HSHC Vision Services

Tinted Lenses May Not Improve Visual Or Athletic Performance. The New York Times (10/16, Brody) "Well" blog reports, "Research on tinted lenses has not backed the claim that they improve visual or athletic performance. In a 2007 study in the journal Optometry, 35 college and professional football players were given the task of identifying a series of curved lines that blended into a blurry background," first wearing clear lenses and then wearing lenses with an amber tint. The study's author, optometrist Eric Porisch, OD, said that the slight contrast improvements offered by the lenses were clinically insignificant.

FDA Warns Of More Compounding Product Risks. In addition to an update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, indicating at least nine more meningitis cases have been linked to the possibly tainted steroid vials have been confirmed, most of the media reports noted that the Food and Drug Administration issued an alert, warning that two additional drug products, produced by same compounding pharmacy, may be causing infections. The CBS Evening News (10/15, s...Continue reading

Sitting For Long Periods May Increase Risk Of Diabetes, Heart Disease. HealthDay (10/16, Preidt) reports, "Sitting for long periods boosts your risk of diabetes, heart disease and death, even if you work out regularly," according to a study published in Diabetologia. Heartwire (10/16) reports that investigators looked at data from "18 studies including a total of 794 577 participants. The data were adjusted for baseline event rate and pooled using a random-effects ...model." WebMD (10/16, Boyles) reports that the researchers found that "people who sat for the longest periods of time were twice as likely to have diabetes or heart disease than those who sat the least. That was even true of people who did moderate to vigorous physical activity on a regular basis." BBC News (10/14) reports on its website, "The strongest associations in the analysis were between prolonged sitting and diabetes." Medwire (10/16, Mahendra) also covers the story.

Dr Katz has posted several informative articles on eyecare, eye disease and types of "eye exams" and how you can protect your vision and your loved ones by being an informed consumer of eyecare

I was asked recently if a person's genetic background predisposes that person to certain eye diseases. The answer , according to current studies and standard of care , says yes. For example , African Americans are prone to effects of sickle cell disease, glaucoma, artery and vein occlusions and hypertensive retinopathy. Those of scandinavian descent are prone to pseudoexfoliation syndrone , which can itself lead to diseases such as glaucoma.... Asians are more prone to findings such as nevus of ota and others. So it seems our genes predispose us to many illnesses. This is why you need to see a Board Certified Optometrist to get a complete thorough eye exam by a doctor who has been continually recertified . Dr Katz is a Board Certified Optometrist with over 30 years experience and is highly rated and respected by both other doctors and patients

Undiagnosed vision problems severely affect students’ ability to learn [Philadelphia 10/15/2012]Millions of children will start school this year with a vision problem that may inhibit their ability to learn and ultimately affect the rest of their lives. As parents send their children back to school, one of the most important things they can do to help ensure their child’s ability to learn is to take them for an eye exam. The American Optometric Association (AOA) recommends c...omprehensive eye exams especially for children entering preschool and kindergarten. Proper vision detection and correction in young children may affect much more than their ability to see clearly. Without a comprehensive eye exam by an optometrist or an ophthalmologist, many children have vision problems that can go undiagnosed, and may even be misdiagnosed as a learning disorder. An early comprehensive eye exam evaluates a child’s vision, eye teaming skills and tracking skills as well as eye health. It’s a good way to avoid problems down the road, said Dr Michael Katz Chief of Clinical Eyecare , HSHC Vision Services. Children entering preschool or kindergarten benefit the most from comprehensive eye exams though they rarely receive them early enough. Currently, only 14 percent of children under age six have received a comprehensive eye exam, according to the U.S. Center for Health Statistics. Vision impairments in children of this age can be detected through an eye exam and are typically easy to correct immediately afterwards. An eye exam will help correct common vision problems, such as nearsightedness and farsightedness as well as more serious conditions such as amblyopia, commonly known as lazy eye. Amblyopia affects about 5 percent of children nationwide. The condition is completely treatable and preventable if detected within the first few years of life. The lack of early eye care has allowed amblyopia to escape detection, and it remains the leading cause of blindness in Americans under 40. Children may not recognize that they have a vision problem,Dr Michael Katz, particularly children who are too young to know the alphabet or even to speak. However, there are proven methods for full eye exams on young children that can be done efficiently and effectively. The back-to-school season is an ideal time for parents to take their child to an eye doctor for a comprehensive exam, particularly since much of what children learn is obtained through the eyes.

http://www.americanboardofoptometry.org/optometrist-search/