Question 9

Dry AMD

Answer 9

• most common
• slow and progressive
• build up of lipid deposits in the macula

Question 10

Wet AMD

Answer 10

• less common
• can progress from dry AMD
• growth of abnormal blood vessels that leak blood and fluid around the macula

Question 11

Age-related macular degeneration treatment

Answer 11

no established treatment or reversing of vision loss
- ways to lower risk

Question 12

Glaucoma

Answer 12

• progressive optic nerve damage due to high intraocular pressure
• results in permanent loss of peripheral vision (blindness if untreated)
• open vs closed angle

Question 13

Open-angle glaucoma

Answer 13

• slow onset
• raised intraocular pressure that damages the nerves of the retina and optic nerve

Question 14

Closed-angle glaucoma

Answer 14

• acute rapid onset
• sudden blockage of fluid outflow (rapid elevation of intraocualr pressure)
• serve pain, blurry vision, halos around lights
• medical emergency and can lead to vision loss quickly

Question 15

Glaucoma treatment

Answer 15

eye drops to relieve pressure

Question 16

Diabetic retinopathy

Answer 16

• damage to blood vessels of the eye due to chronic high glucose levels

Question 17

Initial stage diabetic retinopathy

Answer 17

microaneurysms form but are then absorbed

Question 18

Over time diabetic retinopathy

Answer 18

capillaries of the retina begin to leak fluid into tissue (edema of the retina)

Question 19

Late stage diabetic retinopathy

Answer 19

new blood vessel growth in the retina easily rupture, bleeding into eye (blindness)

Question 20

Diabetic retinopathy treatment

Answer 20

• control blood glucose levels
• laser to treat microaneurysms
• surgically remove scar tissue

Question 21

Presbycusis

Answer 21

age-related hearing loss

Question 22

Sensorineural hearing loss

Answer 22

damage to sensory hair cells of the cochlea

Question 23

Presbycusis treatment

Answer 23

hearing aids, cochlear implants

Question 24

Tinnitus

Answer 24

perception of sounds in the absence of an acoustic stimulus

Question 25

Central auditory processing disorder (central presbycusis)

Answer 25

issues processing the neural stimuli - linked to neurodegenerative diseases

Question 26

Link between hearing loss and dementia

Answer 26

untreated hearing loss is associated with accelerated cognitive decline and dementia