Newswise, June 27, 2017— There is great interest among glaucoma patients, scientists and doctors alike, in discovering regenerative therapies for the optic nerve and translating them from the laboratory to the clinic — and stem cell therapy is one of several promising approaches being studied.

Recently, we heard from a glaucoma patient who enrolled in a “patient-funded trial” in which the person paid $20,000 and received “stem cell injections” around one eye.

 Patient-funded trials are studies in which patients pay to participate. This approach was developed because clinical trials are expensive and funding from traditional sources (such as the NIH, pharmaceutical companies, or private foundations) is decreasing.

Although patient-funded research would appear superficially to provide an avenue for patients to obtain therapies under investigation, it is controversial for a number of reasons, both scientific and ethical.

Scientific considerations are deeply concerning: the gold standard for evaluating an experimental treatment is a randomized clinical trial in which participants are randomly allocated to the experimental treatment group or a control group that may not receive any treatment (placebo-controlled study), or may receive standard, approved therapies. Usually, study patients and doctors are both unaware of who receives which treatment and this study design minimizes bias towards a particular treatment.

In contrast, patient-funded trials do not have a control group, since it is extremely unlikely that patients would pay when there is a possibility of not receiving the experimental treatment.

 A control group is very important to determine if an experimental treatment really has an effect and also to compare the efficacy and risks of the experimental treatment versus other treatments. Although it is common in an early, “phase 1” trial to treat perhaps the first 3-12 patients in an open-label, non-randomized study, by “phase 2” trials, a randomized, masked design is ideal.

Even more concerning are the ethical considerations. These include disparity in access to the treatment, and risk of exploitation of vulnerable patients who have exhausted all treatment options and may be willing to undergo an unproven treatment at any cost.

In addition, a reported lack of proper oversight and monitoring for patient-funded trials implies the possibility that these may be thinly-veiled attempts to make money by the treating clinic or physician before proper FDA approval of new treatment methods.

Since a gold standard research study is not always feasible, decisions regarding the benefits and risks of a particular treatment may have to be made with the evidence at hand.

Given these considerations, we consulted Dr. Jeffrey Goldberg regarding stem cell therapy for glaucoma. Dr. Goldberg is a leading expert in therapies to regenerate the optic nerve and is part of the Catalyst for Cure team. His laboratory is developing novel stem cell approaches for glaucoma, and working steadily towards a translational program to bring discoveries out of the laboratory and into human testing once safety and efficacy in pre-clinical models is established.

Q: Dr. Goldberg, how might stem cells be helpful for patients with glaucoma?

A: Stem cells may be helpful for patients with glaucoma in different ways. Stem cells can be turned into trabecular meshwork cells in the front of the eye and transplanted in such a way as to lower eye pressure. This is an interesting approach but is not fundamentally about vision restoration.

A, For protecting or restoring vision, we really need to talk about stem cells in the back of the eye, at the retina. There, stem cells may have two positive effects. First, early in the disease, they may protect retinal ganglion cells from degenerating — providing a neuroprotective effect. Later in the disease when patients have lost considerable numbers of retinal ganglion cells and optic nerve axons, and have thereby lost considerable vision, stem cells may be useful to replace lost ganglion cells and restore the connections from the eye to the brain. This last approach—regrowing optic nerve fibers back to the brain—has been the most challenging but it’s also the most exciting.

Q. What is the current status of research on stem cell therapy for glaucoma?

A. Our laboratory and a number of other laboratories have made considerable progress on the two main fronts of bringing stem cell therapy to optic nerve restoration for glaucoma. First, we and others have discovered molecular pathways that can be used to coax stem cells to turn into neurons that look and act like real retinal ganglion cells. This will allow us to turn large numbers of stem cells into retinal ganglion cells for cell replacement therapy. Second, we are just beginning to make progress in transplanting retinal ganglion cells into the retina in pre-clinical models, to study their integration into the adult retina, how they respond to light and grow back down the optic nerve to the brain. Together these advances have brought us to an exciting moment in stem cell research for optic nerve restoration in glaucoma.

Q. Are you aware of any studies in which stem cell therapy stabilized or reversed vision loss from glaucoma?

A. Stem cells have not yet been properly tested in patients with glaucoma to look for their ability to stabilize or reverse vision loss. The careful move from the laboratory to clinical testing is still ahead of us, although with the intellectual energy and resources ready to deploy, such proper testing may not be far off.

