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Argyleculture Eyewear and 13th Annual Art For Life Sweepstakes

May 4th, 2012


Enter the Argyleculture Sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip to the Hamptons! Two winners will be selected to attend the exclusive 13th Annual Art For Life East Hampton Benefit at Russell Simmons’ private East Hampton estate.

Each winner will receive a weekend in the Hamptons, airfare, transportation to and from the event for them and a guest the weekend of July 27th. Last year’s event hosted over 800 guests and raised over $1.7 million to provide New York City youth with arts access, exposure and education.

It’s Easy To Qualify

Purchase all 3 Argyleculture optical releases in February, April, and June (totaling 6 frames, 12 SKU’s) OR purchase any 12 Argyleculture frames. You will receive with your order: Argyleculture 6 piece display and counter card FREE.

Product cannot be returned and any product sold must be replenished keeping the Argyleculture display stocked at all times. Argyleculture display must be on display in-store and only merchandise Argyleculture product.

Orders can be placed thru McGee Group sales reps, fax, website, or McGee Group customer service at 800-966-2020 or sales@mcgeegroup.com. Promotion code #ARC123 must be included on all orders to be entered to win.

Prize Details

  • Two winners will be selected and allowed to bring 1 guest.
  • TMG will pay for flights, hotel, transportation to the event, and a daily allowance (i.e. for food, taxi service etc.) for the weekend.
  • TMG will not be held responsible for the actions of the winner and their guest.

 

About Art For Life
The Art of Living Foundation, founded by Russell Simmons and Danny Simmons, is a not-for-profit, educational and humanitarian NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) engaged in stress-management and service initiatives. The organization operates globally in 151 countries.

Russell has always held a firm belief that art saves lives and Rush Philanthropic’s primary annual fund raising effort helps support many projects throughout the year dedicated to reaching out to New York City youth through the arts. The Art For Life East Hampton benefit receives a great amount of support from the entertainment and art communities.

Last year’s star-studded fund raising event honored recording superstar Mary J. Blige, President of JP Morgan Chase Foundation Kimberly B. Davis, world-renowned nutritionist and author Oz Garcia, co-founder of Jimmy Choo Tamara Mellon and actor/filmmaker Edward Norton for their career achievements and philanthropic works.

www.mcgeegroup.com | www.artforlife.org

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Recycled Glasses Not The Solution For Developing Communities

May 3rd, 2012

Thembani waits for an eye examination at the Umlazi community hall near Durban, South Africa (Photo by Dean Saffron; courtesy of International Centre for Eyecare Education)

You might feel good sending your old reading glasses to a developing country. But a recent international study, led by the International Centre for Eyecare Education (ICEE), a collaborating partner in the Vision CRC, in Sydney, suggests it is far better to give $10 for an eye examination and a new pair of glasses if you want to help someone in desperate need, and it is far better for building capacity in these communities.

The study, recently published in the journal Optometry and Vision Science, found that only 7% of a test sample of 275 recycled glasses were useable and that this pushed the delivery cost to over $20 per pair. There are a wide range of ready-made glasses available, which can be supplied for around half the cost. Over 600 million people are unnecessarily blind or vision impaired globally simply because they need an eye examination and appropriate glasses.

Dr David Wilson, Research Manager Asia-Pacific, International Centre for Eyecare Education (Photo courtesy of International Centre for Eyecare Education)

Dr David Wilson, Research Manager Asia-Pacific for ICEE and head author on the paper, says that although the intention is good, recycled glasses are not a cost-saving method of correcting refractive error and should be discouraged as a strategy for eliminating uncorrected refractive error in developing countries. “While this is not the first argument against the use of recycled glasses there has been no accurate costing of their delivery,” he said.

Only 7% of the 275 recycled glasses analysed in the study were suitable for use he said. “The relatively small proportion of useable glasses contributed to the high societal cost of delivering recycled glasses, which was found to be $20.49, close to twice that of supplying ready-made glasses,” Dr Wilson added.

Co-author of the paper Professor Brien Holden, CEO of the Brien Holden Vision Institute, says that recycled glasses have a feel-good attractiveness to those that hand in their old glasses. “Although well intentioned, recycled glasses will neither suit many of those affected by the most common forms of vision impairment, nor provide a cost-saving solution to the problem,” he said.

