Eyeworld

Cornea Society News – published quarterly by the Cornea Society 3 continued from page 1 Scrape the base of the biopsy and un- dersurface of the button, then send the button to pathology. When all else fails, Dr. Tuli noted that sometimes it may be useful to take the patient off everything; this could actually help the patient improve. An afternoon session focused on "Advances and What's Trending in Ocular Surface." Penny Asbell, MD, New York, discussed "Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation for Treatment of Dry Eye Disease: Dry Eye Assessment and Management Study (DREAM)." The study had no pharmaceutical bias, was a randomized controlled trial, was dou- ble-masked, and was 1 year long, with well-defined subjects and endpoints for signs and symptoms of dry eye and inflammation, Dr. Asbell said. It sought to look at the effectiveness and safety of omega-3 fatty acids for moderate to severe dry eye disease. The goal, Dr. Asbell said, was to in- clude a broad spectrum of symptomatic patients with moderate or severe dry eye disease. The patients in the study were real world patients, who could continue their current treatment, had symptoms for at least 6 months, and had signs at the screening visit and eligibility confir- mation visit. Participants had five softgels per day, and careful consideration was given to ensure that those used in the active and placebo groups were identical in size, color, and aroma. Patients were enrolled through 27 clinical centers in the U.S. from October 2014 to July 2016, with 923 patients screened and 535 randomized. The change in OSDI was the primary out- come measure. The DREAM study showed that an oral omega-3 is no better than place- bo in relieving signs and symptoms of A t the Board of Directors meeting in Washington, D.C. in April, the Board approved a sugges- tion from the Society's audit team to separate the executive secretary/ treasurer position to create two posi- tions, executive secretary and treasurer. The recommendation to change the position would allow for a longer term for the treasurer, which would allow for more continuity in the oversight of the Society's finances. Creating a new posi- tion on the Executive Committee with the executive secretary position allows for more participation among members with thesis at the Board level. The proposal approved by the Board is outlined below; additional informa- tion on the proposed by-laws change and the mail-in ballot will be sent to all members with thesis this summer. Proposal 1. Separate the position into two posi- tions: executive secretary and treasurer 2. Term duration: 4 years for treasurer, 2 years for executive secretary. Each position is renewable once. 3. Executive secretary position duties: a. Serve as a member of the Executive Committee b. Maintain Society by-laws c. Alternate signatory for official mat- ters for the Cornea Society; alternate signatory for financial documents if the treasurer is an international mem- ber who is not able to sign documents due to the Patriot Act d. Provide assistance with taking of minutes for Cornea Society Board of Directors and Executive Committee meetings Board of Directors approves creation of new Executive Committee positions 4. Treasurer position duties: a. Work with the executive director and Society accountant to provide financial oversight for the Cornea Society b. Serve as a member of the Executive Committee c. Chair the Finance Committee d. Signatory for financial matters (check/ACH/etc.) for the Cornea Society e. Provide financial update to Board of Directors at scheduled meetings f. Present financial report to Society membership at annual business meeting g. Other duties as required by Society by-laws CN The Cornea Society recently updated its website, and the link for the Cornea journal has changed. To access the new website and links, clear all browser cache before opening the website to ensure that you are directed to the new page and have better access to the journal. If you are still experiencing issues, contact Pura Valdez at pvaldez@corneasociety.org or info@corneasociety.org. dry eye disease. Dr. Asbell noted that although there was improvement, there was no significant difference between the active and placebo groups. At 3 months, both groups improved when looking at the OSDI score, but there was no significant difference between the placebo and active groups. Looking at secondary outcome mea- sures, Dr. Asbell said that the signs were marginally improved, but this was equally true in both groups. Dr. Asbell noted the study's many strengths, including its generalizability (use of real world patients), compara- bility of groups, compliance, treatment, and consistency. CN Editors' note: Dr. Shamie has financial interests with a number of ophthalmic com- panies. Dr. Perez, Dr. Tuli, and Dr. Asbell have no financial interests related to their presentations.

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