Summit to Examine Vision Loss Due to Age-Related Eye Diseases

Newswise — Every 11 minutes, someone in the United States goes blind, caused mainly by age-related eye diseases, according to Prevent Blindness America.

With 12,000 Ohioans turning 60 every month, the number of people with impaired vision—including blindness—could skyrocket. Vision impairment is one of the most feared disabilities. Although it is believed that half of all blindness can be prevented, the number of people in America who suffer from vision loss continues to increase. Leaders in vision health will gather for The Aging Eye: Today’s Treatments-Tomorrow’s Hope summit on April 24, 2013, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. The goal is to slow vision loss through public and professional education, early detection and treatment.

The meeting, which is open to the public, will address age-related eye diseases, including: • The status, latest research and treatment of age-related macular degeneration, cataract, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma;• Public health perspectives and resources to help patients and clients.

Top vision researchers and clinicians will present information to public health and rehabilitation professionals, patients and caregivers, aging network professionals, vision researchers, clinicians, occupational therapists, students and others. Continuing education units will be available.

Prevent Blindness America found an alarming increase in vision loss in Ohio in its report, 2012 Vision Problems in the U.S.—Prevalence of Adult Vision Impairment and Age- Related Eye Diseases in America. According to the report, which compared data from 2000: • 88,546 people age 50 and older have age-related macular degeneration, a 25 percent increase;• 991,628 people age 40 and older have cataracts, a 13 percent increase;• 105, 889 people age 40 and older have open-angle glaucoma, a 15 percent increase;• 284,631 people age 40 and older have diabetic retinopathy, a 31 percent increase.

And, as the baby boomer generation ages, the number of Ohio seniors affected by age-related eye diseases is expected to double in the next 20 years, according to “Vision Problems in the U.S.”

Seating is limited to the first 130 registrants. Registration and lunch are complimentary. To register and for more information about The Aging Eye: Today’s Treatment-Tomorrow’s Hope visit: http://www.preventblindness.net/ohiosummit.

The summit is hosted by Ohio’s Aging Eye Public/Partnership, Prevent Blindness Ohio, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine’s Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, and University Hospitals Eye Institute.

###

Ohio’s Aging Eye Public Private Partnership (AEPPP) is a statewide collaboration that addresses the growth aging eye challenges in Ohio. The mission of the AEPPP, an initiative supported by the Ohio Department of Aging, is to develop a strategic plan of action to address issues relating to vision care public policy, vision care services, vision education, and vision research that impact the quality of life for Ohio's seniors now and in the future.

About Prevent Blindness OhioPrevent Blindness Ohio, founded in 1957, is Ohio’s leading volunteer nonprofit public health organization dedicated to prevent blindness and preserve sight. We serve all 88 Ohio counties, providing direct services to more than 800,000 Ohioans annually and educating millions of consumers about what they can do to protect and preserve their precious gift of sight. Prevent Blindness Ohio is an affiliate of Prevent Blindness America, the country’s second-oldest national voluntary health organization. For more information or to make a donation call 800-301-2020. Visit us on the web at www.pbohio.org or follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pbohio and Twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/PB_Ohio.

About Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Founded in 1843, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine is the largest medical research institution in Ohio and is among the nation’s top medical schools for research funding from the National Institutes of Health. The School of Medicine is recognized throughout the international medical community for outstanding achievements in teaching. The School’s innovative and pioneering Western Reserve2 curriculum interweaves four themes--research and scholarship, clinical mastery, leadership, and civic professionalism--to prepare students for the practice of evidence-based medicine in the rapidly changing health care environment of the 21st century. Nine Nobel Laureates have been affiliated with the School of Medicine.

Annually, the School of Medicine trains more than 800 MD and MD/PhD students and ranks in the top 25 among U.S. research-oriented medical schools as designated by U.S. News & World Report’s “Guide to Graduate Education.”

The School of Medicine’s primary affiliate is University Hospitals Case Medical Center and is additionally affiliated with MetroHealth Medical Center, the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and the Cleveland Clinic, with which it established the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University in 2002. http://casemed.case.edu

About University HospitalsUniversity Hospitals serves the needs of patients through an integrated network of hospitals, outpatient centers and primary care physicians. At the core of our health system is University Hospitals Case Medical Center. The primary affiliate of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, University Hospitals Case Medical Center is home to some of the most prestigious clinical and research centers of excellence in the nation and the world, including cancer, pediatrics, women's health, orthopedics and spine, radiology and radiation oncology, neurosurgery and neuroscience, cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, organ transplantation and human genetics. Its main campus includes the internationally celebrated UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, ranked among the top children’s hospitals in the nation; UH MacDonald Women's Hospital, Ohio's only hospital for women; and UH Seidman Cancer Center, part of the NCI-designated Case Comprehensive Cancer Center at Case Western Reserve University. University Hospitals Case Medical Center is the 2012 recipient of the American Hospital Association – McKesson Quest for Quality Prize for its leadership and innovation in quality improvement and safety.For more information, go to www.uhhospitals.org