“They are expensive to sort, clean and deliver and, in addition, the power of the lenses in a pair of glasses can differ greatly, meaning that a pair of recycled glasses is rarely the same as another person’s prescription,” Professor Holden said. “This research is extremely valuable in understanding the most efficient method to utilise the limited funding and resources currently available to address this massive need.”

Dr Wilson said a preferable method is to provide an eye exam and use ready-made or, even better, inexpensive custom-made glasses. Making the glasses locally helps build sustainable supply and fitting services in communities in need. “The peak international body in blindness prevention efforts, the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), recommends that groups involved in eye care should not accept donations of recycled glasses nor use them in their programmes,” he said.

“Quality glasses are now being delivered in developing communities through the training of skilled personnel to conduct eye examinations and dispense ready-made glasses or by trained people such as spectacle technicians to custom make glasses,” he said. “Not only does this provide quality eye care, it enhances local capacity and helps build sustainable eye care systems,” he said.

 

“If people would like to contribute to this global effort I would urge them to support organisations that are involved in the Vision 2020 initiative of the World Health Organization and IAPB, including ICEE, that are working to eliminate avoidable blindness and vision impairment worldwide.”

The paper ‘Real Cost of Recycled Spectacles’ appeared in the March 2012 edition of Optometry and Vision Science.

The authors are David Wilson, Sonja Cronje´, Kevin Frick and Brien Holden.

Author affiliations are:
International Centre for Eyecare Education (DW, SC, BH), Vision Cooperative Research Centre (DW, SC,BH), School of Optometry and Vision Science (SC, BH), University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, U.S. (KF), and Brien Holden Vision Institute, Sydney, Australia (KF, BH).

Abstract:
David A. Wilson, Sonja Cronje´, Kevin Frick, and Brien A. Holden, Real Cost of Recycled Spectacles, Optom Vis Sci 2012;89:304–309

Purpose:
Many programs aimed at mitigating the problem of uncorrected refractive error and the resulting avoidable blindness use recycled (donated) spectacles as a seemingly inexpensive expedient. This article analyses the costs and benefits of recycled spectacles and compares them with alternative methodologies. Although well intentioned, it is argued that recycled spectacles will neither suit many of those affected by uncorrected refractive error nor provide a cost saving solution to the problem. Although this is not the first argument against the use of recycled spectacles, there has been no accurate costing of their delivery. This article assesses the real cost of delivery of recycled spectacles.

Methods:
The useable quantity of recycled spectacles was determined by examining two separate batches of donated spectacles. These data were used in the calculation of the cost of delivery. The metric used for comparison was only cost (i.e., it was a cost minimization analysis) because it was deemed that recycled spectacles and readymade spectacles were the same mode of correction fundamentally.

Results:
Only 7% of the 275 recycled spectacles analyzed were suitable for use. The relatively small proportion of useable spectacles contributed to the high societal cost of delivering recycled spectacles, which was found to be U.S. $20.49, more than twice the cost of supplying ready-made spectacles.

Conclusions:
Recycled spectacles are not a cost-saving method of correcting refractive error and should be discouraged as a strategy for eliminating uncorrected refractive error in developing countries.

For the full version of the paper click through to Optometry and Vision Science.

To find out more about Vision 2020: The Right to Sight go to: www.v2020.org


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Wiley X Sponsors 21st Annual Swing For Sight Golf Classic

April 26th, 2012

Wiley X, Inc. has signed up to once again sponsor the 21st Annual Swing For Sight Golf Classic, set for June 11, 2012 at the Hermitage Country Club near Richmond, Virginia. This popular tournament is expected to field 200 golfers and raise more than $90,000 to support Prevent Blindness Mid Atlantic, a volunteer, non-profit organization dedicated to preserving sight and preventing blindness in both children and adults.

Wiley X will be providing 75 pairs of its advanced performance eyewear products, which will be featured in the event’s “Deal of the Day” program designed to increase fundraising efforts through special raffles, gifts, player benefits and prizes. Wiley X’s involvement in this program last year boosted the success of the overall tournament and raised additional funds to support the vision screening activities of Prevent Blindness Mid Atlantic.

