How to cure liver enlargement

   A daily intake of long brinjals helps restore the liver to its original position.
   A mixture of two grams of the Sprague powder, half-gram salt taken twice a day after meals with water, cures all liver and spleen problems.
   Drink a glass of spearmint juice with added sugar for ten days.
   Take orange juice on an empty stomach for five consecutive days.
   Take one and a half gram of jaggery and chebulic myrobalan’s powder in equal amounts and make one tablet out of it. Take this one tablet daily every morning and evening with warm water for a month.
   A half-cup juice of bathu with little salt is also very helpful in case you have an enlarged liver. A daily intake of half-cup bitter gourd with a small amount of salt is very useful for curing liver and spleen enlargements. Papaya is also very useful for curing liver enlargement.

BLOCKS OF WONDER

Stem cells from skin treat brain disease

Treatment Eases Symptoms Of Parkinson’s In Rats

Washington: Skin cells re-programmed to act like embryonic stem cells eased symptoms of Parkinson’s disease in rats, researchers reported on Monday in a first step toward tailored treatments for people that bypass concerns about using human embryos.
   The experiment suggests it may be possible to take a small sample of skin and turn it into a transplant perfectly matched to patients with Parkinson’s and other diseases, the researchers reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
   It also supports the usefulness of newly created cells that resemble powerful embryonic stem cells. The stem cell experts used so-called induced pluripotent stem cells, which are skin cells reprogrammed to act like embryonic stem cells.
   “It’s a proof of principle experiment that argues, yes, these cells may have the therapeutic promise that people ascribe to them,” said Rudolf Jaenisch, a stem cell expert at the Whitehead Institute and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
   Researchers have been trying to find ways to harness stem cells, the body’s master cells, to treat patients with serious injuries, brain diseases and organ damage caused by conditions such as diabetes.
   Stem cells taken from very early embryos appear to be the most malleable and the most powerful. But many people object to their use because the embryo usually must be destroyed to extract them.
   Several teams have reported a way to re-program ordinary skin cells to act like embryonic stem cells by adding several genes. Jaenisch’s team tested some of these cells in rats and mice. They first got such cells to take up residence in the brains of unborn mice.
   Then they damaged the brains of rats to resemble Parkinson’s, which is caused by the destruction of certain brain cells that produce a message-carrying chemical called dopamine. Patients lose abilities associated with movement, and progress from a type of shakiness to paralysis and death. There is no cure. Transplants of cells from fetuses have offered some relief from symptoms in a few people. In the rats, the cell transplants improved symptoms markedly, the researchers said.
   “This is the first demonstration that re-programmed cells can integrate into the neural system or positively affect neurodegenerative disease,” said MIT's Marius Wernig. One problem with transplanting these powerful but immature cells is that they can differentiate into undesired tissues. REUTERS

New method helps ‘clean’ stem cells    
Scientists in Singapore have developed a strategy to “clean up” embryonic stem cells, which researchers hope can one day be used to replace damaged tissues and for other tailor-made personal treatments. Embryonic stem cells are master cells that can grow, or “differentiate”, into any type of cell or tissue, and are subsequently transplanted into the body. But some studies have shown that residual stem cells that fail to differentiate can turn cancerous later on. In the journal Stem Cells, scientists in Singapore said they generated antibodies that successfully killed off these residual stem cells in mice.

Hemorrhage

Hemorrhage is any profuse internal or external bleeding from the blood vessels. The most obvious cause of hemorrhage is trauma or injury to a blood vessel. Hemorrhage can also be caused by aneurysms or weak spots in the artery wall that are often present at birth. Over time, the blood vessel walls at the site of an aneurysm tend to become thinner and bulge out like water balloons as blood passes through them, making them more likely to leak and rupture.

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is often a contributing factor in brain hemorrhage, which can cause a stroke. Other times, vessels simply wear out with age. Uncontrolled diabetes can also weaken blood vessels, especially in the eyes; this is called retinopathy (ret-i-NOP-a-thee). Use of medications that affect blood clotting, including aspirin, can make hemorrhage more likely to occur.

Bleeding disorders can also spark hemorrhages. Among them are hemophilia (he-mo-FIL-e-a), an inherited disorder that prevents the blood from clotting.

How Can You Spot a Hemorrhage?

