The following official statement was received from Claudette Medefindt from Retina South Africa (a member organisation of Council):

The X-Cell clinic in Germany has been closed down by the German Authorities and the centre has filed for bankruptcy. Retina South Africa has welcomed the news with great relief.

Retina South Africa's Director for Science, Claudette Medefindt, says “ The experimental procedures they were using were not backed up with any clinical trials or even papers published in any reputable scientific journals.” Desperate patients waiting for therapy often resort to unproven methods, but the use of autologous stem cells that have already specialised have potential dangers. Unrestricted cell growth could lead to tumours and many other complications.

“The therapeutic use of stem cells to treat retinal vision loss has tremendous potential, but proper scientifically controlled and registered treatment trials are only just beginning. Retina South Africa is in contact with all the role players in the international research arena and urges retinal patients to check with them before embarking on any unregistered and experimental procedures”

Young patients are urged to join the organisation and have a genetic test to determine which gene mutation they have. Only patients with a genetic diagnosis will be eligible for future gene specific treatments and clinical trials.

Contact Claudette via email or or phone her on 083 306-5262 or see the Retina ENews that features promising research and treatment trials on Retina South Africa's website.

Dr. Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD, is a licensed VSP Vision Care provider based in Tampa, Florida specializing in children’s vision, computer vision, and orthokeratology. You can visit his blog here and follow him on Twitter here

In attempting to sum up the world in 2010, one word comes to mind: connected. Everywhere we go we carry devices that keep us connected to something important to us. Be it a sleek new tablet letting you share photos with the person helping load your groceries, or a smartphone making sure you don’t miss that late night e-mail from a colleague; we are now constantly connected to the world around us, more than ever before.

We’ve become dependent on these digital devices to survive both professionally and personally, and with the holiday season now upon us and digital devices topping most of our gift wish lists, the amount of time we spend with these gadgets will only increase. Yet many of us forget to consider two devices we are naturally equipped with that keep us more connected to the world than anything else: our eyes. Consumers often don’t think about the impact digital devices might have on their vision, and it can be to the detriment of not just their health, but also productivity.

In an effort to help consumers keep their eye health in mind this winter while enjoying these amazing products, mashable.com has put together five tips for creating a vision-healthy environment for digital device usage.
1. Customize Your Environment
You can adjust your environment when using digital devices to promote healthier eyes. If possible, use a large monitor or screen magnifier to reduce eye strain. Make sure your chair is close to your computer and you are sitting in a chair with adequate lower-back support. Position your chair so that you are comfortable.

Each person has a preference for his or her chair, so take some time to find what’s best for you. Making sure you’re comfortable before you start using a device will decrease the amount of stress you put on your eyes trying to find the best viewing angle.

2. Think About Lighting
For extended reading, change your monitor settings to a reflective lighting scheme. But don’t only think about your computer lighting.

Good room lighting isn’t just flattering. It’s also healthy for your eyes. So, keep bright lighting overhead to a minimum. Too much lighting overexposes and irritates the eyes, while too little causes the eyes to strain in order to see. Keep your desk lamp shining on your desk, not you. Try to keep window light off to the side, rather than in front or behind you. Use blinds and get a glare screen. Position the computer screen to reduce reflections from windows or overhead lights.

3. Adjust Your Reading Angle
Adjust the screen so you look at it slightly downward and are about 24 to 28 inches away. The center should be about 4 to 6 inches below your eyes. Also, make sure your screen is big enough and with just the right brightness and contrast so you’re not straining to see text or images clearly. Adjust the screen settings to where they are comfortable for you.

4. Magnify Text on Screen
For those with permanently reduced vision, magnifying the text and images on your device will help you avoid straining your eyes from squinting. Almost every device can be adjusted to display larger text, and for those with compromised vision, this can make reading much easier.

5. Blink and Take Frequent Breaks
Devices are set up for virtually nonstop work — but you aren’t a machine. You need to take breaks to recharge, and so do your eyes. Use the “20-20-20 rule.” It’s easy to remember: every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break, and look at something 20 feet away. And don’t forget to blink! Blinking washes your eyes in naturally therapeutic tears. If you regularly wear glasses, also make sure you have proper lenses for the computer.

Follow the above tips, and you can enjoy your slick new technology without worrying about consequences to your eye health, productivity and overall peace of mind.

Source: http://mashable.com/

Many people believe that vision will gradually deteriorate as the human body ages. This can be justified by the increasing strength of one’s prescription eyeglass lenses. Entering your 40s or 50s, it is very likely for you to suffer presbyopia. This is a natural reaction to the loss of flexibility of the natural eye lens. It is true that prescription eyeglasses can help in providing normal vision as long as they stay on the face. However, these devices never improve the eye’s ability to see. The effect of vision correction is absolutely temporary.

There are also thousands of individuals who are interested in eye surgical solutions. This option is really widely expected to gain permanent visual restoration. However, there are still some economic and complication-associated concerns among the patients. Why not to consider the solution of natural eyesight improvement through eye exercises?

Both leg muscles and arm muscles can benefit from sports such as basketball and football. Similarly, the eye muscles are believed to get contribution from eye exercises. This seems quite natural and reasonable, even though there are many people who do not accept it. The key point of doing eye exercises is relaxation. There are lots of eye doctors who believe that poor vision is mainly caused by body tension especially eye strain. Eye exercises targeting at the bony structure under the eyebrows and below the eyes are effective in easing tense eye muscles. A simple form of eye exercise is to rotate the eyes in a circular motion and then look up and down and to the right and left.

Even frequent blinking is thought to be a part of eye exercise because it helps the eyes maintain moist and wash away dirt. Eye blinking is especially important for computer users who usually stare at the monitor for long hours.

This group of people should take frequent breaks and look far and near. An easy eye exercise for them is holding an object in front of the nose six itches away. Study its shape and then look out of the window at the trees or buildings.

A natural herbal remedy, St John's Wort has long been used to treat depression, stress and anxiety in place of prescription drugs such as Prozac. But how safe is it?

According to recent medical studies people who take the remedy may experience increased sensitivity to sunlight, which could increase the risk of cataract formation.

Users need to be aware of the risk, and to ensure good quality sunglasses are worn during exposure to sunlight, to combat the effects.