“We are proud to support this tournament and the ongoing efforts of Prevent Blindness”, said Myles Freeman, Jr., Co-Owner of Wiley X. “For more than 25 years, our company has built its reputation on protecting people’s vision, whether it’s at play, on the job — even on the battlefield. Wiley X is the only premium performance sunglasses brand whose entire line meets the stringent ANSI Z87.1-2003 High Velocity and High Mass Impact Safety standards, providing serious protection against a wide range of dangers found in the outdoors. This is why you’ll find Wiley X eyewear on the faces of NASCAR drivers, professional fishermen, soldiers — and of course, golfers,” added Freeman.

Wiley X offers several stylish sunglass families particularly popular with athletes who call the “Back 9” home. Wiley X’s state of the art, Rx-ready frames and lenses do more than protect the wearer against flying dust, low-hanging limbs or even rocks kicked up by a golf cart. They also provide the eye comfort and sharp vision that can help competitive golfers read greens better and shave a few strokes off their score. And with their stylish good looks and comfort, there’s no need to take them off when kicking back around the clubhouse with friends and fellow competitors.

To learn more about the upcoming Swing for Sight Golf Classic or the ongoing activities of Prevent Blindness Mid Atlantic, visit www.TheEyeSite.org.

For more information about Wiley X’s complete line of premium performance sunwear for fashion and virtually any outdoor activity — visit Wiley X, Inc. at 7800 Patterson Pass Road, Livermore, CA 94550 • Telephone: (800) 776-7842

www.wileyx.com

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Stem Cells Can Repair A Damaged Cornea

April 24th, 2012

A new cornea may be the only way to prevent a patient going blind – but there is a shortage of donated corneas and the queue for transplantation is long. Scientists at the Sahlgrenska Academy have for the first time successfully cultivated stem cells on human corneas, which may in the long term remove the need for donators.

Approximately 500 corneal transplantations are carried out each year in Sweden, and about 100,000 in the world. The damaged and cloudy cornea that is turning the patient blind is replaced with a healthy, transparent one. But the procedure requires a donated cornea, and there is a severe shortage of donated material. This is particularly the case throughout the world, where religious or political views often hinder the use of donated material.

Replacing donated corneas
Scientists at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, have taken the first step towards replacing donated corneas with corneas cultivated from stem cells.

Scientists Charles Hanson and Ulf Stenevi have used defective corneas obtained from the ophthalmology clinic at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Mölndal. Their study is now published in the journal Acta Ophthalmologica, and shows how human stem cells can be caused to develop into what are known as “epithelial cells” after 16 days’ culture in the laboratory and a further 6 days’ culture on a cornea. It is the epithelial cells that maintain the transparency of the cornea.

Scientist Charles Hanson

First time ever on human corneas
“Similar experiments have been carried out on animals, but this is the first time that stem cells have been grown on damaged human corneas. It means that we have taken the first step towards being able to use stem cells to treat damaged corneas”, says Charles Hanson.

“If we can establish a routine method for this, the availability of material for patients who need a new cornea will be essentially unlimited. Both the surgical procedures and the aftercare will also become much more simple”, says Ulf Stenevi.

Few clinics conduct tranplants
Only a few clinics are currently able to transplant corneas. Many of the transplantations in Sweden are carried out at the ophthalmology clinic at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Department of Ophthalmology, Mölndal.

The article “Transplantation of human embryonic stem cells onto a partially wounded human cornea in vitro” was published in Acta Ophthalmologica on 27 January.

www.sahlgrenska.gu.se

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Gene Therapy Research Team From University of Pennsylvania Cures Retinitis Pigmentosa in Dogs

March 9th, 2012

Members of a University of Pennsylvania research team have shown that they can prevent, or even reverse, a blinding retinal disease, X-linked Retinitis Pigmentosa, or XLRP, in dogs.

The disease in humans and dogs is caused by defects in the RPGR gene and results in early, severe and progressive vision loss. It is one of the most common inherited forms of retinal degeneration in man.

William Beltran

“Every single abnormal feature that defines the disease in the dogs was corrected following treatment,” said lead author William Beltran, assistant professor of ophthalmology at Penn’s School of Veterinary Medicine.”

