2TO01HLD1006 2TO01HLD1006 ZALLCALL 57 13:15:03 10/05/09 B

floridatoday.com LIFE&HEALTH DTuesdayOctober 6, 2009FEATURES EDITOR SUZY FLEMING LEONARD, sleonard@floridatoday.com or 242-3614

Grant will helpmentally ill useDrop-in Center

60seconds

Of news you can useBY SUSAN JENKS

FLORIDA TODAY

The Brevard Drop-in-Center hasreceived a $1,500 grant from theCommunity Foundation of Brevardto help people with chronic mentalillnesses overcome emotional ortransportation barriers to its serv-ices.

“People can’t get to our center formany reasons,” Jean McPhaden,the center’s executive director, saidin a prepared statement. Amongthem, she cited fear, anxiety, lack ofmotivation and an inability to navi-gatepublic transportationsystems.

TheBabcockStreetcenter,whichopened its doors in 2006, provides aplace for people with chronic andpersistent mental illnesses, such asbipolar disorders or major depres-sion, to visit, find support and takecharge of the social aspect of theirlives.

The grant is for one year. Themoney to the nonprofit group wasprovided through the WallburgFund, established by the Wallburgfamily and given to the CommunityFoundationofBrevard.

McPhaden said the grant moneywill enable volunteers to drive peo-ple to and from the center and thencoach them on how to navigate areabuses, including buying bus ticketsfor people to and from the center.Phone encouragement also will beprovided, with transportation as-sistance repeated up to three times,depending on the need of the poten-tialclientorcentermember.

The National Institutes of MentalHealth estimates about 26 percentof Americans older than 19 sufferfrom a diagnosable mental disorderin any given year. Roughly 6 per-cent, the federal agency says, sufferfrom severe mental illness, definedby the National Advisory MentalHealth Council more than 15 yearsago and including disorders withpsychiatric symptoms such asschizophrenia, bipolar disordersandautism.

The drop-in center welcomes, atno charge, anyone with a psychiat-ric illness, McPhaden said, as longas drop-ins have a doctor’s note, anempty medical bottle with theirname on it or undergo staff screen-ing.

The expectation is thetransporta-tion initiative will lead to furthergrowth, so the center is seeking ad-ditional members for its Board ofDirectors. People with a mentalhealth diagnosis who are doing wellor members of the community,business, law enforcement and lo-cal leaders interested in donatingabout three hours per month areurgedtoapply.

For further information, contactMcPhaden at mcphadenjh@yahoo.com or board member MaryBeth Kenkel, dean of the psychol-ogy school at Florida Tech, at674-8104ormkenkel@fit.edu.

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TODAY? Contactmedical reporterSusan Jenks at242-3657 or

sjenks@floridatoday.com.

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Cloudy vision. Dr. Rafael Trespalacios performs a sutureless eye surgery, known as ocular reconstructive sur-gery, on Cathy Lewis’s right eye at the Brevard Eye Center in Melbourne.

Sun can producegrowths on eyesUV radiation

chief culprit behindpterygium damage

BY SUSAN JENKSFLORIDA TODAY

The wing-shaped growth on thecornea of Cathy Lewis’ eye causedherconsiderablediscomfort.

“If you were at the beach andsomeone threw sand in your eyes,that’s what it feels like,” the Mel-bourne woman said, describingthe chronic irritation from a fi-brous growth, known as ptery-gium, on the clear, dome-shapedwindowoftheeye.

Taking its name in part from theprehistoric pterodactyl or “wingedlizard,” pterygium spreads slowlyover the cornea’s surface, doctorssay. If left untreated, it can distortthe cornea’s shape or even coverthe pupil completely, impairing vi-sion.

Surgery for the condition is of-ten a last resort. But Lewis, 51, saidsurgery performed on her left eyein August was so successful, sheopted for a second procedure to re-moveit fromherrighteye.

“It’s definitely notcosmetic,” shesaid.

The damage is inflicted by thesun’s ultraviolet radiation, the con-dition’s primary culprit. Floridaresidents and others living closer

to the equator are considered athigherriskforpterygiumthanresi-dents inotherareas.

“I’ve seen a lot of it here,” saidDr. Rafael Trespalacios, a corneaspecialist at the Brevard Eye Cen-ter in Melbourne, who performed

the two outpatient procedures onLewis. “The rule of thumb is thatevery 1 percent increase in ultravi-olet ray exposure increases the in-cidence of pterygium by 2 per-cent.”

