MYOPIA – A narrowing of the eyeball on the horizintal axis or shortsight – near objects seen clearly, but not distant ones

HYPERMETROPIA – A widening of the eyeball on the horizontal axis or longsight – distant objects seen clearly, but not near ones

ASTIGMATISM – A change in curvature of eyeball.all objects appear distorted

CATARACT – Clouding of the lens - the remedy is removal by surgery

Partial or total blindess results from damage to or degeneration of the retina which collects and converts visual images into nerve impulses; or damage to or degeneration of the optic nerve which transmits these impulses to the brain; or damage to or degeneration of sight-related centres in the brain where the incoming impulses are interpreted and understood.

HOPES FOR THE FUTURE : Two avenues of currently ongoing research and development projects are noteworthy :

Surgical : Retinal Implants – Here a tiny electronic device positioned outside convert visual images into a stram of electonic impulses like a TV transmitter, which are transmitted to an array of sensors sitting on a part of the retina and augment the function of the retina to transmit corresponding nerve impulses to the brain.

Medical : A new development in Gene therapy, where a selected gene is injected into the eye and it slows down or remedies the degenerative changes affecting the retina. This approach is still in the stage of animal-based trials.