Q. If your family member had vision loss from glaucoma, would you recommend stem cell therapy at this time?

A. I am often asked by my patients if they should sign up for a patient-funded trial for stem cells for glaucoma, and I am in the habit of counseling against this. I am not aware of any properly designed stem cell trials for glaucoma with well-tested cell therapies being moved to human testing at this time, but I do think these will come.

Q. Are there any risks or complications reported with stem cell therapy for glaucoma?

A. Indeed the risks for undergoing stem cell injections in any trial could be significant. Risks of infection, inflammation, and more severe vision loss will always be present; we are publishing a paper about 3 patients in the U.S. who participated in a patient-funded trial and lost significant vision due to severe inflammation in their eyes called endophthalmitis. These 3 unfortunate patients point to the importance of a cell therapy first undergoing proper testing in pre-clinical models before moving to human testing. Then, with properly designed and sequenced trials, I believe cell therapies can be safely tested in the eye as with the rest of the body. Indeed there are a number of cell therapies for macular degeneration already in human testing with a reassuring safety record thus far.

Q. What type of study would you design for evaluating stem cell therapy with glaucoma?

A. After demonstrating safety and efficacy of a cell therapy product in pre-clinical models, a small pilot study designed to assess for safety after injection in humans and analysis of the results should be the first step. After this, a move to a randomized trial with a control group and masked observers will be best to assess efficacy in phase 2 and eventually phase 3 trials.

Parkinson Drug May Prevent and Delay AMD

Newswise — RPB-supported researchers have made a significant discovery that might lead to the delay or prevention of the most common cause of blindness in the elderly: age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Patients who take the drug L-DOPA (for Parkinson Disease, Restless Legs or other movement disorders) are significantly less likely to develop AMD and, if they do, it is at a significantly later age.

"There are only limited and highly invasive therapies for those with AMD and no known preventative treatment," said Brian S. McKay, PhD, Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Science, University of Arizona. "Our findings imply that L-DOPA may be repurposed to prevent or delay AMD."

Here's how the multi-institution team of scientists made the discovery.

The investigators had been conducting basic research into albinism, which causes profound vision loss and changes in the structure of the eye, especially the retina, and specifically the macula, the area of the retina that is associated with central vision lost in AMD.

The retina pigment epithelium is a critical support layer of tissue in the retina that fosters macula development and keeps it healthy through L-DOPA signaling. L-DOPA is made in pigmented tissues, and it has been known for a long time that lower risk for AMD is associated with darker pigmentation;

Blacks have a five-fold lower risk for AMD than Whites. The researchers postulated that signaling through the L-DOPA receptor may underlie racial disparities in AMD incidence.

To test this, they examined the health records of 37,000 patients at the Marshfield Clinic for individuals with AMD, or those taking L-DOPA, or those with both AMD and taking L-DOPA.

In patients who were given L-DOPA before being diagnosed with AMD, their AMD was diagnosed 8 years later than those not taking L-DOPA. These results were then confirmed in a much larger data set of 87 million patients, and the study was expanded to include prevention and delay of "wet" AMD, the most devastating form of the disease.

"Developing a new drug costs more than $2 billion and takes 13.5 years from discovery to market. Drug repositioning does not require anywhere near those costs," said lead author Murray Brilliant, PhD, Director at the Center for Human Genetics at the Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation.

"Our methods illustrate the power of precision medicine research -- using the electronic medical records of large numbers of patients -- to test unexpected drug interactions and find new uses for old drugs."

"The results suggest a new path forward in our fight against AMD that may even include a strategy to prevent those at risk of the disease from ever developing it," McKay said. "In the end, L-DOPA may not be the drug that ends the disease, but the pathway identified here is likely to be a key observation as the search for a cure continues."

This work was supported by Translational Sciences, The National Human Genome Research Institute, Research to Prevent Blindness, Bright Focus, The Edward N. & Della L. Thome Memorial Foundation, the Wisconsin Genomics Initiative, National Eye Institute, the Marshfield Clinic and the University of Arizona.

Falls and Brawls Top List of Causes for Eye Injuries in United States

Hospital costs for ocular trauma rise 62 percent over a decade, according to study presented at AAO 2015, the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology

Newswise, November 16, 2015 – Falling and fighting top the list of major causes of eye injuries resulting in hospitalization over a 10-year period, according to research presented today at AAO 2015, the 119th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. 