“We were thrilled,” said senior author Gustavo Aguirre, professor of medical genetics and ophthalmology at Penn Vet. “The treated cells were completely normal, and this effect resulted from introducing the normal version of the human gene into the diseased photoreceptor cells.”

The similarities between humans and dogs, in terms of both eye anatomy, physiology, disease characteristics and positive response to this gene therapy, raise hope for a clear path to human therapies.

Gustavo Aguirre

Beltran and Aguirre collaborated with Artur Cideciyan and Samuel Jacobson at the Scheie Eye Institute, part of the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine. This achievement results from more than 10 years of close collaboration between the scientists at Penn’s veterinary and medical Schools and the University of Florida.

In addition to others at Penn Vet, Scheie and Florida, researchers at the universities of Michigan and Massachusetts and the National Eye Institute at the National Institutes of Health contributed to the research.

The study will be published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The gene therapy approach used takes advantage of a viral vector — a genetically modified virus that doesn’t cause disease and is unable to divide — to deliver the therapeutic RPGR gene specifically to diseased rods and cones. In the absence of treatment, these cells malfunction and progressively die.

The research team has previously successfully applied a similar approach to two other heritable vision disorders that occur in both humans and dogs: Leber congenital amaurosis and achromatopsia. The present study was more challenging, as it was necessary to target both main classes of photoreceptor cells.

While the exact disease mechanism of the RPGR form of XLRP is still unknown, the researchers were able to successfully treat dogs with two different RPGR mutations. The mutations disrupt photoreceptors in different ways, but both ultimately cause them to become useless for vision. While this form of blindness is rare in dogs, it is common in humans. Patients with XLRP usually begin to lose night vision as children and become almost totally blind by middle age.

Multifocal patches of rhodopsin mislocalization (in green) in the retina of a female dog that is a carrier of a mutation in the RPGR gene.

This is the first proof that this condition is treatable in an animal model; a single subretinal injection administered to the diseased dogs led to functional and structural recovery. The dogs’ recovery was assessed using a variety of methods that are used clinically in patients, such as electroretinography and optical coherence tomography.

The researchers feel the results are promising and relevant for translation to the clinic.

“We are intervening to treat both classes of photoreceptor cells, rods and cones, and that has never been done before in a large animal model,” Beltran said. “And not only can we prevent the disease onset but also restore the remaining photoreceptor cells to normal once the disease is ongoing.”

While the ability to repair both rods and cones was itself a first, the research team went further, showing that its treatment also repaired the photoreceptor connections to other retinal neurons that eventually send visual signals to the brain, another first.

“This not only provides hope for reversing XLRP but potentially for any form of photoreceptor degeneration,” Aguirre said. “Altered inner retinal wiring is a common feature for these diseases that has been considered irreversible.”

“The study required a combination of genetic tools and surgical technique to make sure the therapy targeted only the diseased cells. The viral vector had to be injected in the sub-retinal space so as to be in close proximity to the photoreceptors. Likewise, you need to ultimately deliver the therapy to the right location of the retina,” Aguirre said.

“In the human disease, careful characterization of the areas of the retina that need to be treated is going to be critical for therapy to succeed in the clinic,” Cideciyan said.

The genetic aspect of the viral vector used in this study involved a double safeguard. The first safety feature was to use a viral vector that is known to predominantly target both rods and cones but not other cells. The second safeguard involved attaching the healthy RPGR gene to a “promoter,” a piece of genetic code that would “switch on” the gene only if the virus penetrated the correct cell.

Selecting the right promoter was critical; the lead researchers at the University of Florida, William W. Hauswirth and Alfred S. Lewin, had to find one that that would be turned on exclusively in rods and cones. This way, even if the virus made its way to a non-photoreceptor cell, that cell would not start activating the RPGR gene.

That both the promoter and the RPGR gene it activates are taken from humans is a strong sign that the treatment may be translatable to patients.

“While there is still much work to do to assess long-term efficiency and safety with this approach, there is hope that this vector and knowledge could be used in a few years to treat the many patients losing vision from XLRP,” Jacobson said.

