BMJ Blasts Lancet Role in MMR-Autism Scare

....In the final installment of a three-part investigation of the scandal surrounding Andrew Wakefield, MBBS, BMJ took aim squarely at rival journal The Lancet, which published Wakefield's now-retracted 1998 paper that started the MMR-autism scare....British journalist Brian Deer wrote in BMJ that when he brought a sheaf of evidence to Lancet editors in 2004 indicating that Wakefield had fudged data in the 1998 paper, the journal conducted only a perfunctory investigation before issuing a statement backing the paper's substance.....Moreover, Deer said, The Lancet treated him as if he were the wrongdoer. It was only after he published additional findings in the Sunday Times of London, and they were corroborated in lengthy hearings before Great Britain's General Medical Council (GMC) in 2009 and 2010, that the journal fully retracted the paper....."Were it not for the GMC case ... the fraud by which Wakefield concocted fear of MMR would forever have been denied and covered up," Deer contended....

Comment: Read more on this by clicking the title above. DM

Binocular Function in Pseudophakic Children

....Although satisfactory motor alignment, fusion, and some stereopsis is present in the majority of patients, fine stereoacuity is uncommon in pseudophakic children....

Alternative medicine & visual health

..."Data for demographic factors, visual acuity, refractive error, and behavior toward visual health were collected before and after the intervention," Dr. Yeh noted. "The significant differences were observed between the two groups in visual acuity (P= 0.02), refractive error (P= 0.04), and behaviors toward visual health (P= 0.045)." Many children also reported improved vision after acupressure.



"In summary, the findings of this study may support ear acupressure as an effective and valuable option for myopic children," Dr. Yeh reported. "Children could easily be taught to practice ear acupressure to maintain visual health."...

Defective motion processing in children with cerebral visual impairment due to periventricular white matter damage

...Motion processing is impaired in children with CVI. ssVEP may provide useful and objective information about the development of higher visual function in children at risk for CVI....

Do video games fuel mental health problems?

...In the 2-year study of more than 3,000 school children in Singapore, researchers found nearly one in ten were video game "addicts," and most were stuck with the problem....


Comments: Click on the title to read more. DM

A Prospective Study of Macular Thickness in Amblyopic Children with Unilateral High Myopia

Congratulations to my Illinois College of Optometry friends and colleagues, Yi Pang, Geoffrey W Goodfellow, Christine Allison, Sandra Block and Kelly A Frantz for publishing this great article in IVOS!! DM

The study compare macular thickness of the normal fellow eye to that of the amblyopic eye using optical coherence tomography (OCT) in children with unilateral high myopia. Relationships between macular thickness and magnitude of myopic anisometropia, axial length and visual acuity (VA) were investigated. Amblyopic children with unilateral high myopia tend to have a thicker fovea and thinner inner and outer macula in the amblyopic eye compared to the normal fellow eye. The findings indicate that anatomical changes may be present in the retinas of amblyopic children with unilateral high myopia.

The Maximal Tolerable Reduction in Hyperopic Correction in Patients With Refractive Accommodative Esotropia: A 6-Month Follow-up Study

...A reduction in hyperopic correction by the maximal tolerable amount of under-correction was performed without notable short-term side effects. The spherical equivalent refractive error and age of onset appear to be useful clinical indices in determining the appropriate amount of under-correction....

Optometric Conference in Israel

My friend and Colleage, Dr. Koslowe just sent this to me so I thought I'd pass it along to all my readers. DM

Bar Ilan University, in conjunction with New England College of Optometry (Saval Fund) will be hosting an Optometric Symposium for two days this May (May 17,18, 2011). The conference will be dedicated to rehabilitating the patient's vision. Two international speakers have already been confirmed: Dr. Paul Freeman (Editor of Optometry, the Journal of the AOA) will speak extensively on Pediatric Low Vision Care and Dr. Stuart Podell (SUNY and Private Practice) will speak on Acquired Brain Injury. A third speaker from the faculty of NECO will also soon be selected with the proposed topic of Refractive Surgery and rehabilitating the post-refractive surgery patient. In addition there will be a local lecturer reporting his extensive success in a new Scleral Contact Lens design for Keratoconus.



The conference language will be English. While this is not exactly "next door" for most of you, you are all welcome. Conference registration fee will be approximately $100.


Any questions can be referred to me (as I am the organizer of the conference ) at:

Ken Koslowe OD MS FCOVD-A   [email protected]

3D Vision Syndrome on NBC

3D Vision Syndrome is a technology driven visual impairment that typically results when an individual has binocular vision problems and tries to watch 3D movies, television or play 3D video games. The symptoms can include blurred vision, headache, double vision, dizziness and vision induced motion sickness. 18 million or more could have problems appreciating 3D...or worse have the symptoms noted here.

The American Optometric Association has been at the forefront of getting the word out about these problems and have, over the last year or so, asked my colleague Dr. Len Press and I to be the AOA spokesmen on this topic.

Yesterday, I was asked to do an interview for NBC on this topic...the only problem was that the NBC folks were in New York....and even though I normally hang out in Chicago, I was in Fort Lauderdale, Fl  for an Illinois College of Optometry Board of Trustees meeeting.

