This finding led to a series of experiments designed to understand how eye function fit into the story of how dietary restriction can extend lifespan. For example, they set up experiments showing that keeping flies in constant darkness extended their lifespan.
They then used bioinformatics to ask: Do the genes in the eye that are also rhythmic and responsive to dietary restriction influence lifespan? The answer was yes they do.
"We always think of the eye as something that serves us, to provide vision. We don't think of it as something that must be protected to protect the whole organism," said Kapahi, who is also an associate adjunct professor of urology at UCSF.
Since the eyes are exposed to the outside world, he explained, the immune defenses there are critically active, which can lead to inflammation, which, when present for long periods of time, can cause or worsen a variety of common chronic diseases. Additionally, light in itself can cause photoreceptor degeneration which can cause inflammation.
"Staring at computer and phone screens, and being exposed to light pollution well into the night are conditions very disturbing for circadian clocks," Kapahi said. "It messes up protection for the eye and that could have consequences beyond just the vision, damaging the rest of the body and the brain."
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