Experimental procedure treats keratoconus, ectasia.

Keratoconus is a disorder where the cornea becomes abnormally thin in places. The cornea then develops an irregular curvature because it bulges out in those thin spots. The underlying cause is probably an increased amount of an enzyme which breaks down the crosslinks between collagen, an elastic molecule that helps hold the corneal shape. In early keratoconus, the vision is corrected with standard contacts and glasses. As the disease progresses, specially designed rigid lenses are used to correct the vision, but they do not halt or slow disease progression. Advanced keratoconus (either the cornea is too irregular to fit with specially designed contacts or it is scarred to the point functional vision is no longer possible) is a significant reason for corneal transplant. While corneal transplants do result in a clear cornea, they aren't a perfect solution. The recipient is on drops to prevent graft rejection for a long time and sometimes high amounts of astigmatism post-surgery. Having a treatment earlier in the disease process would be a huge improvement.

On its website, WLS-TV Chicago (2/25), an ABC affiliate, reported that "corneal collagen crosslinking with Riboflavin (CXL) is an experimental treatment for...keratoconus and ectasia. Currently, the conditions have no medical treatment and are responsible for 15 percent of corneal transplants in the United States." The "CXL treatment works by increasing collagen crosslinking in the cornea. The crosslinks are responsible for maintaining the cornea's round shape." In a procedure performed "in the doctor's office and" lasting "only a half hour," the corneal epithelium is first removed. Next, "vitamin B, or riboflavin, drops saturate the eye, which is then exposed to ultraviolet light." The "reaction between the ultraviolet light and the riboflavin...links the collagen molecules in the cornea, and in doing so, makes it stiffer than it otherwise would be," thereby helping to alleviate the two conditions. According to WLS-TV, "preliminary results have shown CXL effectively stabilizes eyes."

Report indicates uninsured may suffer poorer health outcomes.

Another tidbit of the "Really...You don't say?!" category.

WebMD (2/24, Zwillich) reported, "The Institute of Medicine (IOM) says its latest report shows overwhelming evidence that a lack of health insurance has direct health effects on children and adults." The report "lays out broad evidence that people without insurance suffer worse health outcomes and tend to die more quickly than similar people with coverage." For instance, according to the report, "uninsured adults with heart failure or who suffer a heart attack are more likely to die than comparable patients with coverage." The report also indicates that "widespread lack of insurance may even have a negative effect on the access to healthcare of fully-insured people," because "health providers tend to focus their attention on 'well-capitalized' areas." And, "as the number of uninsured rise, providers may take flight, leaving insured and uninsured alike without easy access to service."

Modern Healthcare (2/24, Vesely) added that the IOM urged "Congress and the Obama administration...to act by next year to solve the crisis of the uninsured." The report notes that "safety net services aren't enough to prevent avoidable illnesses and premature deaths."

Lions on YouTube and MySpace, Oh My!

From the January/February 2009 Border Crossing

On June 30, 2008, LCI launched it's YouTube channel with the banner slogan "We Give..We Share...We Inspire...We Serve!" This service uses video clips from the Lions Quarterly Journal to show the "YouTube Generation" just how cool it is to serve the world as Lions, and invites "YouTubers" to respond with their channel comments and with comments on the various videos. And respond they have! The Lions channel has 30,000 channel views, over a thousand friends and some five hundred subscribers. As it happens, MD19 is well represented in this outreach effort. The LQ Christmas Ship video is the fifth most watched on the web site. Visit www.youtube.com/lionsclub.org.

MySpace offers LCI a somewhat broader pallet with which to paint a picture of Lions activities across the world. There is space set aside to promote our relationship with other nonprofits, such as the Special Olympics, Habitat for humanity, and the Carter Center. We also find out the LCI's official zodiac sign is a Gemini. Did not know that? There is also a Lions Blog page where LCI announces breaking events. At the beginning of last December--yes, you guessed it!--the LQ Christmas Ship video was the featured blog entry. My space offers many different kinds of spaces in which to operate and, thus far, LCI has exploited only a few. So in the future, look for an even greater presence on MySpace, perhaps in the photo and video gallery sections, and on the events on the forums pages. Visit www.myspace.com/lionsclubsorg.

LCI is also on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lions-Clubs-International/27922222491

One Dedicated Tooth Lady!

Our program today was presented by Christie W. Christie came to talk to our club about dental access in Kittitas County. I wanted to take a minute to talk about Christie, because her level of dedication is pretty amazing.