But not to worry...the company that works with the AOA figured out how to get me to an NBC studio in florida with a satellite link so that the folks in New York could interview me in Florida (even though I am normally in Chicago).


The bottom line is that the segment is suppose to run on the national NBC news program sometime tomorrow (Sat)....so if you want to see a Chicago fella on TV set your TIVO to whatever channel you need to record this event....

If you watch this, please send me your feedback! Thanks!

Dominick M. Maino, OD, MEd, FAAO, FCOVD-A

Integrative Eye Care

 In a recently published article in Eye World, I was quoted on the topic of integrative eye care. Read below and then click on the title above to read the whole article. DM


....The pressures of healthcare reform—as it currently stands—"will favor practices with multiple practitioners in them, whether it's large optometry practices with consulting ophthalmologists on staff or vice versa," Dominick M Maino, OD, MEd, FAAO, FCOVD-A, a professor of pediatrics/binocular vision at the Illinois Eye Institute/Illinois College of Optometry,....

...Despite what the ophthalmic community might say, an appropriate healthcare system should be under the leadership of the primary eyecare provider, which is usually the optometrist," Dr. Maino said. "In most states, optometrists practice medical ophthalmology at the highest level, diagnosing and treating glaucoma and anterior segment problems. .... What benefits everyone in that situation is that it frees up the ophthalmologist to do what he or she does best, which is more surgery. The more surgery they perform, the better they become, the better the patient outcomes. Conversely, the more optometrists are managing the patient as a primary care practitioner, that individual also becomes more skilled at a much higher level."...

3D Vision Syndrome: What Your Clients Should Know

A few days ago, Heidi Kay, an executive that runs the PediaStaff company and website, asked me to write an article for their newsletter. This company specializes in meeting the needs of  Occupational Therapists and other pediatric and school based therapists, many of whom are interested in visual perception in children. Several of her clients have asked Heidi if she could find an article written by a developmental optometrist commenting on the new warnings issued by Nintendo on the 3DS and as you can imagine, I told her she came to the right place! PediaStaff has over 3000 therapists that read their newsletter weekly and her blog site has had more than 5000 hits since the end of September. The article I wrote tells her readers all about 3D Vision Syndrome and offers links to the American Optometric Association, College of Optometrists in Vision Development and other resources for additional information. The article starts with the paragraph below.....Click on the title to read the full article. DM

.....What is 3D Vision Syndrome?
3D Vision Syndrome (3DVS) has all the required qualifications for a new but not yet officially recognized syndrome. As you know, a syndrome is comprised of a group of symptoms and/or physical signs that collectively indicate or characterize a disease, psychological problem, other abnormal condition or, in this case, a functional vision disorder. 3DVS symptoms include but are not necessarily limited to headaches, blurred vision, eyestrain, double vision, dizziness/nausea and vision induced motion sickness. Another unique aspect of this syndrome is that it is induced by state of the art entertainment, gaming, and educational technology......

Digital Devices Top Children’s Wish Lists — But Will They Hurt Their Eyes? Tips to Avoid Digital Eye Strain

...Children are using computers and digital devices more than ever. A recent Nielsen study shows the iPad is the number one requested item from children ages 6 through 12, followed by other portable electronic devices such as smart phones and gaming players. For older children, a computer is the most requested item. Twenty years ago, most of these electronic devices didn’t exist, and for many children, exposure to computers was limited to a weekly computer lab at school.  Today, children use computers daily at school and at home.  From desktops, to video games, iPads, e-readers, smart phones and other digital devices, the time spent in front of a screen is quite significant. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation study found that children ages 8 to 18 spend an average of 7.5 hours a day consuming electronic media.....

Comments: As you know I have been flying around the country over the past couple of months, talked at the recent Consumer Electronics Show, and making other presentations about  3D Vision Syndrome as the American Optometric Association's spokesperson. I've been interviewed by newspaper, magazine, television and Internet media folks on this topic multiple times. My friend and colleague, "Dr. Nate" is also getting the word out about this and other similar topics. Click on the title above to read more. DM

Midwestern University opens Eye Institute

....The state-of-the-art Eye Institute is the largest optometry clinic in the State of Arizona, housing 61 exam rooms, an optical retail center, classrooms and specialty areas. Services of the institute include: comprehensive eye exams, glasses and contact lenses, disease screenings, sports vision care and vision enhancement for athletes, low-vision and rehabilitative vision services, pediatric care and a 24 hour on-call optometrist....

Chicago SunTimes Says: CPS students to get free eye tests

....“The fact is that many children who have vision problems don’t necessarily perform as well because they can’t see,” said clinic director Sandra Block, a professor at the Illinois College of Optometry. “If you address vision problems, you can remove it as a barrier for children to learn properly.”

Block said the clinic, which opened last week, is the first to provide eye care year-round to an entire school system. It’s housed inside the now-closed Princeton Elementary School....

15 Famous People With Personality Disorders

In the wake of what has happened in Arizona, maybe it is a good idea to remember that all of us have issues to deal with and most of us deal with these issues pretty well. Those with psychiatric problems can live meaningful lives and contribute to the well being of society. This blog posts tells us about those who happen to be famous and have usually managed their issues (bi-polar disorder, depression, ADHD, ,etc) quite well. DM