In addition to Beltran, Aguirre, Cideciyan, Jacobson and Hauswirth, the research was conducted by Sem Genini and Simone Iwabe of Penn Vet; Alejandro J. Román, Malgorzata Swider, Alexander Sumaroka and Tomas S. Alemán of Scheie; Alfred S. Lewin, Diego S. Fajardo, Vince A. Chiodo, Wen-Tao Deng and Sanford L. Boye of Florida; Hemant Khanna of Michigan and Massachusetts; and Anand Swaroop of Michigan and the National Eye Institute.

The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Foundation Fighting Blindness, a Fight for Sight Nowak family grant, the Midwest Eye Banks and Transplantation Center, the Macula Vision Research Foundation, the Van Sloun Fund for Canine Genetic Research, Hope for Vision, and Research to Prevent Blindness.

www.upenn.edu

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Court Affirms VSP’s Right To Refuse To Do Business With Aspex Eyewear

March 6th, 2012

VSP Global announced that on March 1, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the prior ruling of the California Federal Court which dismissed Aspex Eyewear’s lawsuit against VSP Vision Care. With the case now dismissed, this ruling reaffirms the right of VSP to refuse to conduct business with companies who sue them, and in this case, Aspex Eyewear.

Specifically, the Ninth Circuit Court affirmed the December 2010 ruling of the California Federal Court that dismissed Aspex’s last surviving claim against VSP after Aspex conceded the dismissal of all of its earlier anti-trust and unfair competition claims that VSP successfully challenged as baseless.

The Ninth Circuit Court’s decision is the third recent favorable court decision for VSP Global. In September 2011, the Massachusetts Federal Court declared the last remaining patent claim that Aspex tried to assert against Altair® Eyewear as invalid and unenforceable. Two months later, the Florida Federal Court likewise dismissed Aspex’s patent infringement lawsuit filed against Marchon® Eyewear.

“We are pleased with the Ninth Circuit Court’s ruling,” said Thomas A. Fessler, Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel for VSP Global. He further commented, “This court’s determination marks yet another favorable court decision against the multiple unsuccessful lawsuits Aspex Eyewear has brought against VSP and its affiliated companies.”

About VSP Global
VSP Global(SM) offers world-class products and services to eyecare professionals, employers, and more than 55 million members through a group of leading companies providing comprehensive eyecare coverage, access to cutting-edge frame styles and brands, design of custom interiors and merchandising systems, innovative e-commerce and practice management solutions, and technologically advanced lab services. With the strength and experience of these companies behind it, VSP Global stands apart and delivers benefits, services, products and solutions that are unparalleled in the world-wide optical industry.


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Marcolin USA Appoints Greg Pollock as Eastern VP for Optical Channel

March 5th, 2012

Marcolin USA, a leading eyewear company across Canada, USA and Latin America and direct subsidiary of the Marcolin Group (Italy), is announcing the appointment of Greg Pollock as the Eastern VP for Optical Channel. Greg will report to Fabrizio Gamberini, CEO and general manager for Marcolin USA, and he will work together with Ben Wolf, Western VP of the Optical Channel in leading the growth for that segment.

Fabrizio Gamberini, Marcolin USA CEO, said:

“After the terrific growth during 2011, as the consumer changes, we at Marcolin USA must continue to evolve with them. We sell more brands, operate in more countries, lead multiple business models and drive demand creation in a greater variety of ways than ever before. Greg has all of this embedded in his vast experience, and we are about to step up our game with his addition. With many years of eyewear business experience, Greg is one of the most respected leaders in this industry. He has successfully held numerous leadership roles in Luxottica, and more recently in Viva. He is uniquely qualified to lead our East Area commercial efforts as we continue to grow the Marcolin USA business.”

About Marcolin S.P.A.
Listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, Marcolin is a leading eyewear company that stands out in the luxury market for its premium quality, attention to detail and first-rate distribution. In 2011 the company distributed an estimated 6 million pairs of eyeglasses and sunglasses in more than 800 models. Its licensed brand portfolio includes: Cover Girl Eyewear, Diesel Shades, DSquared2 Eyewear, Hogan Eyewear, John Galliano Eyewear, Just Cavalli Eyewear, Kenneth Cole New York, Kenneth Cole Reaction, Miss Sixty Glasses, Montblanc Eyewear, Replay Eyes, Roberto Cavalli Eyewear, Swarovski, Timberland, Tod’s Eyewear, Tom Ford Eyewear. The Group’s own brands include Marcolin and Web Eyewear.

www.marcolinusa.com

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UCI Team Discovers How Protein In Teardrops Annihilates Harmful Bacteria

February 22nd, 2012

A disease-fighting protein in our teardrops has been tethered to a tiny transistor, enabling UC Irvine scientists to discover exactly how it destroys dangerous bacteria. The research could prove critical to long-term work aimed at diagnosing cancers and other illnesses in their very early stages.