Christie initially trained to be a dental hygienist. Shortly before she completed hygiene school, she was involved in an accident that severed a nerve in one of her hands. It was a career-ending injury, but she did not let it end her involvement in the dental field.

She was hired on by the county health department to find ways to get clients covered by DSHS in to see dentists or hygienists (patients had coverage for services, but few or no providers would accept DSHS). Christie has helped to coordinate numerous temporary dental hygiene clinics to provide access for local DSHS patients, she has trained middle school students to be "oral health ambassadors" for their schools, has helped incorporate fluoride application by nurses into regular pediatrician visits, increased communication between OBs and hygienists (did you know gum disease is a risk factor for preterm birth???), and helped facilitate dental care for special needs children.

Perhaps most amazing--and truly a marker of her commitment--is that budget cuts resulted in her losing her job at the county health department a few months ago, and she is still coordinating dental hygiene clinics on a volunteer basis. The next one is scheduled in March!

Christie--we may not be in a position to financially contribute to your endeavors, but kudos are free. Thank you for a great presentation today, and thank you for all that you have done for our community :)

February 24, 2009 Agenda

Call to Order – Lion President Sarah Storrs
Flag Salute – Lion Byron Thomas
Invocation – Lion Mark Grassel
Introductions & Tail Twisting – Lion Bob Titus
Approval of February 10th Minutes –Lion Dick Wedin

Treasurer’s Report – Lion Dick Wedin
· Dues Account & Project Account balances
· Outstanding Eye Care Applications

Old Business

VIC Grant Endorsement – Lion Sarah Storrs
· Email vote 2/18/2009
· Motion made by S. Storrs, 2nd by D. Wedin; passed unanimously

LHSU – date assigned 10/16/2009 (Friday); Following Saturday is open

M&M Membership Recruitment Program – Lion Sarah Storrs
· m&m cupcakes for dessert!

Zone Meeting – Wednesday, February 25th in Naches, 6:30 pm

District 19 F Spring Conference
· Club asked to host booth/fundraiser – Fishing Game??? (estimated cost $15-$20)

New Business

Hearing Aid Application
· Estimated cost to club $150-$300; pt can be asked for co-payment of up to $100

Speaker – Christie Waddington, Dental Access in KC

Adjourn

Rise in blood sugar levels may cause poorer brain function in people with type 2 diabetes, study suggests.

HealthDay (2/19, Preidt) reported, "A rise in blood sugar levels causes poorer brain function in people with type 2 diabetes, according to a study" published in the February issue of Diabetes Care "that included nearly 3,000 people aged 55 and older." The subjects, "who were part of a larger study on cardiovascular risk in diabetes, underwent cognitive tests designed to measure several aspects of memory function." Dr. Jeff Williamson, of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, and colleagues, "found that a one percent increase in A1C levels (average blood glucose levels over a period of two to three months) was associated with slightly lower scores on tests of psychomotor speed, global cognitive function, memory and multi-tasking."

This brings up the whole "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" line of questioning. In my experience with diabetics, it seems like the people who have the worst complications (which is almost always associated with the higher hemoglobin A1c levels) are the ones who just don't seem to "get" it. They typically are some of my the most "non-compliant" patients--resistant to making necessary lifestyle changes to control the diabetes and even to getting treatment. I would argue some of this resistance could be related to lower cognitive function. But do diabetics with complications as a whole innately have lower cognitive function? If they were tested before the diabetes was out of control, would they still score lower on these tests? Is lower cognitive function possibly part of the reason why these patients have difficulty controlling blood sugar in the first place???

Researchers say vision problems may be common among children who already have sensorineural hearing loss.

MedPage Today (2/16, Phend) reported that, according to a study published in the Feb. issue of the Archives of Otolaryngology -- Head & Neck Surgery, "vision problems are common among children who already have sensorineural hearing loss." During their "retrospective medical record review" of "226 children ages 18 and younger with sensorineural hearing loss and ophthalmologic evaluation...from 2000 through 2007," David H. Chi, M.D., of the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, and colleagues found that "the occurrence of ophthalmologic findings in children with sensorineural hearing loss was 21.7 percent, including refractive problems in 10.2 percent of the children and non-refractive abnormalities in 12.8 percent." Therefore, the authors "recommended routine ophthalmologic examination for all children with sensorineural hearing loss in order to make an early diagnosis and start interventions to maximize visual acuity." Medscape (2/16, Barclay) also covered the story.