Visible blood is the most obvious sign, but sometimes the only way to know a hemorrhage has occurred inside the body is when it causes symptoms or an illness, such as a stroke. In the case of a brain hemorrhage, depending on where the bleeding is occurring, symptoms can include headache; loss of function on one side of the body; vision changes; numbness or weakness; difficulty speaking, swallowing, reading, or writing; balance problems; decreased alertness; vomiting; stiff neck; and confusion, drowsiness, or coma.

People with hemophilia often experience a tingling feeling that alerts them to a hemorrhage.

How Is a Hemorrhage Diagnosed?

When bleeding is visible, the causes of most hemorrhages are obvious. Blood tests and spinal fluid tests can show evidence of brain hemorrhage. Computed tomography (CT or CAT) scanning is an important imaging test used to evaluate the brain and other tissues to see if bleeding has occurred.

How Is a Hemorrhage Treated?

The first goal in treating a hemorrhage is to stop the bleeding. Hemorrhage caused by trauma or the tearing of blood vessels can be treated by clamping or surgically repairing the tears. Hemorrhage resulting from vessel leakage due to high blood pressure can be treated with medicines to reduce blood pressure, prevent vessel spasm, and reduce pain. Surgery may be needed to reduce the pressure of collected blood in the brain. Blood factors to help the blood clot may be administered to those with bleeding disorders.

How Can Hemorrhage Be Prevented?

A healthy diet, regular exercise, cutting down on excess sodium intake, maintaining a normal weight, and taking prescribed medication properly can often control high blood pressure. Avoiding drug use can also help prevent brain hemorrhage. Cocaine, amphetamines, and alcohol are increasingly associated with brain hemorrhages, particularly in young people. Wearing helmets when bicycling, skateboarding, and rollerblading and always wearing seatbelts in motor vehicles can help prevent serious head injuries. Retinopathy can be prevented or lessened by good control of diabetes, that is, keeping blood sugars at near-normal levels.

Hemorrhage is any profuse internal or external bleeding from the blood vessels. The most obvious cause of hemorrhage is trauma or injury to a blood vessel. Hemorrhage can also be caused by aneurysms or weak spots in the artery wall that are often present at birth. Over time, the blood vessel walls at the site of an aneurysm tend to become thinner and bulge out like water balloons as blood passes through them, making them more likely to leak and rupture.

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is often a contributing factor in brain hemorrhage, which can cause a stroke. Other times, vessels simply wear out with age. Uncontrolled diabetes can also weaken blood vessels, especially in the eyes; this is called retinopathy (ret-i-NOP-a-thee). Use of medications that affect blood clotting, including aspirin, can make hemorrhage more likely to occur.

Bleeding disorders can also spark hemorrhages. Among them are hemophilia (he-mo-FIL-e-a), an inherited disorder that prevents the blood from clotting.

How Can You Spot a Hemorrhage?

Visible blood is the most obvious sign, but sometimes the only way to know a hemorrhage has occurred inside the body is when it causes symptoms or an illness, such as a stroke. In the case of a brain hemorrhage, depending on where the bleeding is occurring, symptoms can include headache; loss of function on one side of the body; vision changes; numbness or weakness; difficulty speaking, swallowing, reading, or writing; balance problems; decreased alertness; vomiting; stiff neck; and confusion, drowsiness, or coma.

People with hemophilia often experience a tingling feeling that alerts them to a hemorrhage.

How Is a Hemorrhage Diagnosed?

When bleeding is visible, the causes of most hemorrhages are obvious. Blood tests and spinal fluid tests can show evidence of brain hemorrhage. Computed tomography (CT or CAT) scanning is an important imaging test used to evaluate the brain and other tissues to see if bleeding has occurred.

How Is a Hemorrhage Treated?

The first goal in treating a hemorrhage is to stop the bleeding. Hemorrhage caused by trauma or the tearing of blood vessels can be treated by clamping or surgically repairing the tears. Hemorrhage resulting from vessel leakage due to high blood pressure can be treated with medicines to reduce blood pressure, prevent vessel spasm, and reduce pain. Surgery may be needed to reduce the pressure of collected blood in the brain. Blood factors to help the blood clot may be administered to those with bleeding disorders.

How Can Hemorrhage Be Prevented?

