Jennifer Viscusi, OD is a Chairperson for the Washington Crossing Daughters of the American Revolution.  On October 9^th, Dr. Viscusi was the presenter of the Outstanding Junior Member Certificate at the David Library of the American Revolution in Washington Crossing.  All women 18 years or older are eligible for membership in the DAR if they can document lineal descent from a man or woman who served during the American Revolutionary War, in a military, civil or patriotic capacity. 

As of December 2, 2010, MEA will be giving our patients the chance to rate their doctor and experience at our offices.  Please make sure we have your email address.  After every appointment we will send you a link, and you can anonymously rate your experience at MEA.  Questions inquire about your experience with our receptionists, making your appointment, our technicians, our billing department, as well as your doctor's explanation of medical procedures and diagnosis.  Customer satisfaction is our goal and your input is very important to us.  We look forward to providing our patients with the very best in eye health from the very moment you contact us.  

Cynthia Matossian, MD

Any woman thinking about having gastric bypass surgery before having a child needs to plan ahead to safeguard her unborn childs vision.  Recently an Australian ophthalmologist documented a case of a woman who underwent biliopancreatic diversion surgery for obesity then 7 years later gave birth to a child who had significant eye malformations and blindness.  In her first trimester, the mother was diagnosed with night blindness and severe vitamin A deficiency.  Her baby was found to have the same lack of vitamin A shortly after birth.  The child's eyes were severely malformed and even with surgical intervention and vitamin A treatment, the vision remains poor.  According to David Hunter, MD, Ph.D, It is important for any woman who has had this form of gastric bypass surgery to be checked for vitamin deficiency ”and have it corrected” before considering having a baby.

Jennifer Viscusi, O.D.

Omega-3 supplements are believed useful in Dry Eye patients and those with Macular Degeneration.

Widely available over the counter, omega-3 fatty acids are commonly found in a gel capsule and are usually provided in an ethyl ester form instead of their naturally occurring triglyceride form.  This ethyl ester form is easier to work with during industry processing and distillation to remove contaminants and impurities. Unfortunately, the bioavailability of ethyl ester form is reduced to as low as 20% (up to 60% with a high-fat meal).  This compares poorly with the triglyceride form's absorption of 69% (increasing to 90% with a high-fat meal).  This increased bioavailability results in 50% more plasma EPA and DHA when the acids are administered as a triglyceride rather than an ethyl ester.

MEA has available Omega-3 supplements available designed specifically for Dry Eye and Macular Degeneration.  Both are in the preferred TG (triglyceride) form.

Michael Starrels, MD

About 1 in 8 people without diabetes show signs of retinopathy and these appear to be associated with cardiovascular risk factors, researchers report in a November 3rd paper in Ophthalmology.

There was a strong association with hypertension (odds ratio 1.47).  After adjustment for age and other factors, this was also the case for smoking (odds ratio, 1.50) and increased carotid intima thickness (odds ratio, 1.22).

According to Dr. Wong, "We do not know if we need to do anything about this, as there are no data to show that these retinopathy signs progress to vision-threatening stages.  However, controlling blood pressure and vascular risk factors may reverse retinopathy."

Michael Starrels, MD