Membership & Me

We will be talking about an exciting new program at tomorrow's meeting. Chocolate is involved!

February 10th Minutes

Attendance: Bob, Dick, Byron, Liz, Cindy & Sarah

Call to Order – Lion President Sarah Storrs
Flag Salute – Lion Cindy Preston
Invocation – Lion Liz Whitaker
Introductions & Tail Twisting – Lion Bob Titus
Approval of February 10 Minutes –Lion Dick Wedin: Moved & approved.
Treasurer’s Report – Lion Dick Wedin
· 2009 Budget handed out.
· February Financial Summary handed out.
· Outstanding Eye Care Applications: 0

Old Business

Committee Reports
1. Mint Sales: Lion Byron Thomas.
Sales continuing. Will submit income at next meeting.
2. Cub Scout Den 480: Lion Byron Thomas.
Pine Wood Derby to be held in March.
3. Ronald McDonald House Pull-Tab Collection: Lion Sarah Storrs.
Continuing to collect tabs. Sarah handed out brochures.
4. Sight & Hearing Committee: Lion Sarah Storrs
No applications.
5. Lions Health Screening Unit for Schools– Fall 2009: Lion Liz Whitaker
· Committee: Liz, Doug, Dick, Bob T, Wayne
· Fall schedule for LHSU not complete—should know by 1st week of March

White Cane Days: Lion Doug Ryder
· Official date May 1-2

Ellensburg Charm Trail & “Zone F-1 Pride” T-Shirts: Lion Sarah Storrs
· Charm sales: 45
· T-shirt Sales: 17 (2 donations)
· T-shirt Brochure/Order Form – Done, 32 mailed out to 1/31/09

Red Cross Volunteers: Lion Sarah Storrs
· Spoke with Red Cross staff member 1/30/09; waiting for local director to call & go over details (some “emergency preparedness” type classes are required).
On hold until further notice from Sarah.

Road Signs: Lion Bob Titus
Our sign will be replaced when City places and received their bulk order from Dept of Corrections.

New Business

VIC Grant Application from Lions Northwest Foundation – Lion Byron Thomas
Grant of $10,000 available, need sponsoring Lions Club. There is an $800 payment due "if the club is financially able" on application. Discussion included the Ellensburg Lions Club the sole sponsoring club but need further information on the $800 application since financial coffers of club is already committed. Byron will contact and clarify the clubs obligation of sponsoring the grant.

M&M Recruitment Program – Lion Sarah Storrs
· Stands for “Membership & Me”
· Competition runs through April 30
· Chocolate is involved

Hearing Aid Donation: Lion Sarah Storrs
· Lions Northwest Foundation for Sight & Hearing will send receipts for tax purposes
· Idea: put together “packets” to take to all local audiology/hearing aid centers (forms for donor to fill out, zip lock bags, and Ellensburg Lions Club contact information).

Zone Meeting: Lion Sarah Storrs
· Wednesday, Feb 25th, 6:30 pm
· Naches Sunshine Hosting, Dinner $8.00

District F Conference: Lion Sarah Storrs
· Registration deadline 3/6/09
· Raffle Ticket Sales
· Web page contest

Adjourn

District 19 F Spring Conference Raffle

Raffle tickets for the Spring Conference are $5 each. The prize is a Visa Check Card for the 5-day Western Canada Experience train trip aboard The Rocky Mountaineer. If you would like to purchase tickets, contact Lion Sarah Storrs.

Scientist creates inexpensive, self-adjusting eyeglasses.

The Chicago Tribune (2/3, Goering) reports that "eyeglasses using [a] simple, self-adjusting technology are now poised to revolutionize the way the world's poor -- and quite possibly the rest of us -- see, potentially coming to the aid of billions who struggle to squint enough to farm, study, drive or hold down any job." Joshua Silver, an Oxford University atomic physicist, "was fiddling around one day with a cheap water-filled lens he'd built...when he noticed" that "by adding or removing water he could not only change the power of the lens...but he also could use it to very accurately correct his own nearsightedness when he looked through it." Silver "hopes to find funding to distribute a billion pairs to people around the world too poor to afford glasses or living in places like sub-Saharan Africa, where the ratio of opticians to residents is purportedly one to one million." Thus far, he "has...turned out about 30,000 pairs of the cheap glasses."

Interesting concept. Of course, new lenses would be necessary in the case of scratches, broken glasses, and if a person needed bifocals. I had read about this once before--the lenses can only correct for near or far-sightedness, not astigmatism.