WAEH Newsletter – December 2020
Webinar 21 January 2021
Different models of Eye Care
From Satellites to Community Outreach
21 January 2021 – first webinar of 2021! Topic: Different models of Eye Care – From Satellites to Community Outreach. An Ly from the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital will tell you more about: An Orthoptist’s role in establishing an Ophthalmology Clinic at the Victorian Aboriginal Health Services. Register now! Please send an e-mail to maaike.vanzuilen@waeh.org to register yourself for this webinar.
21 January 2021
Invitation – Member Meeting
After the webinar about Different models of Eye Care – From Satellites to Community Outreach the Member Meeting will take place.
29 April 2021
Schwartz Rounds
Thursday 3 dec was the online LIVE Schwartz Round. Our panel members Nima Ghadiri, Consultant in Uveitis at Moorfields Eye Hospital and Great Ormond Street, UK, Shannon Joseph, Assistant Professor in Ophthalmology, Kellog Eye Center, at the University of Michigan and Mark Maynard, Quality Partner for the Moorfields South division in the UK have shared their experiences.
Did you miss the Schwartz Rounds? Next year there will also be a LIVE Schwartz Round! Date: Friday 29th April 13.00-14.00 (UK time).
Want t be a panelist and share your experiences? Contact Maaike: maaike.vanzuilen@waeh.org
Lean on me
First Online Schwartz Round
On Thursday December 3, the online Schwartz Round took place. We would love to thank you all for sharing your personal feelings! ??
Our panel members shared their experiences; Nima Ghadiri, Consultant in Uveitis at Moorfields Eye Hospital and Great Ormond Street, UK, Shannon Joseph, Assistant Professor in Ophthalmology, Kellog Eye Center, at the University of Michigan and Mark Maynard, Quality Partner for the Moorfields South division in the UK.
And don’t forget! Use the relaxing exercises: give yourself a butterfly hug and do breathing exercises… ?
News from our members
St. Erik Eye Hospital – 26 November 2020
Injection clinic built for the future
With new waiting rooms and smart planning, St. Erik Eye Hospital will face the growing demand for eye injections. Around one hundred patients with chronic illnesses receive an alleviating eye injection every day.
David Epstein, senior consultant in medical retina at St. Erik Eye Hospital, gives several eye injections each day. Photo: Jens Sølvberg
St. Erik is currently one of the main actors in Region Stockholm operating injection activities. The procedure entails a quick injection into the eye as an alleviating treatment for patients with chronic eye disorders. The patient demand is very high.
I have injected some 27 patients this morning alone, says David Epstein, senior consultant in medical retina at St. Erik Eye Hospital, who has long experience giving this type of treatment.
Read more: https://www.sankterik.se/en-us/news/english/2020/injection-clinic-built-for-the-future
Source: https://www.sankterik.se/en-us/news/english/2020/injection-clinic-built-for-the-future
Orbis – 23 December 2020
Dr. Munir wins Vision Excellence Award
Country Director of Orbis International for Bangladesh Dr Munir Ahmed has won the Vision Excellence Award 2020 for his contribution to Vision 2020, a global initiative to eliminate the main causes of all preventable and treatable blindness by 2020.
The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) and World Health Organization (WHO) announced the award recently for 100 world leaders in eye health for the contributions of their vision, drive, commitment and quality of work to successful outcomes and continued learning from the Vision 2020 agenda, according to IAPB.
Read more: https://www.waeh.org/news/dr-munir-wins-vision-excellence-award/
Orbis – 23 December 2020
2.14% Rohingya Refugees aged 50 or above are blind:
RAAB Study
As many as 2.14 percent of Rohingyas aged 50 years or above living in Cox’s Bazar refugee camps are suffering from blindness, says a study.
The findings were revealed from the Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) among the Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (Rohingya refugees) which have been published in the journal PLoS ONE, the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness said in a statement on Wednesday. Professor AHM Enayet Husain, Directorate General of Medical Education, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in Bangladesh announced the assessment, it added.
Read more: https://www.waeh.org/news/2-14-rohingya-refugees-aged-50-or-above-are-blind-raab-study/
Moorfields Eye Hospital – 17 December 2020
Continuing research into treating glaucoma with lasers
Last year, Moorfields made headlines delivering a glaucoma treatment known as selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT), where glaucoma patients are treated with a one off laser appointment rather than daily drops. This treatment was found to be incredibly effective at lowering eye pressure and it is quickly becoming the new standard way to treat glaucoma.
