Health
Nebraska baby born with cataracts has 3 eye surgeries to save her sight: ‘I just kept praying’
Madison Artale’s world was darkening before it even began. Diagnosed with congenital cataracts at less than two months old, the baby — born in Bellevue, Nebraska, on Oct. 1 — was in danger of losing her sight forever.
Her parents, who were stationed at Offutt Air Force Base, turned to Children’s Nebraska for help.
To save the child’s sight, Dr. Paul Rychwalski, medical director of ophthalmology at the hospital, embarked on a mission with his team.
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Brandee Artale first noticed the baby’s cataracts while she was breastfeeding her, she told Fox News Digital during an on-camera interview. (See the video at the top of this article.)
“I looked down, and I was like, there’s something weird in her eyes,” she said.
Madison Artale, pictured here in both images, was diagnosed with congenital cataracts at just 1.5 months old. (Andrew and Brandee Artale)
At first, the parents thought it was just an odd reflection of light, but their primary doctor confirmed they should see an eye doctor.
From there, they were referred to Children’s Nebraska.
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Congenital cataracts are quite rare in babies, according to Rychwalski.
“We think of cataracts as older adults having them — you know, Grandpa needs cataract surgery,” he told Fox News Digital. “But it does happen in children.”
Madison Artale, pictured here, was in danger of losing her sight forever if she didn’t get immediate surgery. (Andrew and Brandee Artale)
About a third of cases are inherited, and another third stem from other medical or genetic problems, the doctor said.
The final third come from unknown causes, which was the case for Madison Arta
In eyes with cataracts, the lens that sits directly behind the pupil is cloudy. Some cases are more severe than others, Rychwalski said.
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“In Madison’s case, it was a dense, white, cloudy opacity right in the center of the visual axis,” he said.
“So there was no way to get through that to stimulate the retina and bring sight to her brain. She was at risk of permanent vision loss if we didn’t clear this visual access in a timely fashion.”
It was important to remove the cloudy lens as soon as possible so the brain could immediately have a focused image, Rychwalski said.
“I just kept praying everything would be OK, and that she would make it through.”
Brandee Artale described the prospect of surgery for her new baby as “terrifying.”
“I kept thinking, my daughter’s only 2-1/2 months old and she’s going under anesthesia … Is this safe for her?” she told Fox News Digital.
“I just kept praying everything would be OK, and that she would make it through.”
Seeing his daughter get wheeled into surgery “tugged at my heartstrings,” said dad Andrew Artale, pictured with little Madison Artale. (Andrew and Brandee Artale)
Over the next few months, the team performed three delicate surgeries using the NGENUITY 3D Visualization System.
“All of the ocular structures are very, very small,” Rychwalski said. “And so we’ve used some new technology in magnification and surgical displays.”
He went on, “Instead of staring down through a microscope, I’m actually sitting straight up with 3D glasses, looking at a very large screen. And while I’m operating, everyone in the room has the exact same view as I do. There’s a reverence for what we’re doing for Madison. The teamwork in the operating room in this fragile surgery is … something pretty astounding.”
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Madison Artale had the cataracts removed from both eyes at different times, her father told Fox News Digital.
“And then she had pressure issues in her left eye that required her to go into a third surgery,” he said.
Today, at 7 months old, Madison Artale (pictured with mom Brandee Artale) is doing well and seeing great with the help of her special prescription glasses. (Andrew and Brandee Artale)
Seeing his daughter get wheeled into surgery “tugged at my heartstrings,” said Andrew Artale.
“But she [handled] the surgeries amazingly. I couldn’t have asked for her to handle it as well as she did.”
“You need to be able to express your emotions and fears.”
At 7 months old, Madison Artale now sees clearly. She is captivated by the world around her, according to her parents.
To correct her vision, she wears special prescription eyeglasses.
“They’re like second nature to her now,” her father said. “We don’t have to fight to try to put the glasses on. And she’s looking around at everything just as she would normally. So we’re very happy with the results.”
Sometime in the future, Madison Artale will need another surgery to implant a replacement lens, her doctor said. (Andrew and Brandee Artale)
Sometime in the future, Madison Artale will need another surgery to implant a replacement lens, the doctor said.
Throughout the entire process, trust in Dr. Rychwalski and the entire care team at Children’s Nebraska has been paramount, said Brandee Artale.
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“I think that’s probably the most important thing for any parent … is having a relationship with your doctor. You need to be able to express your emotions and fears.”
She added, “Having that relationship … has made this whole journey so much easier on all of us.”
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A new test could make it easier to detect high-risk prostate cancer cases earlier.
The blood test, called Stockholm3, is showing promise in clinical trials, beating out the traditional, standard prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test.
In a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden studied the test’s efficacy in more than 12,000 men — mostly Swedish or European — aged 50 to 74.
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All participants were tested with PSA and Stockholm3 and were followed for two years. During the follow-up period, 443 men were diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer.
Stockholm3 detected 90% of aggressive prostate cancer cases compared to 74% for PSA tests.
