College of Optometrists in Vision Development announces online release of its journal, Optometry & Vision Development (OVD), Volume 43 #1
Aurora, OH – Does evidence based research support complementary and alternative medicine? Are there randomized clinical trials that demonstrate the efficacy and safety of various non-allopathic methods of treating a variety of disorders? Do acupuncture, Chiropractic care, various diets, and the use of supplements; as well as, aroma therapy really work? The latest issue of Optometry & Vision Development (Vol 43 #1), the official publication of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development, can help you answer these questions. In his article, Dr. Dominick Maino, the editor of Optometry & Vision Development, uses the latest scientific evidence and the Cochrane Reviews to determine which of these CAM treatments can be used with confidence. Dr. Maino also notes that “…there are no randomized, placebo controlled clinical trials trial that support the belief that evidence-based research is beneficial…and that these research studies often have severe limitations …” He also states “real patients bring with them a great deal of heterogeneity.” Since medicine has been known to selectively support evidence based research when it fits their belief systems and to discount the research when it does not, we must always take into account the authors’, editors’, and even the readers’ possible biases. Finally, he says that the traditional approach to health care frequently uses interventions that do not have clear, unambiguous evidence based support. We need not only the science of health care but also the art to provide the best approach possible when treating our patients.
Using a case report to illustrate the possibility of reducing or eliminating farsightedness while treating amblyopia (lazy eye), Drs. Dan and Len Press show how to take a different approach to refractive amblyopia. They note that, “Traditionally the goal of treatment has not included the pursuit of reducing or eliminating the lens prescription, but to optimize function through the original prescription. However, we know that despite this disclaimer, parents tend to judge success in part by the need for the child to be dependent upon wearing the glasses.” They go on to state, “For some time now we have taken the approach of being conservative about the initial plus lens power given and have worked towards reducing lens power as vision function improves through active optometric vision therapy.” Can you really reduce the power needed in a child’s glasses to the point where they do not need to wear them? They refer to this process as reverse-engineering of hyperopic anisometropic refractive amblyopia and they do this by using the findings from the visual evoked potential as an objective tool to assist them in determining how much and when to decrease the lens power. This novel approach could be used to decrease your patients’ reliance on glasses and still provide the best vision function. At the same time, you would be making parents very happy because the end result would be that their child would not have to wear glasses.
Dr. Sidney Groffman, the editor emeritus of OVD, writes in his editorial, Lost in Space, about a young, brilliant writer, who was literally “lost in space” because of her learning disability. She was diagnosed with a severe temporal-spatial deficit that made her feel like a genius trapped forever in an idiot’s body. He goes on to state that, “On reading Ms Crosley’s tale of spatial and directionality woes, I, like most developmental optometrists would have thought, ‘Oh, if she was only my patient when she was a child, she would not have been “lost in space.”’ I wonder, though, how many of the 5-7% of the population who suffer from visuospatial deficits and its symptoms are ever seen and treated by developmental optometrists.” Read this article. Check to see if you too are lost in space. If so, go to the College of Optometrists in Vision Development website to find a doctor who can help.
This issue of OVD also has information on the anatomy and physiology of learning disabilities, current literature review, practice management computer tips, book review, NewsMakers, and more. Read it online or wait for the hard copy. But read it!
About Optometry & Vision Development
Optometry & Vision Development (OVD) is a peer-reviewed open access journal indexed in the online Directory of Open Access Journals. The full text of these articles is available free from www.covd.org. OVD is an official publication of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development. Any questions may be addressed to the editor, Dominick M. Maino, OD, MEd, FAAO, FCOVD-A at dmaino@ico.edu or 312-949-7282.
About COVD
The College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD) is an international, non-profit optometric membership organization that provides education, evaluation, and board certification programs in behavioral and developmental vision care, optometric vision therapy, and visual rehabilitation. The organization is comprised of doctors of optometry, vision therapists, and other vision specialists. For more information on learning-related vision problems, optometric vision therapy, and COVD please visit www.covd.org or call 888.268.3770.
CONTACT:
Pamela R. Happ, CAE
COVD Executive Director
Phone: 888.268.3770
Email: phapp@covd.org
Website: www.covd.org
