A recent global Geographic Atrophy Insights Survey (GAINS) of 203 adults with GA found the condition causes a profound emotional burden and loss of independence. Key highlights from the survey include:
• Three out of four people attributed their loss of vision to a natural part of aging prior to diagnosis.
• A majority feel the disease has negatively impacted aspects of everyday life such as the ability to drive, read and travel.
• Nearly 70% of people with GA believe the loss of independence and impact on quality of life due to their vision loss is worse than they expected.
More than 90% of patients wish to be empowered with more information to help them take control of their disease. These findings underscore the urgent need for education to prepare patients and their loved ones for this debilitating disease.
On Wednesday, May 18, Dr. Nancy Holekamp, Director of Retina Services at the Pepose Vision Institute, Missouri will be available to discuss the GAINS survey, including common misconceptions and the emotional burden and loss of independence that can be caused by GA.
. Interview courtesy: Apelllis Pharmaceuticals

NEW SURVEY IS SHEDDING LIGHT ON THE EMOTIONAL BURDEN & IMPACT ON INDEPENDENCE AMONG THOSE WITH A LEADING CAUSE OF BLINDNESS – CALLED GEOGRAPHIC ATROPHY OR G-A. G-A IS THE ADVANCED FORM OF AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION OR A-M-D WHICH CAN CAUSE IRREVERSIBLE VISION LOSS.

RESULTS FROM A GLOBAL SURVEY FOUND THAT 7 IN 10 ADULTS WITH G-A BELIEVE THE IMPACT ON THEIR INDEPENDENE AND QUALITY OF LIFE DUE TO THEIR VISUAL DECLINE IS WORSE THAN THEY EXPECTED.

DISCUSS THE SURVEY RESULTS AND THE NEED FOR EDUCATION SURROUNDING THE DISEASE IS DR. NANCY HOLEKAMP (NAN-CEE HOLE-CAMP), DIRECTOR OF RETINA SERVICES AT THE PEPOSE VISION INSTITUTE, MISSOURI.

Dr. Nancy Holekamp, Director of Retina Services at the Pepose Vision Institute, St. Louis, Missouri
Dr. Nancy M. Holekamp is Director of Retina Services at the Pepose Vision Institute in St. Louis. She was previously Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Holekamp received her undergraduate Bachelor of Arts degree from Wellesley College Summa cum Laude. She received her Medical Degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Alpha Omega Alpha. Dr. Holekamp completed an internship in internal medicine and a residency in ophthalmology at the Washington University School of Medicine. Her fellowship training in vitreoretinal surgery was with the Retina Consultants in St. Louis.

Dr. Holekamp is actively involved in clinical research, having been principal investigator or sub-investigator in over 35 national clinical trials dealing with age-related macular degeneration, retinal vascular occlusion, and diabetic retinopathy. Her efforts in research have resulted in 80 peer-reviewed publications, 22 book chapters, and more than 120 speaking invitations both nationally and internationally. She is a member of the major subspecialty societies, including the Retina Society and the Macula Society. She acts as a reviewer for all the major ophthalmology journals and as a consultant to numerous ophthalmic pharmaceutical companies. After 6 years on the American Academy of Ophthalmology Ethics Committee, she has developed an interest in medical ethics.

#geographicatrophy #drnancyholekamp #agerelatedmaculardegeneration #amd #ga #blindness #irreversiblevisionloss #disease #geographicatrophyinsightssurvey #gains #travel #results

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Konrad did—and the 87-year-old entomologist gave Konrad Polaroids and letters from the original shoot—as well as the attractant they used for the bees. “Literally the same jar of queen pheromone!” Dan said. Dan and Konrad arrived on set early the morning of the shoot to test the 40-year-old queen bee pheromone before Angelina showed. It worked.

VIDEO BY NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Walking on set, Angelina moved within six inches of a swarm ball of 60,000 of them. “She was some kind of fearless,” Dan says.

She didn’t wear bee protection, and came unshowered, because bees attack scents. “I told her, ‘You need to smell like an organism.’”

Angelina posed for 18 minutes, staying focused even as one bee crawled under her dress and was climbing up her thigh. “She never once even flinched,” Dan says. “There was never a moment of like, ‘Ooh,’ or anything. It was like she’d just kind of done this her whole life and this was sort of this laissez-faire experience for her. And I was incredibly impressed by that. I was the only person on the crew that didn’t wear any protection. I kind of did it in solidarity.“

Dan and Angelina set out to make an image that would honor the bees. And, after the prep and research, they collaborated on an image that pays homage as well to Avedon—both to his original Beekeeper photograph and to the technique used to create it. Oh, and this new image has become a phenomenon, getting 2.4 million likes on our Instagram page in a day.

I asked Dan: How would Avedon, who died in 2004, have reacted?

“I like to think that if I were 97 years old and someone re-created one of my images, I would be deeply touched,” Dan says. “So hopefully he would have thought the same.”

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Taiwan’s Eco Awareness:

Taiwan Ecological and Environmental Documentary

Film Series

In order to promote environmental protection and ecological awareness, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York (TECO-NY) will hold a film series featuring six new ecological and environmental documentaries from Taiwan from June 1st-22nd, 2012.