Ever since Nobel laureate Alexander Fleming found that human tears contain antiseptic proteins called lysozymes about a century ago, scientists have tried to solve the mystery of how they could relentlessly wipe out far larger bacteria. It turns out that lysozymes have jaws that latch on and chomp through rows of cell walls like someone hungrily devouring an ear of corn, according to findings that will be published Jan. 20 in the journal Science.

Professor Gregory Weiss

“Those jaws chew apart the walls of the bacteria that are trying to get into your eyes and infect them,” said molecular biologist and chemistry professor Gregory Weiss, who co-led the project with associate professor of physics & astronomy Philip Collins.

The researchers decoded the protein’s behavior by building one of the world’s smallest transistors – 25 times smaller than similar circuitry in laptop computers or smartphones. Individual lysozymes were glued to the live wire, and their eating activities were monitored.

“Our circuits are molecule-sized microphones,” Collins said. “It’s just like a stethoscope listening to your heart, except we’re listening to a single molecule of protein.”

It took years for the UCI scientists to assemble the transistor and attach single-molecule teardrop proteins. The scientists hope the same novel technology can be used to detect cancerous molecules. It could take a decade to figure out but would be well worth it, said Weiss, who lost his father to lung cancer.

“If we can detect single molecules associated with cancer, then that means we’d be able to detect it very, very early,” Weiss said. “That would be very exciting, because we know that if we treat cancer early, it will be much more successful, patients will be cured much faster, and costs will be much less.”

The project was sponsored by the National Cancer Institute and the National Science Foundation. Co-authors of the Science paper are Yongki Choi, Issa Moody, Patrick Sims, Steven Hunt, Brad Corso and Israel Perez.

About the University of California, Irvine
Founded in 1965, UCI is a top-ranked university dedicated to research, scholarship and community service. Led by Chancellor Michael Drake since 2005, UCI is among the most dynamic campuses in the University of California system, with nearly 28,000 undergraduate and graduate students, 1,100 faculty and 9,000 staff. Orange County’s second-largest employer, UCI contributes an annual economic impact of $4 billion.

www.today.uci.edu

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Report Shows Risk of Blindness Halved Over Last Decade

February 21st, 2012

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most frequent cause of blindness in the Western World. A report from the University of Copenhagen and Glostrup Hospital in Denmark shows the number of new cases of blindness and severe visual loss in Denmark has been halved during the last ten years.

The study published in American Journal of Ophthalmology examined the records of 11,848 new cases of legal blindness. The rate of blindness from AMD fell from 522 cases per million inhabitants aged 50 years or older in 2000, to 257 cases per million in 2010, a reduction by over 50 per cent.

The bulk of the decrease occurred after 2006, following the introduction of new effective treatment for wet AMD, which is characterized by leaking blood vessels having formed under the fovea. The treatment consists of repeated injections into the eye of a medication that inhibits the signalling molecule vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).

Similar findings in Israel
The observations from Denmark were published together with a corroborating report from Israel that found comparable changes in the incidence of legal blindness in that country. Read the report “Time Trends in the Incidence and Causes of Blindness in Israel”.

Current treatment of wet AMD, also called neovascular AMD, consists of repeated injections into the vitreous, an inner compartment of the eye, of a medication designed to inhibit the action of VEGF. VEGF is a distress signal released from ailing cells of the aging retina. VEGF can cause formation of brittle blood vessels that leak blood and cause scar formation under the fovea. The fovea is central area of the retina where reading vision is located. Wet AMD is a very frequent cause of loss of reading vision.

Michael Larsen

Results show impact on public health
One of the authors behind the Danish study, Michael Larsen, Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology at the University of Copenhagen, is excited about the results.

