Keratoconus is a degenerative non-inflammatory disorder of the eye in
which structural changes within the cornea cause it to thin and change
to a more conical shape than its normal even curve. Keratoconus can
cause substantial distortion of the vision, with multiple images,
streaking and sensitivity to light all often reported by the patient.
Though frequently thought of as a rare condition, keratoconus is the
most common distrophy of the cornea, affecting around one person in a
thousand, and seems to occur equally in all ethnic groups worldwide.
It is typically diagnosed in the patient's adolescent years and
attains its most severe state in the twenties and thirties.
Keratoconus is a little-understood disease with an uncertain cause,
and the course of its progression following diagnosis is
unpredictable. The associated deterioration in vision, if in both
eyes, can affect the person's ability, for example, to drive a car
legally. It does not, however, lead to blindness, and in most cases,
corrective lenses are effective enough to allow the patient to
continue to drive and likewise function normally.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keratoconus
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1849:
Denmark became a constitutional monarchy.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denmark)
1947:
George Marshall called for economic aid to war-torn Europe.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Marshall)
1967:
The Six-Day War began with an Israeli Air Force attack on Egypt,
Jordan, and Syria.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six-Day_War)
1968:
Sirhan Sirhan mortally shot Robert F. Kennedy in Los Angeles.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirhan_Sirhan)
1995:
A new phase of matter, the Bose-Einstein condensate was discovered.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bose-Einstein_condensate)
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Wikiquote of the day:
Nobody knows you. No. But I sing of you.For posterity I sing of your
profile and grace.Of the signal maturity of your understanding.Of your
appetite for death and the taste of its mouth.Of the sadness of your
once valiant gaiety. -- Federico GarcĂa Lorca
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Federico_Garc%C3%ADa_Lorca)