A healthy diet, regular exercise, cutting down on excess sodium intake, maintaining a normal weight, and taking prescribed medication properly can often control high blood pressure. Avoiding drug use can also help prevent brain hemorrhage. Cocaine, amphetamines, and alcohol are increasingly associated with brain hemorrhages, particularly in young people. Wearing helmets when bicycling, skateboarding, and rollerblading and always wearing seatbelts in motor vehicles can help prevent serious head injuries. Retinopathy can be prevented or lessened by good control of diabetes, that is, keeping blood sugars at near-normal levels.

What Is Malaria?

Malaria is a disease that is caused by a parasite, a living thing that lives and feeds on another living thing without helping its host in any way. The parasites that cause malaria are tiny, single-celled creatures known as protozoa. The four types of protozoa that cause malaria all belong to a category known as Plasmodium. Of these, Plasmodium falciparum is the most common and the deadliest.

Malaria parasites are spread to humans by the bite of an infected Anopheles mosquito. Such mosquitoes are found in almost all countries in the tropics (region around the equator) and subtropics (region just beyond the tropics).

In fact, malaria is a public health problem in more than 90 countries, where two out of every five people in the world live. There are 300 to 500 million cases of malaria each year, and more than 1 million of these cases lead to death. Although malaria is found around the world, more than 9 out of 10 cases occur in Africa south of the Sahara Desert. Most of the deaths there occur among young children, especially in rural areas where the people cannot reach good medical care. This is especially unfortunate because malaria can be cured if it is diagnosed early and treated promptly.

There are about 2,700 species of mosquitoes, including more than 90 species of Anopheles mosquitoes, many of which carry malaria. Anopheles mosquitoes typically bite between dusk and dawn. Only female mosquitoes suck blood and, thus, spread malaria. This is the female Anopheles gambiae mosquito seen up close and personal under an electron micro-scope.

How Does the Malaria Parasite Cause Disease?
The Plasmodium parasite that causes malaria is carried by the Anopheles mosquito. When an infected mosquito bites a person, it can pass tiny, immature forms of the parasite into the person's body. The immature parasites travel through the person's blood-stream to the liver, where they develop and multiply.

The parasites then reenter the bloodstream and invade the red blood cells, which carry oxygen from the lungs throughout the body. Some of the parasites reach a sexual stage. If these are sucked up by another mosquito drinking its next blood meal, they can meet in the mosquito's gut. There, they can start a whole new generation of malaria parasites.

While in the red blood cells, the parasites continue to multiply. After 48 to 72 hours, the red blood cells break open and release more parasites into the bloodstream. The person then has symptoms such as chills, fever, and headache. The fever lasts for several hours. Then the person starts sweating and his body temperature falls. This cycle of symptoms comes and goes every 48 to 72 hours, following the life cycle of the parasites. Each cycle worsens the person's anemia, or lack of red blood cells. As a result, less and less oxygen reaches the brain and other organs.

Who Is at Risk?
Malaria is mainly a problem in poor countries. Rural areas in such countries are hit particularly hard. Mosquitoes are most likely to spread malaria during the rainy season, when families in these areas are busy farming. Illness then makes it tougher for them to survive. There are about 1,000 cases of malaria a year in the United States, mostly among travelers returning from such areas.

Malaria is a special threat to young children in places where it is common. Worldwide, about 3,000 children under age five die of the disease each day. Malaria is also particularly dangerous for women who are pregnant. It may increase the risk of the baby being born early or dying before or at birth.

What Are the Symptoms?
The symptoms of malaria include chills, fever, sweating, headache, muscle aches, and tiredness. Other possible symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, and coughing. In its early stage, the disease may be mild, resembling the flu. If it is not treated, however, malaria caused by the Plasmodium falci-parum parasite may get much worse, leading to liver and kidney failure, seizures, coma, and sometimes death.

Although the symptoms caused by other Plasmodium parasites are less severe, the parasites can remain in an inactive state in the liver for long periods. Later, the parasites can become active again, and the symptoms can reappear after months or even years.

The first symptoms of malaria usually start within one to three weeks after a person is bitten by an infected mosquito. However, the time can stretch to several months in some cases. Travelers who come down with a fever or flu-like illness during or after a trip to an area where malaria is a problem should see a doctor right away.

How Is Malaria Treated and Prevented?
To test for malaria, a doctor checks a blood sample for malaria parasites. If they are found, prompt treatment is critical. There are several drugs that can treat malaria effectively in its early stage. Even better, travelers can take these drugs before visiting risky areas to help prevent the disease.