See EYE GROWTH, 4D

Visual obstruction. Cathy Lewis has pterygium in her right eye.

What is a pterygium?

INSIDE0 A pinkish, wing-shapedtissue growth on the cornea,the clear dome-shaped windowat the front of the eye

0 Most grow slowly throughouta person’s life.

0 Pterygia are more common insunny climates and inindividuals who spend a lot oftime outdoors, such as farmers,fishermen or surfers.

0 Scientists think ultravioletlight from the sun plays a majorrole in their development.

0 May cause significantredness or irritation, or growlarge enough to cover the pupilof the eye

0 Preventive measures includewearing eyeglasses, sunglassesor hats with wide brims.

— National Eye Institute

MORE INSIDE. When eye surgery may be needed, 4D Ouch-proof your grooveTake a lesson from the sidelinedcelebs on “Dancing With the Stars”:If you don’t prepare your body for it,you can get hurt, 7D

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Nintendo’s ‘Wii Fit Plus’ adds pet supportBY DERRIK J. LANGASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES — Pet owners canweigh themselves with their furryfriends on “Wii Fit Plus,” the follow-up to the top-sellingNintendowork-outgame.

The updated title lets playerscreate avatars of their dogs andcats,enter information such as their pet’sbirthday, and use the scalelike WiiBalance Board controller to weighthemselves and their pets. Thegame then continues to monitor thepet’sweightalongside itsowner.

“It’s so fun to have a motivatorwhen you’re working out,” said Ka-tie Cray, Nintendo entertainmentand trend marketing manager. “Ob-viously, if you have a dog, you’re

probably out there walking yourdog and playing with it, and that’sexercise in andof itself, so it’snicetohave the ability to track the progressofbothyourdogandyourself.”

“Wii Fit Plus,” which launchedSunday, doesn’t have any trainingexercises for pets. It does have sev-eral new features for users, includ-ing three strength training exer-cises, three yoga activities and 15balance games. Players cancustom-ize their routines, allowing them tofocus on working specific bodyparts.

Nintendo invited the news mediaand celebrities including RachaelLeigh Cook, Nick Cannon andBrooke Burke — and their pooches— to preview the game at the “WiiFit Plus” Fitness Club, a BeverlyHills space transformedforonedayinto a posh health club, led bytrainer Tracy Anderson, whose ce-lebrity clientele includes Madonna.

“I will definitely prescribe it topeople who are at a level wherethey lack a mind-body connectionor they lack motivation or also peo-ple like Gwyneth Paltrow, who Itrain all the time,” Anderson said.“Sometimes we’re in trailers onmovie sets, and we don’t have a lotof room, but it doesn’t take muchroom to set up ‘Wii Fit Plus’ andcustomizeaprogram.”

Learn moreVisit wiifit.com.

Your complete onlineguide to news across

the Space Coastand from around

the world.

AP

Workout for two. Rachel LeighCook and her dog, Cooper, test “WiiFit Plus” in West Hollywood, Calif.

LISTINGS BEGIN ON 10DLISTINGS BEGIN ON 10D

2TO0401D1006 FLORIDA TODAYÀ 2TO0401D1006 ZALLCALL 57 17:48:25 10/05/09 B

4D TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2009 FLORIDATODAY4D TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2009 FLORIDATODAY

New pterygium treatment swaps sutures for glueEYE GROWTH, from 1D

Trespalacios is one of sev-eral Brevard County eyedoctorsusingaminimally in-vasive surgical approach toremove pterygium, whichthey say, is quicker, morecomfortable for patients andcarries a comparable risk ofrecurrence to the gold stan-dard treatment, the proce-durestillmostwidely inuse.

In the gold standard, eyedoctors harvest healthy tis-sue from the mucus mem-brane covering of the eye,known as the conjunctiva,and drape it over the rawarea left by the removal ofthe pterygium. The graft issuturedintothecornea.

The newer approachworking its way into themainstream, according toTrespalacios, involves plac-ing a strip of amniotic mem-brane over the raw spot onthe cornea, instead of takingthe patient’s conjunctiva tis-sue. IOP INC, a California-based ophthalmic devicecompany, supplies the mem-brane.

Fibrin glue replaces su-tures, cutting back on post-operative inflammationsince there are no stitches,Trespalaciossaid.

“It’s not only less invasive,it’s also tissue sparing,” hesaid of the approach. “Andhealing is faster because youdon’t have sutures juttingoutofyoureyes.”

