Optometry Times

📢 June Issue Alert! The latest edition of Optometry Times is out now. Stay ahead with the latest research and insights in the field of optometry. Access the June 2024 issue here: https://bit.ly/3XA1CF9

Myopia has become a growing global health concern, with half of the world’s population to be impacted by the disease by 2050. In a recent study, researchers explored the association between myopia, anxiety, and mood disorders in Israeli adolescents ranging from 16 to 20 years old. The participants were studied between 2011 and 2022, using evaluations to track sociodemographic and medical histories, physical examinations, and measurements of refraction and best-corrected visual acuity. Read more: https://lnkd.in/ezTNeApX

"Making more sustainable choices in my practice and lifestyle is an ongoing process. My sister is an environmental scientist, so for years, I have kept a close eye on sustainability trends—not only in the news but also in the products I use in the eye care industry and in what I prescribe and recommend for my patients. My goal is to stay current on which companies value sustainability and shift to using their products as often as possible, both at work and at home. "My commitment to living and working sustainably recently opened the door to a life-altering experience: a Plastic Bank immersion trip to Bali, Indonesia, sponsored by CooperVision. On the other side of the world, I saw and learned more about this partnership, its impact on the environment, and the difference it is making for the organization’s collectors and their families. The social enterprise is committed to helping humanity win the battle against plastic pollution and poverty. Its operations target countries in regions of the world where plastic pollution and poverty rates are at an all-time high, like Indonesia but also in the Philippines, Brazil, and Egypt," writes Joanna Reiman, OD. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gERtgEsk

Uveitis can be the first sign of a systemic autoimmune disease in children, according to Kefla G. Brown, OD, MS, director of pediatric optometric services at Ochsner Children’s Health Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. “The treatment is essentially the same, but it’s just sometimes the causes are not necessarily as obvious,” she said. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eupcu2W6

A team of researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in a new analysis of data, have found that taking a daily supplement containing antioxidant vitamins and minerals can slow the progression of late-stage dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), potentially helping people with late-stage disease preserve their central vision. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dAcbbtDV

Bausch + Lomb Corp. announced an affiliate has acquired Trukera Medical, from its private equity owner, AccelMed Partners, and other shareholders. According to the company, the tuck-in acquisition will help expand Bausch + Lomb’s surgical presence in the United States and contribute to its leading position in dry eye. The company announced in the news release Trukera Medical, a US-based privately held ophthalmic medical diagnostic company, commercializes ScoutPro, a point-of-care portable device for precisely measuring osmolarity, or the salt content of a person’s tears. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eun-SSEg

Optometry Giving Sight (OGS) recently announced Lois Schoenbrun, FAAO, the executive director of OGS, will retire from the organization in December 2024. The announcement comes after Schoenbrun came out of retirement in 2022 to serve as interim executive director for OGS, according to a news release. In a statement regarding her retirement, Schoenbrun said, “Although the initial interim period was intended to be short. I believed so passionately in the mission and quickly saw what a tremendous difference OGS makes in lives of people all over the world. So, the ‘interim’ appointment turned into nearly 2 and a half years. And I have enjoyed every minute of it.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/ewyanhCG

"Historically, constraints such as limited parameter availability, lens rotation, and unreliable stabilization methods meant that some optometrists avoided prescribing soft toric contact lenses. The perception was that soft toric contact lenses took more chair time than they were worth and did not deliver visual outcomes that outperformed spherical options, especially for patients with low amounts of astigmatism. For some, a few bad experiences with toric lenses 10 or even 20 years ago may have left a negative impression that persists," writes Erin Rueff, OD, PhD, FAAO. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gTZPSwMs

Genentech, a member of the Roche group, announced 2-year data from the Phase III Pagoda and Pavilion studies evaluating Port Delivery System with ranibizumab (Susvimo) for the treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME) and diabetic retinopathy (DR), the 2 leading causes of vision loss in adults with diabetes. Detailed results were presented at the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) 2024 Annual Meeting in Stockholm, Sweden. According to a news release, Susvimo is the first and only refillable eye implant that provides continuous delivery of a customized formulation of ranibizumab via the Port Delivery Platform. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eBJJ5swe

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