What's New at EyeWorks

Please Note: Change in Schedule - Week of October 5, 2009

2009-09-16T18:26:00.000-04:00

EyeWorks will be closing early on Tuesday, October 6th, at 4:30 pm. We will re-open on Thursday, October 8th, at 8:30 am. Our staff will be attending a educational seminar. We serve our patients best by continuing to learn about the latest advancements in eyecare. We apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause.

Thank you for choosing EyeWorks for all of your eyecare needs!

New Names, Same Great Contacts!

2009-08-24T09:27:00.004-04:00

In recent months many contact lens manufacturers have rebranded their products. This means that many of the contacts lenses our patients wear have new names and new packaging, but are still the same great contacts! When ordering contact lenses it is important to note the following changes:

2-Clear Premiums are now Frequency 55 Aspheric
Biomedic EPs are now Proclear EP
Focus Night and Days are now Air Optix Night and Day
Focus Dailies are now Dailies Aqua Comfort Plus
Aquaclears are now Biofinity

If you have any questions or comments about these changes, please do not hesitate to call: (603) 352-7803.

Thank you for selecting EyeWorks for all of your eyecare needs!

2009-07-02T12:52:00.007-04:00

EyeWorks was voted the regions best Vision Center for the 9th consecutive year! We are honored that our patients have taken the time to vote for us and will continue our effort to provide the best eyecare available.

Thank you,
Dr. McMahon, Dr. Deviney, and the EyeWorks Team

2009-05-02T08:44:00.005-04:00

EyeWorks has been recognized as the nation's leading dispenser of Hoya premium progressive lenses. Dr McMahon and his staff are honored and proud of this recognition by an international lens manufacturer.

2009-05-01T13:17:00.002-04:00

EyeWorks is going to introduce Tag Heuer eyewear to the Monadnock Region. Tag Heuer will be the latest in designer fashion for those who want quality and style. EyeWorks will be one of a limited number of authorized distributors in the country. Please stop in and discover the distinct difference of quality eyewear from our highly trained staff.

2009-04-20T13:23:00.003-04:00

EyeWorks would like to welcome Dr Jason Deviney to the EyeWorks family. Dr Deviney will be joining us in June. He and his family will be relocating from the Houston, Texas area. Please call or stop in to schedule an appointment with Dr Deviney.

2009-03-30T09:34:00.004-04:00

Eyeworks will be celebrating Dr McMahon's 30th anniversary, with promotions and events throughout the month of April. Please go to our promotions page to see details.

Cutting-Edge Retinal Imaging Technology Now at Eyeworks

2008-11-19T10:37:00.013-05:00

Eyeworks is proud to introduce the Zeiss Meditech Cirrus OCT to our growing family of high-tech instruments.

Optical Coherence Tomography or ‘OCT’, is a way to obtain high resolution and 3D images of the different layers of the retina. Images generated with OCT technology are of significantly higher resolution than other medical imaging technologies like ultrasound and MRI.

OCT offers an invaluable tool in the early detection, treatment and prevention of many serious eye diseases, like Macular Degeneration, Glaucoma and Diabetic Retinopathy.

The Cirrus OCT uses the latest in OCT technology, Spectral Domain OCT(SD-OCT). SD-OCT offers much better image quality, accuracy and ease of testing over previously available OCT technology.

Eyeworks is proud to be the first and only eye care office in New Hampshire to have SD-OCT capability.

Poor Night Vision May Predict Age Related Macular Degeneration

2008-11-15T12:25:00.002-05:00

Researchers say poor night vision may predict AMD.

HealthDay (11/13, McKeever) reported that, according to a study published in the Nov. issue of the journal Ophthalmology, "poor night vision might be a predictor of age-related macular degeneration (AMD)." Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine gave "more than 1,000 people with early signs of AMD" a questionnaire in which respondents were asked to "rate their difficulties with night driving and low-light activities," then tracked the participants "for up to six years." The authors found those "with the worst night vision at the start were most likely to develop reduced visual acuity and one of two types of advanced AMD -- geographic atrophy (GA) or choroidal neovascularization (CNV)."

