New_Zealand_Listener_09_14_2019

SEPTEMBER 14 2019 LISTENER 35

NUTRITION

Eating rhubarb

and kiwifruit is an

easy and tasty way

to stay regular

36

FOOD

Two dinners

using sustainably

produced salmon

and chicken

38

TECHNOLOGY

It’s time to test

your tech ahead

of the 2019 Rugby

World Cup

42

HEALTH BRIEFS

G

ET

TY

(^) IM
AG
ES
tougher to treat after the age of seven,
as the brain has become locked into
relying on the better eye.
Symptoms can be hard to spot,
so a traditional way of checking for
it has been testing for visual acuity
using an eye chart. Rather than the
Snellen chart, which requires the abil-
ity to recognise alphabetical letters,
younger kids have charts with shapes
and pictures, but even so, if they are
under the age of three, getting an
accurate result for lazy eye has been
considered almost impossible.
The new test is screen-based. “The
idea is that a child will look at a
television and be shown patterns
moving across it that are specifically
designed to induce an eye movement
called optokinetic nystagmus,” says
Turuwhenua.
Optokinetic nystagmus is a
complex nervous-system reflex
that involves a sawtooth motion of
the eye. It is the way we stabilise a
moving image on the retina and it
happens quite noticeably if we are on
a train and staring out of the window.
“When you look out into a scene
from a moving train, your eyes are
moving along with the scenery, and
your brain is what is making them do
that,” he says.
Examples of the involuntary
repetitive eye movements of “train
nystagmus” can be found on
YouTube. The new screening tool
recreates the same effect with moving
patterns on the screen, which are
interspersed with animations in a bid
to keep a child’s attention.
In children, optokinetic nystagmus
is subtler than in adults, but if it isn’t
Lazy eye – or
amblyopia – is tougher
to treat after age
seven and affects
one in 25 kids.
happening normally it indicates a
vision problem.
T
reatment options for kids with
amblyopia include patching
the good eye to force the brain
to pay more attention to the visual
input from the lazy one. This creates
neural change and helps normal
vision develop. Atropine eye drops
and special contact lenses can also
be used to create the same effect. In
some cases surgery may be neces-
sary to fix the original cause of the
problem.
Even in adults, there are methods
now to improve vision loss caused by
amblyopia. “But the evidence is get
in before the age of three and there’s
a better chance of a good outcome,”
says Turuwhenua.
The new test is a big step up from
older tools such as the optokinetic
drum, which has black and white
stripes and spins around in front of
children. This approach is easy to
misuse – distance is an important
factor, for instance – and not as sensi-
tive or objective. “We’ve given it a
21st-century update.”
A trial with 200 children has been
encouraging and there is interna-
tional interest in the new technology,
with larger trials
now running in the
US and China. The
hope is the test will
be more widely
available next
year.
“As far as
we’re aware, it
is unique,” says
Turuwhenua.
“It would
be great if it
proves to be
a solution
and becomes
a standard,
regularly used
tool.” l
WEIGHTY ISSUE
Carrying 10kg of excess body
fat increases a person’s risk of
depression by 17%. The more
fat, the greater the probability of
developing the mood disorder.
This is the main conclusion of a
new study by researchers from
Aarhus University, Denmark. The
study also indicated that the
location of the fat on the body
makes no difference to the risk of
depression.
BRAIN TRAINER
A single session of exercise helps
older people’s brains, according
to researchers from the University
of Iowa. Study participants aged
between 60 and 80 had improved
cognitive function and working
memory after a single 20-minute
session on a stationary bike, show-
ing that the benefits of exercise
occur far faster than previously
thought. But the effects are only
temporary, so regular exercise is
necessary to maintain them.
RED ALERT
Red-wine drinkers have an
increased gut-microbiota
diversity – a sign of gut health –
compared with those
who don’t. They also
have lower levels of
obesity and “bad”
cholesterol, according
to a team of research-
ers from King’s
College London.
They explored
the effect of beer,
cider, red wine,
white wine and
spirits on the gut
microbiome of
916 female twins.
The polyphenols
in red wine are
believed to be
what makes the
positive difference.