Falling was the No. 1 cause of eye injuries overall and accounted for more than 8,425 hospitalizations. Researchers also found that the cost to treat eye injuries at hospitals rose by 62 percent during that period and now exceeds $20,000 per injury.

Serious ocular trauma injuries include orbital fractures and being pierced by objects. These injuries can be expensive to treat, and in many cases are preventable. 

With that in mind, researchers at Johns Hopkins University decided to identify the most common causes of eye injuries as well as the associated hospital costs so that prevention efforts could be better targeted. Such interventions could perhaps lower eye injury rates and overall health care costs for eye trauma inpatient visits.

They identified a sample of nearly 47,000 patients ages 0 to 80 diagnosed with ocular trauma from 2002 to 2011 using a national health care database. They examined the total cost of hospitalization, cause of injury, type of injury and length of hospital stay. The researchers then grouped injured people by age. 

Their findings include:

•Falls are the leading cause of eye injury: Most of the 8,425 falls recorded happened to those 60 and older. Among the types of falls, slipping caused nearly 3,000 eye injuries. Falling down stairs was cited as a cause of eye injury 900 times.
•Fighting was second most common cause of ocular trauma: In total, nearly 8,000 hospitalizations for eye injuries were caused by fighting and various types of assault. “Unarmed fight or brawl” came in at No. 2 overall among specific causes of eye injuries requiring hospitalization, but was the top cause reported for ages 10 to 59.
•Kids injured in accidents, vehicle collisions and by sharp objects: For children ages 10 and under, the leading cause of eye injury was being struck by accident by a person or object. Car crashes and accidentally being pierced or cut by a sharp object (such as scissors) were second and third on the list of causes.
•The median cost of treating these eye injuries shot up from $12,430 to $20,116 between the years 2002 to 2011, an increase of 62 percent. The researchers found costs to be higher at large hospitals and for older patients. Income did not correlate with costs. However, the Johns Hopkins team says that other factors not included in the study could play a role, too.

“While we have some clues, we still can’t be certain why it’s more expensive to get treated for an eye injury now than before,” said Christina Prescott, M.D., Ph.D., the study’s lead researcher and an ophthalmology professor at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University. 

“It could be related to drug prices or administrative costs. Either way, it’s clear we need more targeted interventions to help reduce these types of injuries, many of which are preventable.”

Members of the media who would like a copy of the poster or wish to speak to an expert about the findings should contact the American Academy of Ophthalmology Public Relations Department at media@aao.org.

Economic Trends in Eye-Related Hospitalizations (PO118) was presented at AAO 2015, the 119th annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. 

Known as the place "Where all of Ophthalmology Meets,"™ the Academy’s annual meeting takes place Nov. 13-17 at the Sands Expo/Venetian in Las Vegas. It is the largest ophthalmology conference in the world. For more information, see AAO 2015 highlights.

About the American Academy of Ophthalmology

The American Academy of Ophthalmology, headquartered in San Francisco, is the world's largest association of eye physicians and surgeons, serving more than 32,000 members worldwide. 

The Academy’s mission is to advance the lifelong learning and professional interests of ophthalmologists to ensure that the public can obtain the best possible eye care. For more information, visit http://www.aao.org.

The Academy is also a leading provider of eye care information to the public. The Academy's EyeSmart® program educates the public about the importance of eye health and empowers them to preserve healthy vision. EyeSmart provides the most trusted and medically accurate information about eye diseases, conditions and injuries. OjosSanos™ is the Spanish-language version of the program.

Visit http://www.geteyesmart.org or http://www.ojossanos.org to learn more.

Restoring Vision with Stem Cells

 Researchers have succeed in producing photoreceptors from human embryonic stem cells

Newswise, October 6, 2015--Age-related macular degeneration (AMRD) could be treated by transplanting photoreceptors produced by the directed differentiation of stem cells, thanks to findings published today by Professor Gilbert Bernier of the University of Montreal and its affiliated Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital.

ARMD is a common eye problem caused by the loss of cones. Bernier’s team has developed a highly effective in vitro technique for producing light sensitive retina cells from human embryonic stem cells.

“Our method has the capacity to differentiate 80% of the stem cells into pure cones,” Professor Gilbert explained. “Within 45 days, the cones that we allowed to grow towards confluence spontaneously formed organised retinal tissue that was 150 microns thick. This has never been achieved before.”

In order to verify the technique, Bernier injected clusters of retinal cells into the eyes of healthy mice. The transplanted photoreceptors migrated naturally within the retina of their host.

