Did you know that the eyes are the only visible part of the human nervous system? Unlike all other parts, only they are located outside, and are directly connected to the brain. Thanks to our eyes, we see the world around us, but these organs are susceptible to a very large number of diseases and require care. Sometimes people develop very rare eye diseases, the origin of which still remains a mystery to scientists. One of these diseases isasteroid hyalosis, in which stars and comets seem to sparkle in a person’s eyes. People with this diagnosis usually do not notice deterioration in their vision and learn about the disease only during a visit to the doctor. But sometimes asteroid hyalosis has consequences and requires treatment.
Asteroid hyalosis is a disease in which the eyes take on a “cosmic” appearance
Contents< /p>
- 1 What is asteroid hyalosis
- 2 Causes of asteroid hyalosis
- 3 Stars before human eyes
- 4 Treatment of asteroid hyalosis
What is asteroid hyalosis
Asteroid hyalosis is considered a very rare eye disease that occurs in only a couple of hundred people. People with this diagnosis often do not even suspect that there is something wrong with their visual organs – symptoms of asteroid hyalosis are invisible. They are usually told about strangeness in their eyes by friends or an ophthalmologist, because if you look into their eyes, iridescent dots are visible in them. It can be said thateyes with asteroid hyalosisbecome “beautiful as space” but, nevertheless, we are talking about a disease and there is nothing good about it.
Eye with asteroid hyalosis. Photo source: researchgate.net
Causes of asteroid hyalosis
The exact cause of the development of asteroid hyalosis is unknown to scientists. But scientists have already tried to find something in common between people with this diagnosis. The study results showed that the disease most often develops in older people with systemic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. In 2022, scientists linked this disease to problems with blood vessels or cell movement.
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< h2>Stars before human eyes
The stars in the eyesthat are visible in people with asteroid hyalosis are many small and dense particles like lumps of calcium and phospholipids. They accumulate in the vitreous humor, a gel-like substance that fills most of the eyeball and provides its shape and transparency.
These particles are not visible to humans, so many people are unaware of the disease. If other people look into the eyes of a man or woman with asteroid hyalosis, they will see a “cosmic spectacle.” In normal lighting, the particles floating in the eyes have a creamy white hue. But if you look into your eyes through medical equipment, these particles shine like gold.
Asteroid hyalosis also occurs in dogs and other animals, which makes the disease even more mysterious. Photo source: sciencealert.com
In 2018, asteroid hyalosis was accidentally discovered in a 54-year-old woman. She didn't even know she had the disease until she went for a basic checkup with an ophthalmologist. There are thousands of such stories, and no one is immune from this disease, because its exact causes are still not clear.
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Treatment of asteroid hyalosis
Usually asteroid hyalosis does not require treatment because it does not impair vision and does not progress. But in rare cases, the number of opaque particles in the vitreous body is so large that they begin to interfere with the passage of light – in this case, visual acuity may noticeably decrease. Also, with an increase in the number of particles, floaters may appear before the eyes, which, at high concentrations, also interfere with vision.
If serious inconvenience occurs, ophthalmologists perform a surgical operation – vitrectomy. During this procedure, surgeons remove all of the vitreous fluid (including calcium and phospholipid particles) from a person's eye and replace the substance with another clear solution. The operation is painless because patients are given anesthesia. After surgery, unpleasant sensations may occur in the eyes, but they gradually pass and the person’s eyes restore their normal appearance.
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Another rare eye disease is “visual snow”. It arises unexpectedly – suddenly people begin to see the world as if through TV interference. The noise in front of the eyes is different for each person with a rare diagnosis, and some patients experience serious difficulties in everyday life because of it. You can read more about what causes this mysterious disease and how dangerous it is in this material.