Omega 3 Fatty Acids and Eye Disease.

2008-09-22T11:32:00.003-04:00

Omega 3 Fatty Acids and Macular Degeneration

A new study shows that intake of fatty acids found in fish oil may prevent age-related macular degeneration, a deterioration of the eye's retina that can lead to blindness. People who ate fish at least once a week were 40% less likely to develop early age-related macular degeneration than those who ate fish less than once a month. Those who ate fish three times a week had a substantially lower risk of advanced macular degeneration. Researchers also noted that eating fish may halso help lower the risks of high blood pressure, diabetes & obesity. Arch Intern Med. 2006 Jul 10:166(13):1380-8.

Retinopathy Signals Increased Risk for Coronary Heart Disease Mortality

2008-08-12T09:18:00.003-04:00

Retinopathy Signals Increased Risk for Coronary Heart Disease Mortality

Retinopathy may translate to an increased risk for coronary heart disease mortality in people with and without diabetes, according to a study published online in Heart.

Researchers analyzed retinal photographs of nearly 3000 people over age 49. After 12 years, the presence of retinopathy (e.g., microaneurysms, blot- or flame-shaped hemorrhages) was associated with increased risk for CHD mortality in people with and without diabetes (adjusted hazard ratios: 2.2 and 1.3, respectively). The risk from retinopathy alone was similar to that associated with diabetes itself.

The authors note that retinopathy may be a marker of microvascular disease due to vascular endothelial dysfunction, and they conclude that direct ophthalmoscopy may help identify those at increased risk. "Such people," they write, "may benefit from a thorough cardiovascular risk assessment, lifestyle changes and better management of risk factors, and closer monitoring for CHD events."

Should Your Child Have a Comprehensive Eye Exam?

2008-08-05T14:10:00.004-04:00

Study indicates women with diabetes may have increased risk of developing primary open-angle glaucoma.

2008-07-02T15:47:00.002-04:00

HealthDay (5/2, Gordon) reported that "women with diabetes have about a 70 percent increased risk of developing...primary open-angle glaucoma," according to a study published in the journal Ophthalmology. Louis Pasquale, M.D., of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Harvard Medical School, and colleagues, examined data on "more than 76,000 women enrolled in the 20-year-long Nurses' Health Study." Joel Schuman, M.D., of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study, pointed out that "diabetes could increase the risk of glaucoma" by "causing elevation in pressure within the eye," or by "increas[ing] the susceptibility of the optic nerve to damage." In addition, neovascular glaucoma, which is "known to be directly related to diabetes," is caused by "a reduction of oxygen supply to the retina, which causes the retina to send out signals for more oxygen, and for new blood vessels to form." Therefore, Dr. Schuman emphasized that the "most important thing someone with diabetes can do to protect their eyes is to get regular eye exams."

Alternatives to LASIK may yield better results

2008-07-02T15:45:00.001-04:00

Alternatives to LASIK may also help improve vision.

The AP (4/29, Neergaard) reports that for people wary of laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK), other eye surgery alternatives, such as wavefront-guided photorefractive keratectomy (PRK), during which "a laser reshapes the cornea's surface," may help to improve vision. Conductive keratoplasty may also be used to correct "farsightedness or astigmatism by beaming radiofrequency waves around the cornea's edge." In addition, phakic intraocular lenses (hard plastic lenses) can "be implanted through a small incision in the eye, in front of the natural lens," to correct nearsightedness, while allowing patients "to retain close-up vision, too." Other options include a refractive lens exchange, during which the "patient's own lens" is replaced "with an artificial one," and intacs, corneal rings that "are transparent crescents about the thickness of a contact lens [which are] implanted to form a ring around the cornea's edge." They work by flattening "the cornea without permanently destroying tissue." The AP notes that these operations "all have their own risks," and patients should seek a "surgeon who...is qualified to evaluate [them] for all of the options, to find the best fit."