As more Moorfields patients are treated using SLT, Moorfields is continuing to expand their knowledge on the treatment in order to find the most efficient and effective way to deliver it. In collaboration with BELKIN Laser, a new international trial at Moorfields and other hospitals around the world, known as GLAUrious, is investigating a novel delivery system that is no-contact, non-invasive and takes only seconds rather than the usual 5 minutes or more.
Professor Gus Gazzard, head of the glaucoma service at Moorfields, said: “This trial is an exciting opportunity to learn how we can deliver what is already a great treatment in a potentially more effective way so that our glaucoma patients can have the best sight they possibly can, for as long as possible.”
Learn more about the BELKIN laser technology.
Source: https://www.moorfields.nhs.uk/news/continuing-research-treating-glaucoma-lasers
St. Erik Eye Hospital – 15 December 2020
Hopes of new treatment strategies for glaucoma
In the search for new ways to treat the incurable eye disease glaucoma, researchers at Karolinska Institutet and St. Erik Eye Hospital have discovered more clues as to its pathogenesis. A new study shows how metabolic disturbance of the neurons coincide with raised pressure in the eye. In animal and cell models, rapamycin and pyruvate treatments were shown to have a protective effect. The study is published in the journal PNAS.
Read here more about the results at ki.se.
Source: www.sankterik.se/en-us/news
Singapore National Eye Centre – 7 december 2020
Research Jointly Conducted With SNEC Can Help Predict Myopia Trend in Children
The two-year data analysis of the local research team jointly conducted by Johnson & Johnson Vision and SNEC has found that the child’s myopia progression in the first year has a direct impact on the second year, and the subsequent years. The research which was one of the Singapore Cohort Study of the Risk Factors for Myopia (SCORM) programs, had used data collected from 674 students ranging from age 7 to 10 from three primary schools who developed myopia in year 1999, and more than 2,000 students were recruited for the study. However, the research could not estimate the long term development of myopia completely, and the best way to slow down myopia progression in children is to cultivate healthy lifestyle for eyesight with more outdoor activities and avoid from watching television or computer in close proximity, besides using atropine eye drops.
Source: Lianhe Zaobao
Source: https://www.snec.com.sg/news/research/research-jointly-conducted-with-snec-can-help-predict-myopia-trend-in-children
The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital – 18 december 2020
2020 Excellence Awards
The 2020 Excellence Awards highlighted some of the remarkable work the RVEEH staff have demonstrated in response to a very challenging year. In a year when so much was asked of each of us, the winners were nominated by their peers for their stand-out performances. Well done to all the recipients:
- Board Chair’s Medal – Associate Professor Carmel Crock
- Administrative/Clerical/Support Services Excellence – Glenda Prewett Manager Contracts and Procurement
- Allied Health Excellence – Jaime Leigh, Audiologist and Paediatric Services Coordinator for the Cochlear Implant Clinic
- Nursing Excellence – Sigi James, a registered Nurse in our Emergency Department
- Dr J Aubrey Bowen Medal – Ophthalmologists Dr Cecilia Ling and Dr Robyn Troutbeck from the Ocular Immunology Clinic
- Team Excellence Award – Patricia McGarrity, Fiona Moran, An Ly and Judy Stinson who represent the Service Improvement team.
Source: https://www.eyeandear.org.au/page/News_and_Events/Latest_News/2020_Excellence_Awards/
The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital – 17 december 2020
Gene therapy offers hope for a common cause of mitochondrial blindness
Injecting a gene therapy vector into one eye of patients with Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON) improved vision in both eyes in an international clinical trial that recruited patients at Moorfields Eye Hospital.
The study, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, saw researchers inject a viral vector containing modified cDNA into the back of one eye of 37 patients who had suffered vision loss from LHON for 6 to 12 months. Their other eye received a placebo sham injection. The therapeutic approach, involving allotopic gene expression and mitochondrial targeting, was optimised for LHON by the Institut de la Vision in Paris, France, and licensed to GenSight Biologics.Read more: https://www.moorfields.nhs.uk/news/gene-therapy-offers-hope-common-cause-mitochondrial-blindness
Source: https://www.moorfields.nhs.uk/news/gene-therapy-offers-hope-common-cause-mitochondrial-blindness
Questions? Share news?
Do you have a special request? Would you like to be (digitally) connected to a certain person in one of our member eye hospitals? Organize a webinar? Share news?
Please feel very welcome, and do not hesitate to contact Maaike van Zuilen: Maaike.vanzuilen@waeh.org