“Cone transplant represents a therapeutic solution for retinal pathologies caused by the degeneration of photoreceptor cells,” Bernier explained.

“To date, it has been difficult to obtain great quantities of human cones.” His discovery offers a way to overcome this problem, offering hope that treatments may be developed for currently non-curable degenerative diseases, like Stargardt disease and ARMD.

“Researchers have been trying to achieve this kind of trial for years,” he said. “Thanks to our simple and effective approach, any laboratory in the world will now be able to create masses of photoreceptors.

“Even if there’s a long way to go before launching clinical trials, this means, in theory, that will be eventually be able to treat countless patients.”

The findings are particularly significant in the light of improving life expectancies and the associated increase in cases of ARMD. ARMD is in fact the greatest cause of blindness amongst people over the age of 50 and affects millions of people worldwide.

And as we age, it is more and more difficult to avoid – amongst people over 80, this accelerated aging of the retina affects nearly one in four. People with ARMD gradually lose their perception of colours and details to the point that they can no longer read, write, watch television or even recognize a face.

ARMD is due to the degeneration of the macula, which is the central part of the retina that enables the majority of eyesight.

This degeneration is caused by the destruction of the cones and cells in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), a tissue that is responsible for the reparation of the visual cells in the retina and for the elimination of cells that are too worn out.

However, there is only so much reparation that can be done as we are born with a fixed number of cones. They therefore cannot naturally be replaced. Moreover, as we age, the RPE’s maintenance is less and less effective – waste accumulates, forming deposits.

“Differentiating RPE cells is quite easy. But in order to undertake a complete therapy, we need neuronal tissue that links all RPE cells to the cones. That is much more complex to develop,” Bernier explains, noting nonetheless that he believes his research team is up to the challenge.

Bernier has been interested in the genes that code and enable the induction of the retina during embryonic development since completing his PhD in Molecular Biology in 1997.

“During my post-doc at the Max-Planck Institute in Germany, I developed the idea that there was a natural molecule that must exist and be capable of forcing embryonic stem cells into becoming cones,” he said.

Indeed, bioinformatic analysis led him to predict the existence of a mysterious protein: COCO, a “recombinational” human molecule that is normally expressed within photoreceptors during their development.

In 2001, he launched his laboratory at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital and immediately isolated the molecule.

But it took several years of research to demystify the molecular pathways involved in the photoreceptors development mechanism. His latest research shows that in order to create cones, COCO can systematically block all the signalling pathways leading to the differentiation of the other retinal cells in the eye.

It’s by uncovering this molecular process that Bernier was able to produce photoreceptors. More specifically, he has produced S-cones, which are photoreceptor prototypes that are found in the most primitive organisms.

Beyond the clinical applications, Professor Bernier’s findings could enable the modelling of human retinal degenerative diseases through the use of induced pluripotent stem cells, offering the possibility of directly testing potential avenues for therapy on the patient’s own tissues.

About this study:

Shufeng Zhou, Anthony Flamier, Mohamed Abdouh, Nicolas Tétreault, Andrea Barabino, Shashi Wadhwa and Gilbert Bernier published “Differentiation of human embryonic stem cells into cone photoreceptors through simultaneous inhibition of BMP, TGFβ and Wnt signaling” in Development on October 6, 2015. DOI: 10.1242/dev.125385

Gilbert Bernier is director of the Stem Cell and Developmental Biology Laboratory at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital and a professor with the Department of Neuroscience and the Department of Opthalmology at the University of Montreal.

This work was supported by grants from the Foundation Fighting Blindness Canada, Turmel Family Foundation for Macular Degeneration Research, Canadian Stem Cell Network, C. Durand Foundation, the GO Foundation, and Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada [grant #250970-2012].

Professor Bernier was supported by the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé.

The University of Montreal is officially known as Université de Montréal. Maisonneuve Rosemont Hospital is part of Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de l'Est-de-l'Île-de-Montréal.

Protect Vision from Digital Devices

(Family Features), October 2, 2015-- Digital communication has become an integral part of daily life. Smartphones and tablets are pocket-sized personal assistants with appointment reminders, news and a means of keeping in touch with family and friends. Living multi-screen lives may aide productivity, but eye health professionals are increasingly worried about the consequences of “digital vision.”