How LASIK and PRK procedures differ. Best Syndication (4/28) explained that LASIK and PRK "are types of refractive surgery" that "use an excimer laser to vaporize tiny pieces of unwanted tissue from the cornea, the front clear part of the eye." Both procedures "can improve vision only if the cause of poor vision is incorrect light refraction," such as myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), and astigmatism. During LASIK, "a thin flap is cut in the corneal surface, to expose the layer beneath. It is folded back out of the way, while" a laser "reshapes the corneal curvature." Afterwards, the "flap is folded back, and smoothed down gently. It will heal without any sutures." With PRK however, the surgeon "remove[s] surface tissue altogether, with a special instrument," and following laser treatment, inserts "a bandage contact lens." After PRK, the "eyes take longer to heal," and patients "feel more discomfort." Nevertheless, PRK "avoids all the possible complications that the LASIK flap can cause." Consumers considering these procedures should "choose a highly trained and well-experienced eye surgeon who is thorough in screening patients."

Early Screening for Amblyopia May Yield Better Treatment Outcomes

2008-07-02T15:43:00.001-04:00

Early screening for amblyopia may yield better treatment outcomes, researchers say. In continuing coverage from previous editions of First Look, MedPage Today (4/14, Smith) reported that "[s]creening infants and toddlers for amblyopia" may yield "better treatment outcomes than waiting until they are in the preschool years," according to a study published in the Apr. issue of the journal Archives of Ophthalmology. Robert Arnold, M.D., of Alaska's Ophthalmic Associates, and colleagues, "undertook a retrospective analysis of data from the Alaska Blind Child Discovery program, a charitable research effort to offer vision screening to children in both urban and rural areas of Alaska." The researchers analyzed data from "a 10-year period from Feb. 1, 1996, through Feb. 28, 2006," during which "lay screeners evaluated 21,367 children, about half of them younger than 48 months," and 6.9 percent of whom "were referred for a complete eye examination and treatment." The investigators found that youngsters "screened before the age of two" through a technique called photoscreening, "and found to have amblyopia,...had significantly better visual acuity at age six (P=0.04) than children screened later."

Retinopathy may double heart failure risk in patients with Type 2 diabetes, study indicates.

2008-07-02T15:42:00.005-04:00

In continuing coverage from a previous edition of First Look, MedWire (4/18, Wilkinson) reported that "retinopathy may double the risk for heart failure (HF) in patients with Type 2 diabetes," according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Researchers from the University of Melbourne, Australia, "studied 1,021 individuals with Type 2 diabetes from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study, all of whom had normal renal function and were free of clinical CHD or HF at baseline." According to the researchers, diabetic retinopathy...was identified in 125 (12.8 percent) participants between 1993 and 1995." Over the course of "nine years of follow-up, 106...participants experienced incident HF events, and those with retinopathy were far more likely to develop HF than those without retinopathy." The authors also found that "after controlling for common HF risk factors, individuals with retinopathy remained more than twice as likely as others to develop HF."

Researchers link infantile esotropia and developmental delays.

2008-07-02T15:40:00.000-04:00

Medical News Today (4/19) reported that ”Baies with an eye-alignment disorder called infantile esotropia have delays in motor development milestones, but development 'catches up' after corrective surgery," according to a study in the Apr. issue of the Journal of AAPOS (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus). James R. Drover, Ph.D., of the Retina Foundation of Southwest Texas, Dallas, and colleagues, "assessed developmental milestones in 161 infants with infantile esotropia, or crossed eyes."
Next, "the researchers had parents complete an infant development questionnaire before and/or after corrective surgery" that "assessed fine-motor skills (sensorimotor development)," and "large-muscle skills (gross motor development)." The investigators also examined a control "group of children with normal eye alignment." Prior to surgery, the babies "with esotropia had delays in both" sensorimotor and gross motor milestones. But, after surgery, the babies "had no delays in developmental milestones." Indeed, they "had a faster rate of sensorimotor development, suggesting that correcting their binocular vision helped their development to 'catch up' to that of normal infants."

