June - the St. Louis Optometric Society

Bulletin
June, 2016
St. Louis Optometric Society
Annual Installation & Awards Banquet
P.O. Box 6136
Chesterfield, MO 63006
Tuesday, June 14
St. Louis Optometric Society
The Caramel Room at Bissinger’s
1600 North Broadway
Officers: 2016-2017
President
Joseph Castellano, O.D.
314 863-0000
President-Elect
Andrew Biondo, O.D.
314 394-3045
Vice President
Kurt Finklang, O.D.
636 528-2020
Secretary
Daniel Friederich, O.D.
314 843-5700
Treasurer
Emily Pike, O.D.
314 913-4103
Sgt. At Arms
Steven Branstetter, O.D.
314 375-0111
Immediate Past President
Erin Niehoff, O.D.
636 528-2020
MOA Trustees
Jason Riley, O.D.
573 468-4032
Steven Rosen, O.D.
314 843-2020
Executive Director
Barbara Nahlik
Phone: 314 725-2020
FAX 314 961-1041
e-mail: bnahlik8544@charter.net
Website: www.stlouisoptometricsociety.org
6:30 p.m.
Reception
Hosted by
BioDOptix
Midland Optical
Quantum Vision Centers
7:30
Dinner
Guy Phillips, Y98 Radio
Guest Speaker
Presentation of Awards
Installation of Officers
$65.00 per person
RSVP by June 3
~~~~~
Gated, lighted parking lot at rear of building off
Mullanphy with direct entrance to elevator lobby.
other wavelengths and why we get eye strain when
using digital devices. (Continued next page)
Tom Fischer and Dr. Anne Marie Lahr
of Hoya Vision Care
FROM THE MAY MEETING..
The way we use our eyes has changed dramatically
in the past 5-10 years with the advent of
computers. Americans average 2.7 hours per day
on social media. The average computer sits 2-4
feet from our eyes. Tablets are held even closer,
especially in kids. This can put stress on our
accommodative system. These patients may
complain of end of the day blur as there
accommodative system is locked up after a full day
of near work. The closer patients hold their digital
devices, the more of a problem this is.
Studies are starting to show light emitted from
these digital devices may be harmful to our eyes.
The low end of the visible light spectrum (i.e., blue
light) has three documented effects on our eyes.
These include ocular discomfort and eye strain,
the interruption of sleep patterns and circadian
rhythms, and the association of blue light exposure
with the development of age related macular
degeneration (AMD).
Blue light naturally focuses in front of the retina,
which is why we don’t see blue light as well as
t
DR. LAHR CONTINUED
Symptoms of eye strain include fluctuations in
vision, tired eyes, headaches, dry eyes, decreased
night vision, light sensitivity and rubbing of eyes. It is
important to ask patients how many hours a day they
are using digital devices to accurately diagnose these
patients.
Our bodies require “reasonable amounts” of blue
light for our circadian rhythms to properly function.
This is the blue light at the higher end of the blue
light spectrum (450 and up). We are getting
excessive amounts of all wavelengths of blue light
from our digital devices; therefore, lack of blue
light is never a problem. Just as not enough blue
light can interfere with our circadian rhythms, so
can too much blue light. Blue light suppresses the
production of melatonin. Thus, night time viewing
of digital devices stimulates the brain and tells the
body to stay awake. This can also have negative
effects on the immune system.
There is no such thing as good blue light at the
level of the retina. All wavelengths of blue light will
cause damage to the retina. Blue light will do more
damage to the retina than ultraviolet light. The
corneal and crystal lens of the eye absorbs
ultraviolet light so it never reaches the retina.
Because high energy blue light focuses on or near
the retina, it is associated with increased risk of
AMD. When blue light reaches the retina it
interacts with oxygen and does oxidative damage
to the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). There are
no studies available that confirm this assumption
of blue light damage to the retina and there will
likely never be. This is because the association
with blue light and retinal damage is so strong; it
would be unethical to expose patients to excessive
blue light for study purposes.
Many thanks to Dr.Lahr, Tom Fischer and Hoya
Vision Care for sponsoring the meeting. # # #
Special Thanks to our Banquet Sponsors
Alcon
BioDOptix
Drs. Berdy & Malhotra
Cohen Eye Associates
Cooper Vision
Envision Eye Specialists
Eye Care Associates of St. Louis
Galanis Cataract & Laser Eye Center
Glaucoma Consultants of St. Louis
Goltschman /Sturm Eye Center
Hoya Vision Care
Jones Eye Care & Surgery
Midland Optical
Ophthalmology Consultants
Pepose Vision Institute
Quantum Vision Centers
Retina Associates of St. Louis
St. Louis Eye Care Specialists
St. Louis Eye Institute
SureVision Eye Centers
Tekwani Vision Center
TLC Laser Eye Center
The Retina Institute
Visionary Eyecare & Surgery
Vistakon
ZeaVision
~~~~~
John C. Galanis, M.D., FACS
Roberta J. Crawford, O.D.
Mark R. Barlow, O.D.
Craig H. Sorce, O.D.