Over the past two years, time spent with digital devices has increased 49 percent, according to data from online measurement firm comScore. Handheld devices are leading the way: time using smartphones jumped 90 percent and tablets surged 64 percent.

However, some studies suggest all that time squinting at the phone may cause users to squint at everything else. Research housed through the Vision Impact Institute has shown that myopia (nearsightedness) is rapidly rising in East Asia, Europe and the United States, especially among younger people. Research is pointing to factors other than genetics, such as behavior and environment, as the cause of this epidemic of shortsightedness. The common denominator among these populations seems to be time spent using digital devices.

While not seeing distances clearly can be frustrating, even dangerous when driving, it can be corrected with eyeglasses, contact lenses and refractive surgery. However, high myopia has been associated with a greater risk for ocular disorders, including retinal detachment, glaucoma and cataracts. 

“We’re good about getting the annual physical and dental check-up, but often we aren’t as diligent about seeing the eye doctor once a year, 

”“As we turn more and more of our daily routines over to digital devices, we need to place a greater emphasis on scheduling regular eye exams to correct problems such as myopia and monitor for associated risks,”  said Maureen Cavanagh, president of the Vision Impact Institute.

In addition, Cavanagh points to several small steps all digital users can take to make their devices healthier for their eyes:

·        Make sure the settings are adequate – increase screen font size and improve the contrast. Always use good lighting but avoid glare on small screens.

·        Exercise your eyes just as you exercise your body. Every few minutes, look up from the screen and focus on something in the distance. This exercise helps prevent eye strain and uses more of your ocular muscles. And don’t forget to take breaks occasionally.

·        Get outside. Sunshine can be the antidote to digital vision, according to some research. While the sun’s role isn’t completely understood, an Australian study showed that children who spent more time outside playing in natural light had a lower rate of myopia. In China, schools are experimenting with classrooms made of transparent materials to help stem the nation’s epidemic of shortsightedness in young people.

Regardless of your age or how many digital devices you have, taking care of your eyes helps prevent vision problems and protects your overall eye health. Learn more at visionimpactinstitute.org.

Do Patients with Age-Related Macular Degeneration Have Trouble with Touch Screens?

Newswise, September 25, 2015– Older adults with central vision loss caused by age-related macular degeneration (AMD) have no problem with accuracy in performing touch screen tasks, according to a study in the October issue of Optometry and Vision Science, official journal of the American Academy of Optometry. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

But their performance is slower—especially during the initial "exploration" phase of touch screen tasks, according to the new research by Quentin Lenoble, PhD, of Université Lille Nord de France and colleagues. 

The study provides initial insights into the best ways of adapting touch screen applications for use by the millions of people affected by AMD.

People with AMD Are Accurate, But Slower, in Using Touch Screens

Age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss in older adults, causing serious impairment in driving, reading, and other daily tasks. 

"The advent of digital displays and use of computer screens has opened up many new possibilities for reading activities and travel aids for AMD sufferers," comments Anthony Adams, OD, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Optometry and Vision Science.

Dr. Lenoble and colleagues designed an experiment to see how AMD affected performance on a simple touch screen task. Twenty-four older adults with AMD were asked to explore scenes presented on a touch screen, and then to drag pictured objects to the corresponding scene—for example, matching a fish to the sea.

Their performance was compared with that of older adults without AMD, as well as young adults with normal vision. All three groups were highly accurate in matching the objects to the corresponding scene, with correct response rates of about 99 percent.

However, there were significant differences in the initial "exploration phase"—when participants were visually exploring the scenes presented on the touch screen. 

Average exploration time was about four seconds for AMD patients, compared to three seconds for older subjects with normal vision. For younger subjects, exploration time was significantly shorter: less than one second.

The younger participants also had shorter touch screen movement times. However, the two groups of older adults had similar movement speeds, whether or not they had AMD.

"This study shows that people with AMD are able to perform a task on a touch screen," Dr. Lenoble and coauthors write. 

"They were slower during the exploration phase, but accuracy was not affected." Based on this finding, the researchers suggest, "AMD impaired the perceptual but not the motor performance of the patients in this task."

The authors note some limitations of their study—including the fact that it was performed using large, desktop-sized touch screen monitors. It's unclear how AMD patients would be able to see and navigate the images presented on smaller screens, such as smartphones and global positioning systems.

But the results are an informative first step toward adapting touch screen applications for patients with AMD, and possibly with other visual impairments as well. 

"The advent of digital displays and use of computer screens has opened up many new possibilities for reading activities and travel aids for AMD sufferers," says Dr. Adams. 

