October 2022 Ask the Mito Doc webcast was an overview of the Ophthalmic manifestations of Mitochondrial Disease presented by Neuro-ophthalmologist Dr. Rustum Karanjia MD, PHD from the University of Ottawa and moderated by Margaret Moore UMDF's Support and Education Associate. Eyes/sight are a high energy function that can be impacted by mitochondrial disease. Mitochondrial dysfuction in afferent neurons can cause vision loss and optic nerve problems while dysfuction in efferent neurons can cause double vision and eye muscle dysfunction. Levels of impairment are related to mitochondrial dysfunction and reactive oxygen species. Treatments discussed by Dr. Karanjia centered around antioxidents/supplements, gene therapies and the on-going clinical trials to validate effectiveness of these treatments. Margaret asked Dr. Karanjia questions from our community ranging from the usefulness of eye exercises to stem cell therapy. To wrap it up Dr. Karajia shared the origin story and debunked the 'carrots are good for your eyesight' myth.

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