HIGH MYOPES are BIOCHEMICALLY DIFFERENT from HIGH HYPEROPES
Benjamin Clarence Lane, OD
Karan Raj Aggarwala, PhD
Myopia 2000
Proceedings of the
VIII International Conference on Myopia
page 232
ABSTRACT
Lane previously reported highly significant chromium/vanadium ratio depression indexed in nape hair of myopes, associated with depressed accommodation and elevated intraocular pressure, putatively associated with depression of insulin potentiation of glucose uptake by ciliary-muscle insulin receptors [JOSA 1979; 69(10): 1477; J Int Acad Prev Med 1982; 7(3): 17-30].
METHODS
In this double-masked cohort-panel study chromium (Cr) and vanadium (V) were measured in red blood cells (erythrocytes). The first 184 patients included 27 myopes ≥3 diopters, 14 hyperopes >1.25 diopter (excluding patients < 20 years old, chromium-supplemented patients, patients supplementing ≥1 gram daily of ascorbic acid, aphakics, and cataractous patients).
RESULTS and DISCUSSION
Erythrocyte chromium/erythrocyte vanadium {ECr/EV} and ECr distributions and means are depressed for myopes versus hyperopes. Mean ECr/EV = 0.150±0.150 SD for myopes versus 0.731±0.472 for hyperopes, t=4.488, p<0.0004. Mean ECr=70.1±53.9 ng/ml for the myopes and 256.7±160.0 for the hyperopes. High hyperope adults are prone to increase in farsightedness by a median +0.097 D/yr (avg=+0.050D±0.227). High myope adults increase in myopia by a median of -0.044 D/yr. This erythrocyte-indexed effect on human refractive development is diet responsive.
Chromium’s principal biological function is recognized as its ability to potentiate glucose uptake at insulin receptors as a so-called “glucose tolerance factor” enabling the reduction of blood glucose and the transport of glucose into muscular tissues to support muscular activity as well as its function as a co-factor enabling the interconversion of glucose-6-phosphate to glucose-1-phosphate and back again enabling the interconversion of glucose to glycogen and back again for the storage and retrieval of glucose for energy to and from its storage form as glycogen.
The ciliary muscles are the sets of muscles that come to mind when we think of the one set of muscles that we use more today than ever before in recorded history, and all the others we use less, except in rare cases of athletes and a few occupations. If a design problem were to show up with utilization of glycogen and glucose for muscle fuel, we might expect such a happenstance with strong, long-sustained, daily repeated eye focusing.
By 1980, one of us (Lane) reported highly significant chromium/vanadium ratio depression indexed in nape hair of myopes, associated with depressed accommodation and elevated intraocular pressure, putatively associated with depression of insulin potentiation of glucose uptake by ciliary-muscle insulin receptors (Lane, 1979, 1980a-h, 1981a-g, 1982a-d, 1983a,b).
METHODS
In this double-masked cohort-panel study chromium (Cr) and vanadium (V) were measured in red blood cells (erythrocytes). Of the first 184 patients, 27 were myopes ≥3 diopters, 14 were hyperopes >1.25 diopter (after excluding patients less than 20 years old, chromium-supplemented patients, patients supplementing one gram or more daily of ascorbic acid, aphakics, and cataractous patients).
RESULTS
Erythrocyte chromium/erythrocyte vanadium {ECr/EV} and ECr distributions and means are depressed for the myopes compared to the hyperopes. Mean ECr/EV = 0.150±0.150 SD for the myopes versus 0.731±0.472 for the hyperopes, t=4.488, p<0.0004. Mean ECr=70.1±53.9 ng/ml for the myopes and 256.7±160.0 for the hyperopes. Please see Table 1 and Figure 1.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
Biochemically, the bilateral myopic individual who is progressing in myopia, albeit at a lessened gradient than pre-adulthood, is biochemically different than the adult hyperope who is progressing further into hyperopia. Our measurements show this distinction, but nonetheless show that postural affects may result in lowered myopia in one eye of a high myope while the other high-myopic eye is increasing in myopia. We have examined the habitual relative adds (HRAs) and Age-Adjusted Habitual Relative Adds (AAHRAs) for each of these persons to rule out accommodative stimulus differences and nonetheless find differences in these tissue responses to equal stress, comparing high myoopes and high hyperopes.
Foods rich in Cr include most unprocessed naturally sweet or starchy foods. Cr-rich foods are high calorie, best when unrefined. Foods too rich in vanadium include chocolate, kelp, mushrooms, most U.S. chow-fed poultry, and seafood larger than herring.
This red-blood-cell-indexed effect on human refractive development is diet responsive.
REFERENCES
Lane BC. Nutrition and myopia. General Program of the American Academy of Optometry Annual Meeting, Joint Meeting of the Vision Science and Binocular Vision and Perception Sections, Symposium: Perspectives on Myopia. Sunday, December 10, 1978, 10:00 AM.
