NEWS spectrum

CLS Welcomes New Editor

Jason J. Nichols, OD, MPH, PhD, FAAO, will officially become editor of Contact Lens Spectrum and the weekly e-mail newsletter Contact Lenses Today later this month. He is currently an assistant professor at The Ohio State University (OSU) College of Optometry. Editor Carla Mack, OD, MBA, FAAO, is stepping down to pursue a new career path with Bausch & Lomb. Edward S. Bennett, OD, MSEd, will remain as clinical features editor for CLS and Gregory J. Nixon, OD, FAAO, will remain as clinical columns editor for CLS.

Dr. Nichols' clinical, research and teaching interests are in the ocular surface and contact lens areas. In addition to his experience in private practice, research and education, he also has published numerous articles in leading peer-reviewed professional publications and served as a contributing editor for CLS for several years, focusing on contact lens materials, dry eye and lens care solutions. He is also a member of the International Society of Contact Lens Research, a diplomate in the American Academy of Optometry's Cornea and Contact Lens Section and has received top honors from the Academy as well as other professional organizations.

In addition to receiving federal NIH funding to support his work in contact lens-related dry eye, Dr. Nichols has worked with most all major contact lens and lens care companies in a variety of capacities.

Carla Mack, OD, MBA, FAAO, has accepted a position with Bausch & Lomb as part of its Global Vision Care Clinical and Medical Affairs team. She is set to begin her new role later this month where her primary responsibilities will include developing B&L Vision Care's academic, education and publishing efforts. Dr. Mack leaves the OSU College of Optometry after nearly 12 years. She has served as the director of Clinic Services for the past five years and is an associate professor of clinical optometry and Diplomate in the American Academy of Optometry's Cornea and Contact Lens Section.

Monthly Wearers Report Decrease in Comfort

Monthly replacement contact lens wearers notice a decline in lens performance in weeks three and four of wear, a new survey reveals. About 71 percent of monthly silicone hydrogel wearers and 68 percent of hydrogel wearers reported a decrease in wearing comfort as the month progressed. Asked which week of the month, in general, they start to notice that their lenses become more uncomfortable, 95 percent said they become aware of discomfort in weeks three and four. Monthly silicone hydrogel wearers who experienced discomfort tended to notice it earlier in the lens cycle than did hydrogel wearers.

An independent market research company conducted the online survey among consumers in France during October and November 2007. Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., sponsored the survey, although subjects were unaware of the sponsor's identity. The sample was randomly selected from a consumer database of lens wearers designed to be representative of all existing brands in the French market. In total, 20 brands of lenses were represented.

The survey also queried lens wearers about their perceptions of the eyecare practitioner's role in communicating the benefits of lens innovations. More than eight in 10 said they expect their practitioner to recommend an upgrade on comfort grounds, and three-quarters said they'd consider seeing their eyecare practitioner more often if he would proactively propose lenses that would provide better comfort.

AOCLE Workshop Cases Published

The Association of Optometric Contact Lens Educators commemorated the 25th anniversary of the organization's annual educator workshops by holding a "Case Report Writing for Publication" workshop at the University of California, Berkeley School of Optometry.

Each school and college of optometry provided a rough draft of a case report in the cornea or contact lens field prior to the workshop. These drafts were reviewed by editors of journals in the field who acted as mentors in helping the authors develop a final draft suitable for publication.

The panel of editors included Dr. Anthony J. Adams (Optometry and Vision Science), Dr. Paul B. Freeman (Optometry), Dr. Carla Mack (Contact Lens Spectrum) and Dr. Shehzad A. Naroo (Contact Lens and Anterior Eye). Each of the editors discussed what makes a good case report and common errors to avoid in writing a case report. A question-and-answer session followed, after which the educators worked on their case reports with the help of their editor-mentor.

A year later at the AOCLE 2008 workshop, an update was presented on the status of the case reports written at the 2007 workshop. Seven of the case reports had been submitted for publication, of which three had been accepted for publication and two had been published. Eight additional case reports are currently in process or in revision for future publication. The status update of the case reports from the 2007 workshop as well as abstracts from selected cases are available by clicking this link.

This article was contributed by Michael G. Harris, OD, JD, MS.

Keep up with industry news between issues of Contact Lens Spectrum by subscribing to our e-mail newsletter, Contact Lenses Today. Visit www.cltoday.com or the CLS site (www.clspectrum.com) to subscribe.

AOA Recommends Eye Exams for Children

The American Optometric Association is reminding parents that good vision is critical to many classroom tasks. Without healthy vision, students can face unnecessary challenges not only in the classroom, but also to their mental, physical and social well being.

The AOA's 2008 Eye-Q survey revealed that 87 percent of respondents were unaware that one in four children have a vision problem. In addition, 39 percent of parents don't realize that behavioral problems can be an indication of vision impairment, whereas 60 percent of children identified as "problem learners" actually suffer from visual impairment, according to the AOA. Furthermore, the AOA says that parents rely on the vision screenings that children receive in school to identify vision problems, but because such screenings aren't diagnostic they typically identify only a small portion of the vision problems in children.

The AOA recommends recommends that children receive comprehensive eye exams beginning at six months, 3 years and then again when a child enters school. In contrast, 57 percent of children did not receive their first eye exam until age 5 or older.

Leonard Press, optometrist and the AOA's Vision & Learning Specialist, says, "The longer a vision problem goes untreated, the more a child's brain has to over-compensate to live with the vision problem, instead of developing and learning normally."