Smart Medicine For Your Eyes:

The Role of Nutraceuticals in the Primary Eyecare Practice

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A three-hour discussion on the latest Advances in Diagnosing and treating eye disease

 I.                    What is Integrative Medicine?

a.      Principles of Integrative Medicine

b.      How does this fit with Optometry?

 

II.                 Nutraceuticals

a.      What is a Nutraceutical?

b.      Herbal Supplements

c.      Visual Impairments

d.      Diseases and Nutraceuticals

                                                               i.      Dry Eye Syndrome

                                                             ii.      Macular Degeneration

                                                            iii.      Cataracts

 

III.               Incidence of Dry Eye Syndrome (DES) in the general population

 

IV.              Why should Optometrists be concerned about DES?

a.      Frequent complaint

b.      Contact lens related

c.      Computer usage

 

V.                 Differentiation of DES vs. Allergy

 

VI.              Causes of DES

a.      Computer Vision Syndrome

b.      Working Environment

c.      Age/Sex

d.      Contact Lenses

e.      Medications- systemic and ocular

f.        Chronic diseases

 

VII.            Tear Film Biochemistry

 

VIII.         Testing for DES

a.      TBUT

b.      Shirmer’s

c.      Zone Quick

d.      Blink Rate

e.      Rose Bengal

f.        Lissamine Green

g.      Micro-assay

h.      Tear Protein

i.        IgE

 

IX.              Tear BUT and Blink Rate

a.      Maintain integrity of tear film

b.      Decreased blink rate

c.      Staining methods

 

X.                 Traditional DES therapy

a.      Artificial tears

b.      Punctual plugs

c.      Lipid layer dysfunction

d.      Epithelial surface

 

XI.              New Developments in Treatment

a.      Anti-evaporatives

b.      Seretagogues

c.      Micromimetics

d.      Anti-inflammatories / Immunosuppressants

e.      Homeopathics

f.        Oral Nutraceuticals

g.      Autologous serum tears

 

XII.            Nutritional Support and Herbals

 

XIII.         Treatment Options- Overview

a.      Type of Product

b.      Action

c.      Cost

d.      Effectiveness

 

XIV.         Overview of Macular Degeneration

a.      Demographics of the condition

b.      Types of ARMD

c.      Predisposing Factors

d.      Progression of AMD

e.      Blue light controversy

 

XV.           Traditional Medical Treatments

a.      Amsler Grid- not a treatment

b.      Visudyne

c.      Macugen

d.      Retaane

e.      Radiation

f.        Laser

g.      Rheophoresis

 

XVI.         Recent Nutritional Research

a.      The AREDS Study

b.      The LAST Study

c.      Homocysteine Study

d.      Carotenoid Studies

e.      Phototrope Study

 

XVII.      Cataracts

a.      Definition

b.      Lens nutrients

c.      N-acetylcarnosine

d.      Homeopathic

 

XVIII.    Latest Advances in Nutritional Treatments

a.      Macula Complete

b.      Zinc

c.      Specific vitamins

d.      Bioflavonoids

e.      Bilberry

f.        Antioxidants

g.      Multiple vitamins and minerals