“The massive implementation of modern wet AMD therapy has been a challenge. It is therefore very important that we can now show an impact on public health and it is wonderful to see a reduction in severe visual loss. The study did not examine moderate visual loss, but there are undoubtedly also a lot of people who avoided loosing their drivers license and their reading vision,” says Michael Larsen.

A turning point in eye care
The data for the study is provided by Danish Association of the Blind, which membership enrollment during the period of 2000-2010 was charted and categorized by diagnoses.

“The reduction in new cases of blindness is a turning point for eyecare in Denmark. We look forward to seeing further progress in eye research, especially in the hereditary eye diseases that cause blindness in children and young adults,” says Thorkild Olesen, Chairman of the Danish Association of the Blind.

www.ku.dk

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Study Shows Orthokeratology Can Correct Refractive Error and Slow Progression of Myopia

February 13th, 2012

After a lengthy study spanning over four years, Professor Pauline Cho from the School of Optometry at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and her research team concluded that orthokeratology not only can correct refractive error, but also effective in slowing the progression of myopia.

Myopia (or shortsightedness) is the most prevalent eye problem in Hong Kong population and especially for school children. Local Chinese students have a higher prevalence of myopia regardless of whether they attend in local or international schools when compared with other ethnic groups. Myopia will bring inconvenience in everyday life and serious myopia is associated with retinal degeneration, peripheral retinal breaks and glaucoma which may lead to permanent vision loss and blindness.

Professor Pauline Cho

Orthokeratology is a non-surgical means of vision correction which must be administered by registered optometrists. Myopia is a refractive defect of the eye in which collimated light produces image focus in front of the retina. The longer the eyeball length, the higher degree of myopia. Patients who wish to receive ortholeratology must have a thorough eye examination to see if he or she is suitable for the treatment. Optometrist will dispense a pair of specially designed rigid contact lens made from high oxygen permeable material for wearing during sleep time. The lens will modify the corneal shape as well as to correct the focus of the eye in order to correct the wearer’s vision. If successful, wearer can have clear vision without using any vision aids for the rest of the day.

In 1997, PolyU’s School of Optometry established The Centre for Myopia Research to conduct clinical, genomic and proteomic research using a multi-disciplinary approach, pulling in expertise from all areas of clinical and basic science. Professor Pauline Cho is a pioneer in research on myopic control and has published her findings in Current Eye Research Journal in 2005. She and her team found evidence that orthokeratology may have a potential for controlling the progression of myopia in children, apart from vision correction. To further confirm the potential of orthokeratology, Professor Cho and her team commenced two clinical trials named ROMIO (Retardation Of Myopia In Orthokeratology) and TO-SEE (Toric Orthokeratology-Slowing Eyeball Elongation) in 2008.

The ROMIO study is the first randomized, single masked study in the world to investigate the effectiveness of orthokeratology for myopic control in children. Participants were 77 children aged 7 to 10 years old with myopia not more than 4.00D and were randomly assigned to orthokeratology or spectacle group. At the end of 24 months of the research, the increase in eyeball length in the orthokeratology group is 0.36mm and in whereas that of the spectacle group which is 0.63mm. The results prove that the increase of eyeball length in children wearing orthokeratology lenses was about 43% slower than those wearing spectacles.

In the TO-SEE study, 37 children aged 6 to 12 years old were recruited and to study the potential of orthokeratology in reduction of astigmatism. Myopia of the participants was not more than 4.50D and astigmatism between 1.25D and 3.50D. Professor Cho and her team found that toric design orthokeratology effectively reduced the astigmatism by 79% after one month of lens wear. At the end of 24 months, the eyeball length of the participants was 0.31mm which also showed significance proof on myopic control.

Professor Cho says due to advancement in science and technology, the design and materials of orthokeratology lens were greatly improved. The high oxygen permeable lens with enhanced corneal reshaping potential brings convenience to wearers in daily life. If wearers strictly follow the instructions of the optometrist and have regular check-up, over 60% of their myopia could be reduced after one overnight lens wear and the rest over two to four weeks.

Orthokeratology is a reversible treatment and can be stopped anytime. With the clinically proved results in refractive error correction, myopic control and astigmatism reduction, it represents a safe and effective solution for people with myopia.

www.polyu.edu.hk

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