Scientists unveil "bionic eye."

2008-07-02T15:38:00.001-04:00

Australia's The Age (4/23, Miller) reports that earlier this week, "British surgeons announced they had implanted the country's first rudimentary device in human patients using technology developed by Second Sight, a private Los Angeles-based company backed by investors and the U.S. government."

News-Medical.net (4/22) noted, "The bionic eye, which is called Argus II, works via the camera to transmit a wireless signal to an ultra-thin electronic receiver and electrode panel that are implanted in the eye and attached to the retina." In turn, the "electrodes stimulate the remaining retinal nerves, allowing a signal to be passed along the optic nerve to the brain." So far, the "trial is testing the bionic eye on people who have become blind through retinitis pigmentosa." To date, 15 patients have received "the artificial retinas as part of a three-year trial in the U.S., Mexico, and Europe."

Thanks for Making Designer Day a Success!

2008-06-27T16:07:00.003-04:00

New BU Prof Offers Hope for Alzheimer's

2008-06-26T19:26:00.007-04:00

Early detection technology could slow disease's progress

By Vicky Waltz

Photo courtesy of Lightchaser Photography

Lee E. Goldstein is on a quest to eradicate Alzheimer’s disease, and he’s racing the clock. “The disease will bankrupt the U.S. health-care system if we don’t intervene soon,” he says. “We simply won’t have the resources to handle the number of people who develop the disease.”

The key, says Goldstein — who is joining the faculty at BU’s School of Medicine in the departments of psychiatry, ophthalmology, neurology, pathology, and laboratory medicine and the College of Engineering in the department of biomedical engineering — is early detection. And based on a chance discovery, Goldstein and his colleagues are developing a laser-based diagnostic technology that will detect the disease years — and possibly decades — before the first symptoms emerge.

Goldstein, formerly an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the director of the Molecular Aging and Development Laboratory and the Center for Biomedical Metallomics at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, has brought his research team to BU to continue their work at two new state-of-the-art research facilities, one located at the BioSquare Research Park on the Medical Campus and the other at the BU Photonics Center on the Charles River Campus. Goldstein is also joining the research faculty at the Photonics Center.

Alzheimer’s disease, the leading cause of dementia and the seventh-leading cause of death in the United States in 2004, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, occurs when sticky, tangled plaques containing deposits of the protein fragment beta-amyloid build up between nerve cells in the brain. Four years ago, Goldstein and his research team determined that this amyloid protein also collects in the lens of eyes in people afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease and causes an unusual cataract that is completely different from common age-related cataracts. The findings were published in the British medical journal The Lancet.

“I was working with Alzheimer’s mice,” he says, “and I noticed they were developing dense bilateral cataracts in their eyes.” Healthy control mice, on the other hand, showed no signs of cataracts. Goldstein then looked at the eyes of people with Alzheimer’s disease and found the same cataracts. The discovery established the first evidence of Alzheimer’s-linked pathology outside the brain, and led Goldstein and his colleagues to develop a laser-based diagnostic technology that searches for amyloid protein buildup in the eyes and could aid in early detection of the disease.

“Alzheimer’s is an exceedingly slow disease that starts many years to a decade or more before the beginning of cognitive decline,” Goldstein says. “With the emerging treatments coming on line, we can beat back this disease, but only if we begin treatment early, long before the onset of clinical symptoms. If we can combine emerging new treatments with early detection, we can beat this disease and do so soon."

Goldstein hopes that in another three years or so, adults will be able to ask their physician for a laser-based molecular diagnostic screening test for Alzheimer’s disease. Six years ago, he cofounded Neuroptix Corporation, an Acton-based biotech company that is spearheading lead-edge laser technology for detection of abnormal accumulation of the beta-amyloid proteins in the lens of the eye — the same proteins that cause brain-cell death in Alzheimer’s patients — using a laser eye-scanning device and eye drops.

