A method used to determine hair and eye colour using human remains is able to specify what people from the Middle Ages must have looked like.

 

The HIrisPlex DNA analysis system is normally used to study modern forensic samples. However, a study carried out by researchers from Poland and the Netherlands, whose findings were published in the journal Investigative Genetics, shows that it can also be used to help historians.

 

“This system can be used to solve historical controversies where colour photographs or other records are missing,” explained Dr. Wojciech Branicki, of the Institute of Forensic Research and Jagielonian University, in Poland. The system uses 24 natural variations (polymorphisms) to predict eye and hair colour.

 

That is how it was determined that General Wladyslaw Sikorski, who died in a plane crash in 1943, had the blue eyes and blond hair present in portraits painted years after his death. This system was also able to identify a mysterious woman, buried sometime between the 12^th and 14^th centuries in the crypt of the Benedictine Abbey in Tyniec near Krakov, as having dark blond hair and brown eyes. 

Source:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130113201136.htm

Optician Rachel Hill-Campbell, owner of Personal Optical in St. Catharines, Ontario, was named 2012 Transitions Eyecare Professional of the Year at the recent Transitions Academy Awards ceremony.

 

Hill-Campbell was recognized for her outstanding efforts to promote eye health and the benefits of Transitions^® lenses in front of more than 1,100 optical professionals from North and South America at the awards ceremony held in Orlando, Florida.

 

“I hope to never hear my patients say that I neglected to tell them about a product or solution that could enhance their vision,” the Ontario optician said. “I always keep Transitions^® lens brochures handy so that my patients can review them with me or take them home.”

 

Transitions Optical will provide her with a $1,000 grant through the Transitions Healthy Sight for Life Fund. She will also receive awards for her staff, permission to use the Transitions ECP of the Year logo on internal and external communications, professional marketing and public relations support, as well as a trip to Transitions Optical head office in Tampa, Florida.

Source: Transitions Optical

 

New Look Eyewear has been named Transitions Retailer of the Year for Canada. New Look was recognized on January 29 at the 17^th annual Transitions Academy, in Orlando, Florida.

 

In an interview with ClipInfo.ca, the president of New Look Eyewear, Martial Gagné, described this achievement as “very good news,” seeing it as a great reward for the chain’s efforts to promote Transitions products. “Transitions lenses are products that add value and meet consumers’ needs,” he said. “They correspond perfectly to our mission, which is to work at improving and preserving the vision of our patients.”

 

During the ceremony, the business manager for Transitions Optical, Canada, Christine Underhill, emphasized New Look Eyewear’s merits. “With their inspiring education tactics and incredible passion for the Transitions family of products, New Look Eyewear was very deserving of the Transitions Retailer of the Year title,” she said. “We congratulate them for their success in 2012; thank them for serving as a strong Transitions partner and for their contributions in providing valuable eye health education.”

Sources: Transitions Optical and ClipInfo.ca

 

 

Researchers from the University of Sydney, Australia, report that taking aspirin over a long period of time increases the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

 

Researcher Gerald Liew and his team conducted a study which examined 2,389 participants over a period of 15 years. Ten percent of them were regular aspirin users. Study results showed that after 15 years, a quarter of the regular aspirin users had developed neovascular AMD. The rate of neovascular AMD was three times higher among users compared to the other patients. The researchers judged the risk to be “significant,” though they specified that more clinical evidence is needed before they would advise doctors to change how they prescribe aspirin.

 

When invited to comment on the study, George A. Diamond and Sanjay Kaul, of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said the study was interesting, but that its main limitation was its non-randomized design, which means that there was no control group. A randomized study generally allows you to limit the number of factors that could create confusion and distort the analysis. 

 

Aspirin is one of the most widely used drugs worldwide.

Source:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/255193.php

Light for the World, the Austrian organization that helps people who have no access to basic eye care, has received support in its fight against cataracts in Africa.

 

Bausch + Lomb and Croma Pharma donated 50,000 Yellox^TM (bromfenac sodium sesquihydrate) eye drops, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug that is essential for postoperative treatment of cataract extraction.

 

The eye drops only have to be used twice a day, which makes the after-treatment much easier in countries where medical care is hard to get, according to Dr. Karl Rigal, board member of Light for the World. “This is of real benefit to patients in developing countries,” he says.

 

“Proper post-operative care is the key to maximizing the surgery’s results – ultimately achieving the best possible outcome for the patient,” says Dr. Calvin Roberts, executive vice president and chief medical officer, Bausch + Lomb.

 

The president and CEO of Croma, Gerhard Prinz, says that “it is our social responsibility and commitment to support the improvement of vision in economically challenged regions of the world.”

Source:

http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/bausch–lomb-et-croma-font-don-de-gouttes-ophtalmiques-requises-durgence-187958931.html