Chloroquine is still used in parts of the world where the parasites have not yet developed resistance to this drug. In other parts of the world, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now recommends that travelers take a drug called mefloquine.

Pneumonia

What Happens When People Have Pneumonia?

Symptoms

People who have streptococcal pneumonia, the most common kind, often get a fever of 102 to 104 degrees F (39 to 40.5 degrees Centigrade) and chills that cause the body to shake. They cough, often bringing up large amounts of thick, greenish mucus, sometimes mixed with blood. They may breath more quickly, and they may have rales (pronounced "rahls"), a crackling sound that can be heard with a stethoscope. Their chests hurt, too; the stabbing pain seems to get worse the more they cough. Other symptoms include a bad headache, loss of appetite, tiredness, nausea, and vomiting.

People who are elderly or who have immune system problems often have milder symptoms in the beginning, even though their illness may be more dangerous. They might, for instance, have just a low-grade fever, tiredness, or confusion, and a sense of being ill.

People with atypical or mycoplasma pneumonia often get a dry cough, a sore throat, skin rashes, and muscle and joint pain. Because these are not the classic symptoms of pneumonia, people may think they just have a mild case of flu.

People with influenza pneumonia often have fever, a severe dry cough, rales, and severe fatigue.

Diagnosis

If a person has persistent fever and a cough, doctors will suspect pneumonia. They may be able to diagnose pneumonia by listening through a stethoscope to the person's breathing. In any case, a chest x-ray usually makes the diagnosis clear.

Treatment

If a specific type of bacteria has been identified as the cause of the pneumonia, the doctor can prescribe antibiotic drugs that target those bacteria. If the germ is not pinpointed but bacteria are suspected, the doctor may give antibiotics that are active against the most likely causes. If the cause is a virus or fungus, antibiotics will not help. Instead, some antiviral and antifungal drugs are available, although not all viruses have treatments.

When the pneumonia is severe, people often are hospitalized. They may be given oxygen or put on a ventilator (a breathing machine) to help them breathe while the medications and the immune system fight the infection.

How Is Pneumonia Prevented?

Yearly flu vaccinations can prevent pneumonia caused by certain influenza viruses, and a one-time vaccination can help protect people against pneumococcal pneumonia.

People who have the AIDS virus can reduce their chances of getting Pneumocystic carinii pneumonia by taking daily medication. Not smoking, or quitting the habit, and not drinking alcohol excessively also can reduce the risk of pneumonia.

To prevent pneumonia in the hospital, patients are encouraged to breathe deeply, and they are sometimes given plastic breath meters that measure how well they are doing. They also are encouraged to move around, if possible, rather than staying in bed. These practices prevent the lungs from filling with mucus and other fluids that some bacteria thrive in.

Can Cancer Be Prevented?

How Do People Know They Have Cancer?
Many symptoms of cancer such as weight loss, fever, fatigue, and various kinds of lumps could also be caused by other diseases. Some cancers may cause no symptoms until they have spread. Based on the most commonly occurring cancers, the American Cancer Society publishes a list of seven warning signs of cancer. These symptoms do not mean that a person has cancer, but if they occur, a person should see the doctor:

Change in bowel or bladder habits (for instance diarrhea that does not go away or pain on urination)
A sore anywhere on the skin that does not heal
Unusual bleeding or discharge from the nose, mouth, skin, nipple, or vagina
A thickening or lump in the breast or elsewhere
Indigestion or difficulty in swallowing
Obvious changes in a wart or mole
Nagging cough, particularly if these symptoms occur in a cigarette smoker.
Eating for Health
The American Cancer Society recommends the following general nutritional guidelines to help people stay healthy:

Choosing most foods from plant sources such as vegetables, fruits, and grains
Limiting intake of high-fat foods, especially from animal sources
Staying physically active
Maintaining a healthy weight
Limiting consumption of alcoholic beverages
How Is Cancer Diagnosed and Treated?
Diagnosis
Diagnosing cancer involves removing some tissue for evaluation. This procedure is called a biopsy (BY-op-see). Once the diagnosis is made, a treatment plan is put together. To do that, it is necessary to determine how widespread the disease is, and how serious. "Staging" the disease means assigning letters and numbers to it as a way of indicating whether it has spread and how far. There are several systems for staging, depending on the type of cancer. Generally speaking, the smaller the tumor, the more curable it is, although some cancer can be unpredictable. The outlook for some cancers, for example, leukemia and lymphoma, is judged according to other criteria. Cancer is classified by the part of the body in which it began and by how it looks under a microscope.

