FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LOCAL OPTOMETRIST HEADS NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE STUDY

Elkins Park PA, October 13, 2008 – Convergence insufficiency (CI) is a common childhood eye muscle coordination problem that can affect a child’s academic performance and self-esteem. For words on a page to appear in focus, a child eyes must turn inward, or converge. In CI, the eyes do not converge easily and, as a result, additional muscular effort must be used to make the eyes turn in. One in every twenty school children is affected by convergence insufficiency and symptoms may include loss of place, loss of concentration, reading slowly, eyestrain, headaches, blurry vision and double vision.

A recent national study led by Dr. Mitchell Scheiman of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) at Salus University has concluded that office-based vision therapy coupled with at-home reinforcement is more effective than the home based therapy that has been prescribed until now by the majority of eye care professionals. The National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, funded the study, known as the Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Trial (CITT). A team of more than 63 optometrists and ophthalmologists from five colleges of optometry, the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute and the Mayo Clinic participated in the study, led by Mitchell Scheiman, O.D.. Dr. Scheiman is Chief of the Pediatric Service at The Eye Institute, PCO’s clinical facility, in the Oak Lane section of Philadelphia.

Study results, released in the October 13 issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, show that approximately 75 percent of those children who received in-office vision therapy plus at-home treatment reported fewer and less severe symptoms related to reading and other near work.

“There are no visible signs of this condition. It can be detected and diagnosed only during an eye examination,” said Dr. Scheiman. “This study shows that once diagnosed, CI can be successfully treated with office-based vision therapy by a trained therapist, along with at-home reinforcement. This is very encouraging news for parents, educators and anyone who may know a child diagnosed with CI.”

The CITT, which included 221 children age 9 to 17, is the first to compare three forms of vision therapy and a placebo therapy option. The first group used the current treatment standard known as home-based pencil push-up therapy, an exercise in which patients visually follow a small letter on pencil as they move the pencil closer to the bridge of their nose, with the goal of keeping the letter clear and single, stopping if it becomes double. The second group used home-based pencil push-ups with additional computer vision therapy. The third group attended weekly hour-long sessions of office-based vision therapy with a trained therapist and performed at-home reinforcement exercises. The final group was given placebo vision activities designed to simulate office-based therapy.

A 12- month follow up study is being conducted to examine the long-term effects of these convergence insufficiency treatments. For further information about convergence insufficiency or the study, please contact The Eye Institute, Karen Pollack, CITT Study Coordinator, 215 276-6021 or mscheiman@salus.edu.

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Salus University was established in July 2008 by the Pennsylvania College of Optometry(PCO), which remains the University’s founding College. In addition to PCO, the University consists of the George S. Osborne College of Audiology, the College of Education and Rehabilitation and the College of Health Sciences.