Eyeworld

O NSITE Highlights from the 2019 ASCRS ASOA Annual Meeting From the Binkhorst Lecture: "The quest for tear stability" Stephen Pflugfelder, MD, Houston, said tear stability is maintained by the lacrimal functional unit. Tear instability is a common feature of all types of tear dysfunction and a defining feature of dry eye. It causes inflammation, increases blinking, degrades visual function, and stimu- lates corneal nociceptors. He said that there are increasing therapeutic options with different mechanisms of action to improve tear stability. Tear instability can be caused by a variety of factors, including neuropathy, systemic med- ications, cosmetic surgery, diet, environment, LASIK, eye drops, and aging. Conjunctival chalasis is a common cause, particularly in age-related tear instability. From the ASCRS Lecture on Science, Medicine and Technology Any speaker can make his or her message stick in an audience's mind by adding emotion, prioritizing meaning, and dividing the infor- mation into discrete chunks, according to John Medina, PhD. "It's not aversive stimuli that cause stress; it's the ability to feel in control of the aversive stimuli," Dr. Medina said. "The more out of control the patient feels over the aversive stim- uli coming at them, the more likely they are to not remember anything the doctor said and as a direct result, start the litigation process." EW ONSITE BROUGHT TO YOU BY "Every minute I was captured, I thought about being a physician," said Hal Kushner, MD, during the ASCRS Opening Gener- al Session. Dr. Kushner, who has been an ASCRS member for 40 years, received the first ASCRS Distinguished Member Award. He was a prisoner of war for 5 years and the only physician among 591 American prison- ers during the Vietnam War. He said he had plenty of time to choose what specialty of medicine to go into and ophthalmology was the best decision he ever made. From the Opening General Session 28 | EYEWORLD | JUNE 2019

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