Stockholm3 detected 90% of aggressive prostate cancer cases compared to 74% for PSA tests. (iStock)
Stockholm3 missed “significantly fewer” serious cancer cases than PSA. The number of men incorrectly classified as high-risk was similar across both tests, according to a press release.
Thorgerdur Palsdottir, a researcher at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, wrote in a statement that one of the major challenges in prostate cancer is being able to identify the cases that are “truly dangerous.”
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“Our results show that Stockholm3 identifies significantly more aggressive cancer cases than PSA without increasing the number of unnecessary follow-ups,” she said.
“These results point toward a potential change in how prostate cancer screening can be conducted,” the researcher added. “A more precise blood test could enable earlier detection of aggressive disease while reducing the number of unnecessary follow-up examinations and procedures.”
“A more precise blood test could enable earlier detection of aggressive disease while reducing the number of unnecessary follow-up examinations and procedures,” a researcher commented. (iStock)
Study co-author Hari Vigneswaran, chief medical officer of Stockholm3-maker A3P Biomedical, commented on these “promising” findings in an interview with Fox News Digital.
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He confirmed that the PSA has been the standard for prostate cancer screening since the 1990s despite its “well-documented limitations.”
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“It leads to invasive and costly follow-up testing, contributes to over-diagnosis of non-aggressive cancers and, most importantly, it misses a substantial share of aggressive disease,” Vigneswaran said.
When aggressive prostate cancer is found while still confined in the prostate, the five-year survival is close to 100%. (iStock)
When aggressive prostate cancer is found while still confined in the prostate, the five-year survival rate is close to 100%, which highlights the importance of early detection, according to the doctor.
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Data from the National Cancer Institute’s SEER database show that metastatic prostate cancer has risen over the past decade, suggesting that “we have not improved early detection of the aggressive, curable disease that screening is meant to catch,” Vigneswaran said.
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“The goal of screening is to find the cancers that need treatment while they are still curable, without raising the number of men who screen positive but don’t have aggressive disease,” he said.
Stockholm3 could reduce the need for unnecessary MRIs and biopsies, according to the researcher. (Getty Images)
Stockholm3 could reduce the need for unnecessary MRIs and biopsies, according to the researcher.
The findings did have some limitations. Stockholm3 is an investigational device and is not available for sale in the U.S., Vigneswaran noted.
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The test estimates a man’s risk of aggressive prostate cancer, but a biopsy remains the gold standard for confirming the disease.
The company plans to seek FDA approval to use the test for routine screening and will “generate the evidence needed to support that pathway, including U.S. data,” Vigneswaran said.
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Scientists have linked eating leafy green vegetables such as spinach, kale and broccoli to better lung health.
There are two primary forms of vitamin K found in foods. The primary kind is vitamin K1, found mainly in vegetables, which plays a major role in the body’s blood-clotting process.
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Vitamin K2 is found in fermented foods, certain dairy products, eggs and meats and helps regulate calcium in the body and supports bone health.
Researchers at Australia’s Edith Cowan University examined whether dietary intake of vitamins K1 and K2 was associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and lung function.
Leafy green vegetables are high in vitamin K1, a nutrient that researchers have observed conributes to improved lung health. (iStock)
“Chronic respiratory diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma, are among the most prevalent noncommunicable diseases worldwide and were the third leading cause of death in 2019, accounting for 4 million deaths and affecting 454.6 million individuals globally,” the scientists reported in the introduction to their study, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
“Although asthma and COPD can be managed with available treatments, neither condition is curable, underscoring the need for effective prevention strategies,” they added.
The leading cause of COPD is smoking, the Mayo Clinic reported. Exposure to other irritants, such as dust, chemicals and pollution, can also cause it.
The researchers analyzed data from 179,062 participants over a 10-and-a-half-year period and concluded that, “Higher dietary vitamin K1 intake was associated with better lung function and a lower rate of COPD.”
Researchers found that people who increased their vitamin K1 intake were less likely to develop COPD. (iStock)
Participants who consumed the most vitamin K1 had a 16% lower likelihood of COPD, the researchers observed. The effects were more pronounced in smokers and participants with high-risk occupations.
Consumption of vitamin K2 did not result in lower COPD rates.
“No association was observed for vitamin K1 or vitamin K2 intakes and asthma,” the researchers also wrote.
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Associate Professor Marc Sim, who was involved in the study, said that it’s likely Vitamin K activates a protein that may help keep lung tissue flexible and prevent damage.
Because the study was observational, it cannot prove that vitamin K1 directly reduces COPD risk, only that higher intake was associated with better lung health.
Researchers have associated higher consumption of leafy green vegetables with better lung function. (iStock)
Just one extra serving of leafy greens “is an achievable way to boost your vitamin K1 intake,” said Chengfeng Li, one of the study’s researchers.
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Other foods rich in vitamin K1 include collard greens, Swiss chard, Brussels sprouts and turnip greens.
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