For what it's worth: Topics like this never cease to amaze me.  For example, 
it wasn't all that many years ago that the medical establishment regarded iris 
analysis as hocus-pocus.  Laureen and I were educated and certified in 
iridology in the mid-1980s, when the medical profession still considered 
iridology as quackery--even though iris analyses were far more accurate 
overall, percentage-wise, than medical doctors' diagnoses.  As usual, when the 
medical profession realizes that a technique used for decades by 
non-allopathic practitioners actually is valid, it becomes their discovery.  
Don't get me wrong; I'm delighted to see them wake up every now an then--even 
if it takes some revolutionary new technology to facilitate the awakening.

Thanks for listening.  Scott

>===== Original Message From Parkinson's Information Exchange Network  
<[log in to unmask]> =====
>Eye Scans Could Detect First Signs Of Diseases
>Laser Devices Could Allow Early Detection Of Diabetes, Alzheimer's,
>Parkinson's
>POSTED: 8:45 pm MDT May 18, 2008
>UPDATED: 7:42 pm MDT May 20, 2008
>
>More than 46 million Americans live with diabetes, Parkinson's, cataracts
>and Alzheimer's. For some, early detection could lessen the diseases'
>impact, but for others, there is little doctors can do to detect the
>conditions before they progress.
>Parkinson's, for example, develops when neurons in the brain become damaged
>or deleted, but the first signs of the disease are not obvious until 80
>percent of these neurons are damaged beyond repair. Other tests, like those
>for diabetes, can be painful and long, requiring patients to drink a syrupy
>liquid, then have their blood drawn.
>Your eyes can do a lot more than read and blink. Just by looking into the
>eye, doctors can "see" your heart beat, nutrient levels and even warning
>signs of disease. Researchers from the University of Texas have developed
>laser devices to non-invasively examine the eye to get early detection of
>eye conditions such as cataracts, macular degeneration, glaucoma, and
>retinopathy as well as systemic diseases like diabetes, neurological
>disorders like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, and osteoporosis.
>
>The eye itself is made up of numerous tissues and layers. When light enters
>the eye through the cornea, it must travel through the tissues of the eye,
>which Texas researchers say are representative of nearly every tissue type
>in the body.
>The aqueous region, located between the cornea and the iris, has the same
>components and concentrations as blood serum. Therefore, the concentration
>of glucose in the aqueous mimics the glucose concentration in the blood,
>giving doctors a non-invasive indication of a person's blood glucose
>levels -- vital for diabetes detection. When doctors transmit a laser light
>through the eye, they can determine the glucose levels in the aqueous.
>Alzheimer's can be detected using Dynamic Light Scattering -- when light
>beams mix with a system of particles. The amyloid proteins affected in
>Alzheimer's disease can promote aggregation of ocular proteins in the lens.
>When light passes through the eye, it can measure this protein aggregation.
>If Alzheimer's is detected at an early state, patients can perhaps be
>treated for early stages of the disease. The effects of early treatment and
>detection are not yet fully understood.
>The need for non-invasive testing methods is great among astronauts
>stationed in outer space for long-term missions. These laser methods, which
>are 200 to 300 times more sensitive than conventional cataract testing
>methods, were tested in space where loose fluids and large testing machines
>cannot be. Their use, however, is just as valuable on the ground as it is in
>space.
>Additional Resource:
>Vision Research and Human Health Diagnostics Laboratory
>(713) 500-3902
>
>Copyright 2008 by TheDenverChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material
>may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
>Rayilyn Brown
>Board Member AZNPF
>Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation
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>
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Scott E. Antes
Department of Anthropology
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5200

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