Lane BC. Myopia triggered by sustained accommodation and deficit-inducing diets. Journal of the Optical Society of America, 69(10), 1477. (1979)
Lane BC. Elevation of intraocular pressure with daily sustained reading and closework stimulus to accommodation. (Master’s Thesis, State University of New York, State College of Optometry, New York, NY, 1973.) Ann Arbor, MI: University Microfilms International, Publication No. 13-14, 525. (132 pp.) (1980a)
Lane BC. Chromium and accommodative weakness. Proceedings of the International Society for Eye Research. Vol. I: Abstracts, Fourth International Congress for Eye Research, p. 72. (1980d)
Lane BC. Elevation of intraocular pressure with daily sustained reading and closework stimulus to accommodation. Masters Abstracts, 18(3). Ann Arbor, MI: University Microfilms International. (1980e)
Lane BC. Ocular hypertension triggered by stimulus to accommodation and deficit nutriture. Journal of the Optical Society of America, 70(12), 1635. (1980f)
Lane BC. Ocular hypertension triggered by stimulus to accommodation and deficit nutriture. Optics News, 6(3), 67. (Short Abstract) (1980g)
Lane BC. Human myopia related to interaction of sustained accommodation and anomalous concentrations of chromium and calcium. American Association for the Advancement of Science: Abstracts of papers of the 146th national meeting, 3-8 January 1980, San Francisco, California, p. 153, No. 434. (1980h)
Lane BC. Deficit nutriture, accommodative stimulus and ocular hypertension. American Journal of Optometry and Physiological Optics, 58(1), 100. (Abstract) (1981a)
Lane BC. Elevation of intraocular pressure (IOP) with sustained stimulus to accommodation, lowered tissue chromium,* and dietary deficiency of ascorbic acid. American Association for the Advancement of Science: Abstracts of papers of the 147th national meeting, 3-8 January 1981, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, pp. 143-144, No. 509. [*Presented paper included, “increased vanadium,” in title of paper.] (1981b)
Lane BC. Chromium deficiency, accommodative weakness and ocular hypertension--A report on four studies on the role of chromium in vision. [International] Skeffington Symposium on Vision [Training], 26, 127-142. (1981c)
Lane BC. Calcium, chromium, protein, sugar and accommodation in myopia. Documenta Ophthalmologica Proceedings Series. Vol. 28: Third International Conference on Myopia, Copenhagen, 1980. H. C. Fledelius, P. H. Alsbirk, and E. Goldschmidt, Eds. The Hague: Dr. W. Junk Publishers, 141-148. (1981e)
Lane BC. Elevation of intraocular pressure with daily sustained closework stimulus to accommodation, lowered tissue chromium and dietary deficiency of ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Documenta Ophthalmologica Proceedings Series. Vol. 28: Third International Conference on Myopia, Copenhagen, 1980. H. C. Fledelius, P. H. Alsbirk, and E. Goldschmidt, Eds. The Hague: Dr. W. Junk, Publishers, 149-155. (1981f)
Lane BC. Lead, vanadium, and chromium affect eye focusing. Energy, Health and the Environment: Program and Abstracts, American Public Health Association, 109th Annual Meeting, November 1-5, 1981, Los Angeles, CA, §2126, pages 245-246. (1981g)
Lane BC. Milk, sugar and myopia prevention and reversal. American Association for the Advancement of Science: Abstracts of Papers of the 148th National Meeting, 3-8 January 1982, Washington, DC, p. 149, No. 259. (1982a)
Lane BC. Chromium protects against sucrose effects in myopia progression. Supplement to Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Vol. 22, No. 3, p. 218. (Abstract) (1982b)
Lane BC. Folate, ascorbate, calcium, chromium and vanadium in myopia prevention and reversal. Metabolic, Pediatric and Systemic Ophthalmology, 6(2):149-150. (1982c)
Lane BC. Myopia prevention and reversal: New data confirms the interaction of accommodative stress and deficit-inducing nutrition. Journal of the International Academy of Preventive Medicine, 7(3=Nov), 17-30. (1982d)
Lane BC. Ascorbate, calcium, chromium/vanadium ratio, and folate as nutriture factors in myopia development. American Journal of Optometry and Physiological Optics, 59(10):22P. (Abstract) (1982d)
Lane BC. Chromium Versus Sucrose and Vanadium in Myopia Progression. Western Hemisphere Nutrition Congress VII Program and Abstracts, pages 9 and 85. Published by American Medical Association--Food and Nutrition Program, Chicago, IL. (1983a)
Lane BC. Food Intake Associated with Depressed Cr/V Ratio, Accommodative weakness, Ocular Hypertension and Myopia Progression. American Journal of Optometry and Physiological Optics, 60(10):82P. (Abstract) (1983b)
Lane BC. Nutrition and vision. In Bland J, Ed. First Edition: 1984-’85 Yearbook of Nutritional Medicine, 239-281. New Canaan, CT: Keats Publishing, 1985.