Chemotherapy uses anticancer drugs to treat cancer. Chemotherapy drugs are given through a vein or by mouth as pills. These drugs enter the bloodstream and reach places in the body that surgery and radiation cannot reach. Chemotherapy often is given for cancer that has spread.

Treatment
Treatment for cancer includes surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy (kee-mo-THER-a-pee), alone or together. Because different types of cancer vary in how fast they grow, where they spread, and how they respond to treatment, treatment is specifically tailored to the kind of cancer a person has.

Surgery is the oldest form of treatment for cancer, and it still offers the greatest chance of cure for many kinds of cancer. About 60 percent of patients with cancer will have some type of surgery.
Radiation therapy uses high-energy particles or waves to damage cancer cells that surgery cannot catch because they are too small.
Chemotherapy uses anticancer drugs to treat cancer. Chemotherapy drugs are given through a vein (also called an intravenous or IV line) or by mouth as pills. These drugs enter the bloodstream and reach places in the body that surgery and radiation cannot reach. Chemotherapy is often given for cancer that has spread.
Another kind of therapy interferes with the production of substances in the blood called hormones (HOR-mones) that stimulate certain kinds of cells (for example, cells in the breast) to grow.

Will There Ever Be a Cure for All Cancers?
Every day researchers learn a little more about how the cell works, and many of these discoveries are being applied to cancer research. Many current therapies have side effects because they kill healthy cells as well as cancer cells or affect the function of other parts of the body. So one area of research scientists are working on is therapies that will kill only cancer cells and that will leave healthy cells alone. Another area of research is investigating ways of helping the body's own defense system to fight cancer. Scientists are also exploring substances in food or drugs that will prevent cancer from developing in the first place.

Can Cancer Be Prevented?
There is no way to prevent cancers children get. But many cancers that occur in adults could be prevented by changes in a person's lifestyle. For example, cancers caused by cigarette smoking and drinking a lot of alcohol could be prevented completely. Limiting certain kinds of foods, such as red meats and animal fats, and eating lots of fruits and legumes (such as peas and lentils) may help reduce the risk of getting many cancers. Physical activity helps to avoid obesity and may have other protective effects against cancer. Most of the one million skin cancers that are diagnosed each year could be avoided by staying out of the sun.

Regular cancer checks, called screenings, for cancer of the breast, colon, rectum, cervix, prostate, testes, mouth, and skin are an effective way of detecting cancer early enough to be treated successfully. In addition, self-examination for breast and skin cancers also helps to detect tumors at earlier stages. The American Cancer Society estimates that if all Americans participated in regular cancer screenings, survival would be dramatically improved

Blindness

What Causes Blindness?

Many conditions may cause blindness. The most common cause of vision loss in infants and young children is amblyopia (am-ble-O-pe-a).

^*strabismus is a condition that causes the eyes to cross or not work together correctly, which may lead to permanent loss of vision in one eye.

^*glaucoma is a group of disorders that cause pressure to build in the eye, which may result in vision loss.

^*cataracts result from cloudiness of the lenses in the eyes that usually develops as a person ages. They often impair vision.

Amblyopia

Amblyopia is the loss of vision in one eye that results when the eyes are misaligned or not working together correctly in a condition known as strabismus (stra-BIZ-mus). About 3 to 5 percent of children have strabismus, which usually is present from birth or develops during infancy. In most cases, there is no known cause for the condition, which often makes a person look cross-eyed. With early diagnosis and treatment,

Anatomy of the eye. The optic nerve (also referred to as the second cranial nerve) sends messages from the eyes to the brain, making it possible to see.

the eye that is not pointing straight can be trained to develop normal vision. For some people, surgery is needed to align the eye correctly.

Cataracts

Some children are born with cataracts, which cloud the lens in the eye and prevent images from being seen clearly or at all. People also develop cataracts as they age, which makes it one of the most common causes of reduced vision. More than 400,000 new cases of cataracts develop each year in the United States. Surgery to remove cataracts is common for adults and for those few children with them. This restores vision in more than 90 percent of cases.

