Not too concerned about dry eye, cataract and glaucoma? You might be at some point in life. According to Professor Jodhbir S Mehta, Head of the Corneal and External Eye Disease at Singapore National Eye Centre, they are the most common types of eye diseases here and treatment can range from eyedrops to surgery. And in the event of more severe issues, corneal endothelial cell therapy (where they transplant the single layer of cells at the back of the cornea) might be suggested.
“The thing about conventional corneal transplantation is that we are reliant on corneal donors. There is a shortage of tissues worldwide and only one out of 70 patients get their needs met. Cell therapy allows us to treat up to 50 patients with just one donor thanks to our cell culture technique,” he explains.
“The delivery of the cell is either by injecting the cells into the front of the eye or on a carrier, and the benefits of the procedure is that it is not only simple, but also has a lower risk of rejection.”
Want to maintain good eye health and avoid any sort of issues as much as possible? He shares three tips.
Antioxidants are chemicals that help stop or limit damage caused by free radicals and protect and reverse some of the damage to cells. Dr Mehta suggests regularly eating red berries, which are a good source of antioxidants.
Omega-3s are key to the structure of every cell wall you have and he suggests loading up on flax seeds – one of the richest plant sources of the acids.
Apart from taking a break from your screen every hour, also refrain from staring at it from too close a range.
Find out more at