Understand why blue light from screens can cause blindness

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blue light of death

Thanks to a team of researchers from University of Toledo, now we know how the blue light causes this kind of damage to vision, which means we can find ways to prevent it. they published their study this last Tuesday (07/08) in a periodical of the Scientific Reports.

The first tip, obviously, is not to get too close to the screens. Sunlight contains all the colors of the light spectrum, from blue to red, and is our main source of exposure to sunlight. blue light. However, digital devices such as computers, televisions and smartphones emit blue light, and we spend a great deal of time looking at these screens from a short distance away. In addition, it is common for us to turn on our devices at night, when the damage of this type of light is worse.

Macular degeneration is essentially the death of photoreceptor cells in the retina. For their study, the researchers decided to focus on molecules in the retinas that photoreceptor cells need to perceive light and send signals to the brain.

“You need a continuous supply of retinal molecules if you want to see,” said the researcher. Ajith Karunarathne in an interview. “Photoreceptors are useless without these molecules, which are produced in the eye.”

In the lab, the researchers matched the molecules with various types of cells in the body, including photoreceptor cells, neurons and heart cells. when they showed blue light in the molecules, they produced poisonous chemical molecules that killed the cells. nor the blue light alone or the molecules damaged the cells.

Fortunately, the news is just as bad. The researchers also found that the alpha tocopherol, a molecule derived from the Vitamin E, can prevent the death of this type of cell. They are hopeful that their research could lead to treatment to slow the damage from macular degeneration.

"Every year more than two million new cases of age-related macular degeneration are reported in the United States," Karunarathne said. “By learning more about the mechanisms of blindness in search of a method of intercepting toxic reactions caused by the combination of retinal molecules and blue light, we hope to find a way to protect the eyesight of children growing up in a high-tech world.”

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