Diabetes

Diabetes may lead to vision loss if diabetic retinopathy develops. Diabetic retinopathy, one of the leading causes of blindness in adults, results in vision loss if blood vessels supplying the eye's retina^* are damaged by the disease. The blood vessels sometimes leak or break open to damage the retina. More vessels also may grow and start to cover the retina or grow into the fluid that fills the eyeball, further reducing vision.

Researchers estimate that as many as 10 million to 15 million people have diabetes in the United States and 700,000 are at risk of developing diabetic retinopathy. Almost all people with diabetes can show signs of damage to their retina after two or three decades of living with the disease, but not all of them lose their vision. There are no symptoms of diabetic retinopathy at first. As the damage increases, vision becomes blurred. Doctors can see the damage with a device that looks at the retina, which is why annual vision exams are so important for people with diabetes.

The best treatment for diabetic retinopathy is prevention, which means managing diabetes (and high blood pressure, if present) with proper nutrition, exercise, and medications. In some cases, laser treatment may be used to prevent worsening of diabetic retinopathy. People with diabetes also are at higher risk for cataracts and glaucoma.

Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a disorder that causes fluid pressure to build up inside the eye, which may cause optic nerve^* damage. It may go undetected for many years before its effects on vision are noticed. It is one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States, with elderly people and people of African ancestry at increased risk.

Trachoma

Trachoma is a chronic infection of the eye by Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria. The bacteria infect the linings of the eyelid, causing them to become thick and rough. If the condition is untreated or if the infection returns, the eyelashes can turn inward and cause small scars on the eyes' surfaces. Eventually, blindness results. Trachoma is the leading cause of preventable blindness in the world.

Trachoma is spread through contact with the discharge from the eyes of infected persons. For example, if infected people rub their eyes and then shake another person's hands, the bacteria that cause trachoma can be spread. Also, using the handkerchief or towel of an infected person can spread the bacteria.

Today, about 10 percent of the world's population live in areas where trachoma is a problem, including Africa, Asia, Australia, Latin America, and some poorer areas of the United States.

Treatment can stop trachoma before it blinds people. Antibiotic ointments or oral antibiotics are used to treat the disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) has established a WHO Alliance for the Global Elimination of Trachoma. WHO hopes to achieve its goal by the year 2020 through prevention, antibiotics, and surgery to repair eyelids.

^*retina is the area at the inside rear of the eyeball that acts like film in a camera to capture the image a person sees.

^*optic nerve is the nerve that sends messages, or conducts impulses, from the eyes to the brain, making it possible to see. The optic nerve is also referred to as the second cranial nerve.

Macular degeneration

Macular degeneration is similar to diabetic retinopathy. Changes in the blood vessels supplying the central portion of the retina, known as the macula, cause the vessels to leak and to damage cells that are needed for the central part of the field of vision. Peripheral or side vision usually remains, but without treatment, the damaged field of vision may expand. Doctors sometimes recommend laser surgery to treat the leaking blood vessels when people are in the early stages of macular degeneration in order to prevent or slow progressive vision loss. Others compensate for vision loss by using magnifying devices.

Infections

Ocular (OK-yoo-lar) herpes may cause vision loss as a result of herpesvirus infections, usually the herpes simplex virus that causes cold sores or the herpes zoster virus that causes chickenpox and shingles. The U.S. National Eye Institute estimates that ocular herpes affects approximately 400,000 people in the United States.

Infection of the eyes by the Chlamydia trachomatis organism is a leading cause of blindness in developing nations. The eyes of newborn babies may become infected during childbirth if the mother has chlamydia.

Accidents

About 3 percent of cases of blindness occur from accidents or other injuries that damage the eyes.

How Do People with Vision Loss and Blindness Adapt?

Millions of people with severe vision loss, including more than 1 million people who are blind, can do many of the same things that people with normal vision do. People with partial sight can use powerful eyeglasses and magnifying devices to improve their ability to read and to see objects. People with blindness also can:

• listen to books, newspapers, and magazines on tape
• use computers that read text aloud and respond to spoken commands
• read Braille, a system that translates words into raised patterns of dots that are read by touching them
• use guide dogs to increase their mobility
• take many of the same classes, jobs, and roles as people with sight
• become parents and teachers