Citation

Erdinest N, London N, Morad Y. Harefuah 2020; 159(12): 892-897.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Israel Medical Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Several significant visual changes can occur during human aging. These include decreased visual acuity and binocular function, contraction of visual fields, presbyopia, dry eye, decreased contrast sensitivity, decreased dark adaptation, delayed glare recovery, change in color vision and decreased visual processing speed. The most common physical changes are decreased pupil size, decreased retinal luminance, changes in inter- and intracellular connections, both intra-retinal and connections to the cortex.There are changes both in quantity and physical location of various cells, such as photoreceptors ganglion and bipolar retinal cells, as well as changes in clarity of media such as the crystalline lens, all of which in turn cause the resulting visual changes. Among adversely affected tasks are near work such as reading and computer work, driving, maneuvering through crowded or unfamiliar surroundings, locating desired objects surrounded by clutter and even decreased balance ability that may cause falling. Some of the changes can be reversed or at least slowed, but some processes cannot be stopped. Some of the options at our disposal to help the patient can vary from early prevention, using single or a combination of external devices such as optical devices and various forms of medical treatments, surgical and other. Although the visual system is affected by other senses, vision also affects other systems in the body. The objective here is to isolate specifically visual-related changes that can occur as healthy people age and thereby expand the vocabulary and dialogue between health care providers with ophthalmologists and optometrists for ultimate better patient care. The following review attempts to present a brief current update of the accumulated data describing various physiological visual changes that can occur with aging in generally healthy individuals and in this article, disregards the effects of ocular diseases, even if they are usually associated with age.

Language: he