These films highlight some recent initiatives in Taiwan towards making a more sustainable and environmentally friendly society. Megastructures: EcoARK (6/1 18:30 p.m.), produced in cooperation with National Geographic Channels, chronicles the construction of the spectacular green exposition hall for the 2011 Taipei International Floral Expo using 1.5 million recycled PET bottles. The project was among 12 finalists for the Wall Street Journal’s 2011 Asia Innovation Awards. Trash to Treasure and Super Solar Yacht (6/8 18:30 p.m.), both also co-produced with National Geographic Channels, depict how discarded materials are transformed into valuable products, and how Taiwan produced the first solar powered luxury yacht. Birds Without Borders (6/15 18:30 p.m.), which won the Earth Vision Tokyo Global Environmental Film Festival’s Special Prize for Biodiversity and the WorldFest Houston International Film Festival’s Gold Remi award, chronicles the migration of the endangered black-faced spoonbill and the efforts of a group of scientists and conservationists to protect their natural habitat. Eco Taiwan: Building Magic and Species Wars (6/22 18:30 p.m.), two films produced in cooperation with the Discovery Channel, show how innovative and passionate individuals in Taiwan have committed themselves to designing inexpensive, low-tech, low emission buildings and to protecting endangered species. Attached, please find a detailed synopses and screening schedule for all of the quality films in the series.

Drawings to win recycled products designed and made in Taiwan will be held after each screening. Audience members can win slick iPhone cases and elegant wine carriers! Prizes will also include five one-year subscriptions to Taiwan’s reputable bilingual publication, Panorama Magazine. Moreover, unique eco-friendly shopping bags made in Taiwan will be given to the first 15 attendees at each screening.
Join us to help protect the environment!
1 E. 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017

About Theresa Lin

Complimented as “The Julia child of Taiwan” by Director Ang Lee of Eat Drink Man Woman, Theresa Lin was born in Tainan, Taiwan, and graduated from Fu-Jen Catholic University.
She is broadly popular throughout the worldwide Chinese community as the author of 16 seminal cookbooks in Chinese, which are distributed generally throughout Asia and in Chinese-language bookstores around the world.

Her popularity became fame through her role as the executive food designer of the hit film Eat Drink Man Woman, which won an Oscar nomination as Best Foreign Film. She is frequently invited abroad to demonstrate Chinese Cooking Art in many venues, including the Cannes Film Festival, the Academy Awards in Los Angeles, and I.T.B. Berlin, and is consecutively invited for three years to demonstrate in the Philadelphia Food Festival “The Book and The Cook,” in which she has won popular acclaim.
Lin hosts talk shows “Eat Drink Man Woman” (weekly) and “What’s Cooking” (daily) at KAZN AM 1300 radio station for 10 years in Los Angeles. In addition, she also hosts a cooking demonstration program on Power TV Cable Channel, Local TV Channel 18, and HK Jade Channel (TVB). She has been dedicated herself in the Asian Community to help cultures exchanging and has been voluntarily as interpreter for asylum at the immigration court; also doing lots of charity fundraising for the Society.

About Regina Varolli

Regina Varolli grew up in kitchens. The daughter of a restaurateur mom from Los Angeles, California and a chef-dad from Reggio Emilia, Italy, her first attempt at gastronomy was making escargot at age 6, with snails foraged from the back garden. While that didn’t work too well—everyone spit them out—she never stopped approaching food as an adventure.

Today she lives in Manhattan and isn’t afraid to eat anything, or to spit out the bad stuff. Though her taste is refined by fine dining and perfect pastry, she still craves a great burger and fries, and thinks Ghirardelli instant brownie mix is fabulous. Gina recently launched her new food blog, Dov’e La Regina? , and is currently authoring three culinary titles for the 99 Series of Books.

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One of the most beloved travel personalities from the NatGeo channel, Julia Dimon. Even better we did this on a boat! We are going to be doing a live remote with her from the deck of the cruise line in Los Angeles to talk about tips on cruising and how to travel with kids when on one.
Overall 2012 Cruise Trends
Planning the trip
•    Plan to stay at a nearby hotel the night before departure to minimize the stress and risk of missing the ship due to travel delays.  Be sure to choose a hotel that has free transfers to the pier as well.
•    Think about whom you are traveling with and the amenities you will use the most when picking your cabin. On larger ships, make sure stay close to stairwells and elevators, as it can be a long walk to everything.
•    If you’re traveling to the Caribbean or Bahamas, pick a cruise that has a visit to a cruise line’s private island. The private island stops are often cruisers’ favorite parts of the trip.
Traveling with children
•    Select a cabin on the deck close by to the kid’s program area and the pool.
•    Make sure to take advantage of the child programs so you and your spouse can enjoy an adult evening (or two) out at one of the specialty restaurants.
•    If you have small children and are not carrying on luggage, pack a carry-on with sunscreen and bathing suits, as several hours can pass between checking in and the arrival of luggage.
Cruising in a group
•    If you are traveling with more than 3 guests, think twice before you try to fit everyone into one cabin. You may be able to find a combination of two cabin categories that still fit within your budget and deliver a much better experience.
Onboard
•    If you plan to dine in any of the alternative dining restaurants, book in advance if possible, or as soon as you get onboard – same goes for spa appointments and shore excursions. Consider the ship times in port when making reservations too. Sea days are the toughest to get reservations for anything, so book those first. Some cruise lines offer discounts on services on the days the ship is in port.

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