"This study suggests that there can be new strategies in making touch screen scenes and materials more identifiable to the many people with low vision caused by AMD."

Click here to read "Categorization Task over a Touch Screen in Age-Related Macular Degeneration."

Article: "Categorization Task over a Touch Screen in Age-Related Macular Degeneration" (doi: 10.1097/OPX.0000000000000694)

About Optometry and Vision Science

Optometry and Vision Science, official journal of theAmerican Academy of Optometry, is the most authoritative source for current developments in optometry, physiological optics, and vision science. This frequently cited monthly scientific journal has served primary eye care practitioners for more than 75 years, promoting vital interdisciplinary exchange among optometrists and vision scientists worldwide.

About the American Academy of Optometry

Founded in 1922, the American Academy of Optometry is committed to promoting the art and science of vision care through lifelong learning. All members of the Academy are dedicated to the highest standards of optometric practice through clinical care, education or research.

About Wolters Kluwer

Wolters Kluwer is a global leader in professional information services. Professionals in the areas of legal, business, tax, accounting, finance, audit, risk, compliance and healthcare rely on Wolters Kluwer's market leading information-enabled tools and software solutions to manage their business efficiently, deliver results to their clients, and succeed in an ever more dynamic world.

Wolters Kluwer reported 2014 annual revenues of €3.7 billion. The group serves customers in over 170 countries, and employs over 19,000 people worldwide. 

The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands. Wolters Kluwer shares are listed on NYSE Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices. Wolters Kluwer has a sponsored Level 1 American Depositary Receipt program. The ADRs are traded on the over-the-counter market in the U.S. (WTKWY).

Wolters Kluwer Health is a leading global provider of information and point of care solutions for the healthcare industry. For more information about our products and organization, visit www.wolterskluwerhealth.com, follow@WKHealth or @Wolters_Kluwer on Twitter, like us onFacebook, follow us on LinkedIn, or follow WoltersKluwerComms on YouTube.

Study Finds Cataract Surgery Leaves Patients Satisfied

(Family Features) September 10, 2015-- By 2030, 38 million Americans will suffer from cataracts, a number that will increase to 50 million by 2050, according to the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health. The most common treatment for cataracts is surgery, and new research suggests its benefits are strong.

A study of patient satisfaction surveys revealed that almost all patients who undergo cataract surgery are satisfied with their vision and quality of life post-surgery. The study, from the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) Institute for Quality Improvement, showed that 99.7 percent of patients would recommend the procedure to friends or relatives suffering from cataracts. Ninety-six percent of patients reported that their vision was better post-surgery, and 98 percent said they were comfortable during the procedure and post-discharge. What’s more, 96 percent returned to normal activities of daily living within one week of the procedure.

“The data clearly shows that patients find value in cataract surgery and are generally very pleased with the outcomes of the procedure,” said Naomi Kuznets, Ph.D., vice president and senior director for the AAAHC Institute for Quality Improvement.

Cataracts occur when protein builds up on the lens of an eye, making the person’s vision cloudy. According to experts at the Mayo Clinic, common symptoms of cataracts include clouded, blurred or dimmed vision, increasing difficulty with vision at night and sensitivity to light or glare. Individuals experiencing these symptoms should consult an ophthalmologist to see if they are candidates for cataract surgery.

“The satisfaction numbers in this study show how worthwhile cataract surgery is for so many individuals,” said Kris Kilgore, R.N., AAAHC Institute board member and administrative director of Grand Rapids Ophthalmology Surgical Care Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan. “Every day we hear from patients who have improved quality of life thanks to this procedure. This study bears out empirically the wonderful anecdotes we hear from patients every day.”

Cataract surgery is an outpatient procedure, meaning it requires no overnight hospital stay. During cataract surgery, a surgeon makes a small incision to remove the cloudy lens, and then replaces it with a clear, manmade lens. To reduce the costs of the procedure and for patients’ convenience, surgeons commonly schedule cataract procedures at surgery centers, which are small surgical facilities that may be on a hospital campus or offsite.

The safety of these facilities is overseen by government regulators and by accrediting bodies such as AAAHC. During an accreditation evaluation by AAAHC, a trained medical professional visits a surgical facility to personally verify its adherence to patient safety, quality care and value standards.

If you are a candidate for cataract surgery, visit www.aaahc.org to find a local AAAHC-accredited facility.