“Our most recent work suggests that we may be able to detect the disease at the molecular level from the earliest stages of the disease, hopefully well before the first clinical symptoms," Goldstein says. "Once you show the classic signs of Alzheimer’s — forgetfulness or disorientation — it’s the beginning of the end. That’s why early detection is so crucial. We want to stop it before it starts.”

Goldstein is also driven by personal experience with the disease and its effects: around the time he discovered the connection between Alzheimer’s and cataracts, Goldstein’s father-in-law was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a rare and particularly brutal neurodegenerative disease that affects the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain — the areas generally associated with personality and behavior.

“I’m a geriatric psychiatrist and a neuroscientist by training,” he says, “and my research is driven by a passionate desire to help my father-in-law, my patients, and my patients’ families.”

Congratulations to Stephanie Harms and Nina Dadmun on becoming ABO certified!

2008-06-19T15:31:00.008-04:00

Eyeworks is proud to announce that our own Stephanie Harms Nina Dadmun have been certified by the American Board of Opticianry based upon successful completion of the National Opticianry Competency Examination.

Eyeworks welcomes Dr. Robert Tyszko

2008-03-06T08:46:00.003-05:00

All of us here at EyeWorks are happy to welcome Dr. Robert M. Tyszko O.D. F.A.A.O. to our practice.

Dr. Tyszko received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New Hampshire in May of 1989. He received his optometry degree from the New England College of Optometry in Boston in May of 1993. He completed a Postgraduate Optometry Residency Program in Ocular Disease at the New England College of Optometry.

From July 1994 to May 1999, he was the Chief of Optometry at the
e Tuscon Area Indian Health Service.

Dr. Tyszko then served as a clinical Instructor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine,

from April 1998 to September of 2001 before returning to New Hampshire

in private practice.From 2004 to 2006 he was mobilized for Operation
Enduring Freedom and served at Ft. Benning, GA. While serving at Ft Benning's Martin Army Community Hospitalhe was the Executive Officer of the Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic as well as Director ofOptometric Clinical Education. He is currently in private practice, serves the NH Army National Guard and is a consultant at the VA
Optometry Clinic in Manchester, NH. he was the Executive Officer
of the Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic as well as Director of
Optometric Clinical Education. He is currently in private practice,
serves the the NH Army National Guard and is a consultant at the VA
Optometry Clinic in Manchester, NH

Dr. Tyszko currently holds optometry licenses in New Hampshire,
Arizona, Massachusetts and Georgia, and has published numerous
scholarly articles in the following journals: International Congress of Eye Research, Investigative Ophthalmology, Optometry and Vision Science, Journal of the American Optometric Association, The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Optical Society of America, and the Southern Journal of Optometry. Dr. Tyszko lives with his wife in Milford, New Hampshire and enjoys
exercise and competitive cycling.

Eyeworks joins the Vision Source Network

2008-03-03T13:14:00.000-05:00

Eyeworks joins Vision Source , North America's number one network of private practice optometrists.

Each Vision Source office is independently owned and operated by a doctor of optometry dedicated to providing you and your family with the best in eye health care.

Comprehensive Eye Examinations

Diagnosis and Treatment of Eye Disease

Vision Correction with Eyeglasses and Contact Lenses.
See http://visionsource.com/vs/about.asp for more details.

Staff at Eyeworks Upgrades Certifications

2008-03-03T13:11:00.003-05:00

In October of 2007, three Eyeworks employees upgraded their certification to improve patient care. The American Optometric Association Paraooptometric Program offered continuing education certifications to the following based upon sucessfully completing a three hour examination.
Candidates must demonstrate knowledge of ocular anatomy and physiology, optics, patient care, binocularity, ocular pathology, ophthalmic dispensing, and soft contact lens wear and care, common eye disorders and pharmacology in order to acheive certification.

• Matt Johnson is now a Certified Paraoptometric

• Carrie Smith is now a Certified Paraoptometric Assistant, the second level in the process.

• Jessica Brooks, currently a Certified Paraoptometric Assistant, has passed the first phase towards certification as a Certified Paraoptometric Technician, the highest level of certification available. There are currently only three in the state of New Hampshire.

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