In a Nutshell:
- Lynley Hood, an 80-year-old author from New Zealand, accidentally regained her vision, lost to glaucoma 12 years ago, during a placebo treatment for her chronic back pain.
- Participating in a University of Otago study, Lynley was part of the placebo group receiving superficial scalp electrical stimulation. Remarkably, after four weeks, her vision restored almost to full capacity, a result that left her ophthalmologist stunned.
- Intrigued by this unforeseen recovery, the study team, led by Dr. Divya Adhia, plans to conduct further research into how scalp electrical stimulation might aid in restoring eyesight, potentially leading to a revolutionary breakthrough in treating blindness.
In a surprising twist of medical events, a placebo treatment designed to alleviate chronic back pain inadvertently restored the vision of an 80-year-old blind woman.
Lynley Hood, from Dunedin, New Zealand, an award-winning writer, had lost her eyesight over a decade ago to a rare form of glaucoma and found the world in color once again thanks to a back pain treatment study at the University of Otago.
Hood’s journey into darkness started 12 years ago when her left eye suddenly became blurry while reading a book.
Assuming it was due to fatigue, she retired for the night, only to wake up to a world that hadn’t regained its clarity.
She was soon diagnosed with a rare form of glaucoma and informed by her doctors that there would likely be no improvement in her condition.
Hood eventually became legally blind, which put a pause on her passion for reading and writing.
But life had an unexpected plot twist in store for Hood.
A painful fall in 2020 fractured her pelvis, leading to severe back pain, which strangely, became the pathway to her unexpected vision recovery.
This incident led her to participate in a chronic pain treatment research project conducted by the University of Otago.
The project, split into two groups, involved participants undergoing electrical stimulation sessions while wearing specially wired helmets.
One group received electrical stimulation directly to the brain, while the placebo group, including Hood, received superficial scalp-level stimulation.
Unbeknownst to her, Hood was in the placebo group.
After just four weeks of electrical stimulation, Hood discovered her vision had returned to nearly 100%.
The dramatic improvement left even her ophthalmologist astounded, who couldn’t resist but call it a “miracle.”
“Miracle is not a word we use very often in science, but it was — an accidental miracle,” project co-leader Dr. Divya Adhia told the Otago Daily Times.
“It wasn’t the intended outcome, but to see that my research has actually made an impact on people is incredible.”
Having lived with severely impaired vision for over a decade, Hood is now readjusting to a life that’s in clear sight.
With her vision restored, she is eager to return to her love for writing.
“At first, I thought I was imagining it,” Hood said, expressing disbelief at the return of her sight.
She detailed how the electrical currents, traced by advanced equipment, stimulated her retina, sparking an array of signals down her optic nerve and restoring her vision.
The intriguing question of how the electrical stimulation managed to bring Hood’s eyesight back remains unsolved, but Dr. Adhia and her team are eager to find out.
They’re now planning another study to understand this unexpected visual resurgence better, potentially opening a new window of hope for others living with blindness.
Source
Doug Litchfield
February 15, 2023 at 6:37 am
As Americans slug down copious amounts of soda pop and lather themselves with sun block whose ingredients can’t be pronounced, lawyers have determined this chemical is the one causing all the problems.
Which chemical will the ambulance chasers target next to enrich their coffers. The average Joe will see little of the funds that have been litigated for.
Lynn Rambo-Jones
February 18, 2023 at 4:36 am
We have to get one deadly chemical at a time off the market. It should be easier, but it isn’t.
Grandma
February 15, 2023 at 10:26 am
Stop taking the quick fix. Stop filling your bodies with garbage. Go back to basics, eat real fruits and vegetables, real meat. Stop exposing upcoming generations to hormonedisrupting junk like soy and birth control pills.
wvweights
February 15, 2023 at 10:47 am
How many billion ? a drop in the bucket for them. I bet they are still making it and selling it as we speak So how many thousand more cases will be coming along in the near future. Makes you wonder about these so called fed agencies that approved this. O wait, when the approvers finish there time with the fed agency they will go to work with bryar as a reward for there good service they provided to bayer while working (:?) for the gov. O yes this is just the tip of the ice berg. 🙁
Lynn Rambo-Jones
February 18, 2023 at 4:32 am
Roundup has been doing damage forever. It kills pollinators, birds and people. If it
is taken off the market the world will be a safer place.
Joe Blow
February 18, 2023 at 10:52 pm
EVERYTHING IS A SCAM…..! EVERYTHING..