Specialist advisesconservative action

Dr. Christopher Shu-make, a cornea specialist atthe Eye Institute for Med-icine and Surgery, said he,too, sees a lot of pterygium,mostly because of the highnumber of surfers in thearea.

“These are either an irri-tant to the patientor theycancause an astigmatism, abso-lutely,” he said, because ofthe change in the cornea’sshape.

Like Trespalacious, Shu-make said the removal ofthese growths is not cos-metic. Pterygium can causechronic redness and painlong before actually movingto the center of the eye and

impairing vision. Thesegrowths also can interferewith cataract surgery or con-tact lenses by pushing themoutofplace.

If thecondition isnotboth-ering a patient, Shumake ad-vises a conservative ap-proach before resorting tosurgery.

In Kevin Gray’s case,that’s more or less what hap-pened.

The 46-year-old Mims res-ident said he had neverheard of pterygium untilabout two years ago, when aphysician told him during aroutine physical that he hadone of these growths. Afterusing lubricating eye dropsto bring relief, he said, heturned to surgery becausethe pterygium became so ir-ritating.

“One of my eyes is prettysevere, it’s blistered,” hesaid. “And it’s very notice-able. People often ask me,‘What’s wrong with youreye?’ ”

Gray said he works in-doors now as a subcontrac-tor for Boeing, but “yearsago all I did was surf,” withthe sun reflecting off the wa-ter heightening the UV dam-agetohiseyes.

The pterygium never di-rectly affected his vision,which is 20-20, he said. But itgradually was working itsway closer to the pupil, so heknew something needed tobe done before it expandedfurther.

“I’ll do the left eye first andthen the right eye, “ he said,24 hours before his surgerywithTrespalacios.

Recurrenceamong risks

Recurrence after surgeryremains one of the key is-sues in treating pterygium,according to physicians.None of them, however, ap-pear to agree on the degreeofrisk.

Shumake said recurrencecould be as high as 25 per-cent, depending on whetherthe data tracks the return ofpterygium six months aftersurgery or five years out,whentherateskewshigher.

“If they do come back,they come back with avengeance,” he said. “Eachtime, it’s harder and hardertooperate.”

Trespalacios puts the re-currence rate closer to10 percent, with some stud-ies where amniotic mem-brane is used showing a re-currence rate as low as3 percent,hesaid.

The idea is to create a bar-rier around the pterygium towall it off while the eye ishealing.

“The amniotic membraneacts like a scaffolding on theeye,keepingscar tissue fromforming and the pterygiumfrom coming back,” saidAndy Rovera, a sales repre-sentative for IOP’s afterbirthproduct. “It slows the heal-ingprocess.”

Still, not all doctors arereadytoswitch.

Dr. Pedram Hamrah, acornea specialist at the Mas-sachusetts Eye and Ear Infir-mary, a teaching hospital af-filiated with Harvard Med-ical School, said he prefersusing the tissue graft fromanother part of the patient’seyetotreatpterygium.

He said this older ap-proach carries a better re-currence rate than the newsutureless technique, whichHamrah placed at 20 per-cent, not 10 percent, as Tres-palaciossuggested.

Also, while most of theamniotic membrane dis-solves, part of it can becomeintegrated inside the cornea,Hamrah said, and “nobodyknowswhy.”

“There haven’t been anystudiesyet,”hesaid.

Hamrah took issue as well

with the use of mitomycin C,an anti-cancer drug thatslows down cell division, ex-cept in low doses and onlyafter recurrence occurs, be-cause of potential complica-

tions.

But Trespalacios said incombination with the amni-otic membrane, the drugworks well to reduce the riskof recurrence, as part of his

standard procedure, and heuses only smalldoses to min-imizecomplications.Contact Jenks at 242-3657

or sjenks@floridatoday.com.

When surgerymay be needed0 If the pterygium islarge enough to impairvision0 If discomfort issevere, such asblistering or redness inthe eye0 If the tissuebecomes cosmeticallyunsightly orobjectionable— National Eye Institute,

FLORIDA TODAY

Michael R. Brown, FLORIDA TODAY

The growth stops here. Dr. Rafael Trespalacios gets Kevin Gray’s left eye ready for a su-tureless ocular reconstructive surgery using an aminiotic membrane at the Brevard EyeCenter in Melbourne. Gray said the pterygium never directly affected his vision, which is20-20. But it gradually was working its way closer to the pupil, so he knew somethingneeded to be done before it expanded further.

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