• Laser cataract surgery
• ReSTOR ® Tecnis Multifocal™ Crystalens®
implants
• Fellowship trained glaucoma consultation
• Wavefront optimized implant lenses
• Consultative Optometry
• Co-management of your Cataract, LASIK
and Multifocal implant patients
• Glaucoma consultation, OCT, LTP and
surgery for your co-managed glaucoma
patients
(314) 633-8575
7331 Watson Road, St. Louis, MO 63119
www.drgalanis.com
Thanks to Paige Biehler & Eric Ricker,
UMSL Student Liaisons to SLOS
CONTACT LENS REPORT
Steven Branstetter, O.D.
Johnson and Johnson has removed their
Unilateral Pricing Policy in order to support
contact lens advocacy and fight deregulation. They are supporting the Contact Lens
Consumer Health Protection Act (S.2777). For
more information please visit
jnjvisioncareinfo.com.
#####
June 29 – July 3, 2016
Boston, Massachusetts
****
PEPOSE VISION INSTITUTE SEMINAR
Wednesday, June 22 – 6:00 p.m.
Pepose Vision Institute – 1815 Clarkson Rd.
“Dry Eyes & Allergies – unique testing and
treatments offered at PVI.”
2 Hours CE
Drs. Pepose & Qazi.
For reservations call: 636 728-0111
-ask for Elena LaPlante of Micah Williams.
###
COMING UP AT UMSL
Annual Optometry Academe 2016
August 28, 2016 - Sunday
Joseph J. Pizzimenti, OD
Carlo Pelino, OD
6 CEE Hours – Retina & Systemic Disease
UMSL- Penney Conference Center
For more information – optometry.umsl.edu
###
MOA REPORT
Jason Riley, O.D., Steven Rosen, O.D., Trustees
There have been many years of hard work by
the MOA and its members to pass our noncovered services legislation. Well,
congratulations to us all, we have finally
succeeded and our Non-Covered Services bill
has passed both the Senate and House and is
sitting on the Governor’s desk waiting for his
signature! We definitely could not have
achieved this milestone without everyone’s
support. Again, thank you to all that had a
hand in this endeavor and congratulations to
everyone!
Here is a complete rundown of our legislation
that has passed both the House and Senate
this session and is waiting for Governor
Nixon’s signature:
Telehealth-Language that includes Optometry
is contained in SB579
Non Covered Services- HB1682
Medical Practice Freedom -Includes
Optometry HB1682
Eye Drop Bill, extending sunset provisionHB1816 as well as in several other bills that
passed
Work Force Study-HB1816
Optometry Student Work Bill-HB1816
Lastly, one repeat reminder, please mark your
calendars for upcoming events later this year.
The MOA Leadership Retreat will be held
June 3-5 at the Hilton Promenade in Branson,
MO. Next, Optometry’s Meeting will be held
June 29-July 3 in Boston, MA. This will be a
very exciting venue to celebrate our nation’s
independence on the 4th of July. And lastly,
our annual MOA Conference will be back in
Branson over the weekend of October 13-16 at
Chateau on the Lake.
###
CO-MANAGEMENT REPORT
Michelle Dierheimer, O.D.
On Monday April 18, 2016 Avedro announced it received
FDA approval for the company's KXL System that
provides corneal collagen cross-linking for the treatment
of progressive keratoconus. The approval includes
Avedro's Photrexa Viscous and Photrexa, which are
riboflavin solutions used with the KXL System during the
procedure.
The FDA determined that the new treatment for
progressive keratoconus was safe and effective based on
three 12-month clinical trials conducted in the United
States. In two of the studies, patients with the disorder
were randomized to receive either the crosslinking
therapy or a sham therapy in a designated eye. The eyes
treated with the riboflavin ophthalmic solution showed
increasing improvement from month 3 through month 12.
In contrast, eyes receiving the sham therapy worsened
during the study period. Corneal opacity, punctate
keratitis, corneal striae, corneal epithelium defect, and
eye pain were among the most common adverse events
observed in the studies. The manufacturer noted that
ulcerative keratitis can occur with the treatment, and that
clinicians should monitor patients for epithelial defects.
The company's corneal crosslinking technology has long
been available in Asia and Europe, but we have been
waiting approval in the US for nearly 10 years. We have
not been able to treat patients with progressive
keratoconus in this country unless it has been in clinical
trials, so for these patients, this is a major advance.
###
CALENDAR
June 3-5
MOA Legislative Conference
Hilton Promenade Hotel,
Branson, MO
June 14
SLOS Installation &
Awards Banquet
The Carmel Room at Bissingers
Reservations by June 3
June 22
Pepose Vision Institute Seminar
Reservations call: 636 728-0111
June 29-July 3
Optometry’s Meeting
Boston, Massachusetts
July 12
SLOS Meeting
Zeiss hosts
Aug.9
SLOS Meeting
Aug. 28
Optometry Academe
UMSL College of Optometry
6 hrs. CEE
optometry.umsl.edu
Oct. 13-16
MOA Conference
Chateau pf the Lake
Branson, MO
###
New Patient Care Center for University of
Missouri Optometry and Nursing colleges
Scheduled to open in the summer of 2016, the
new building will include space for campus and
community partners to offer complementary
health care services, such as dental and
primary care. UMSL has the only optometry
program in Missouri, and it’s one of just 21
such college programs nationwide. # # #
Don’t forget SLOS dues.