Next Meeting - Tuesday, Aug. 16. MICHELLE VETTERKIND is the Program Host for this one, and she will introduce Leonard Charles, Director of Engineering for Morgan Murphy Media (which for us is WISC-TV). He will tell us about the current argument over the use of "spectrum" ("bandwidth") which, if carried to one conclusion, could mean the end of over-the-air television. This is one kind of technical stuff which affects large numbers of people, and you should be there to hear about it from someone who can explain it to you and me.

At our last meeting, Pres. JIM SCHUTZ opened the meeting, LINDA BERGREN led the song, and then, switching hats, gave an appropriate invocation. We were reminded of the upcoming Golf Outing on Aug. 22 (see CRAIG BUTLER), and a Vision Screening project on Aug. 20 (see JIM SCHUTZ or SCOTT GROVER.)

PHIL INGWELL reported on the Eye Bank's annual meeting. Most noted accomplishment was the ceremonial burning of the mortgage on their new building, several years ahead of schedule, as Wisconsin Lions came through once again. Apparently Sec. JOHN JENSON (you remember him - the guy with the beard) received a recognition plaque for our Club. JOHN is a great conservationist - we have heard that he spends all summer on a driving interest in greens.

The speaker was Prof. Aparna Lakkaraju of the UW Dept. of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, introduced by GAIL STIRR, who noted that she came from Cornell University, where she earned her PhD. The editor thought that after a few eye surgeries and numerous Lion programs he knew a lot about the human eye, but that impression lasted only a few seconds into Prof. Lakkaraju's presentation, as she showed diagrams and described the incredibly complicated construction of the retina. Her research is at the "cell level", and there are three layers of cells in the retina alone. Since the retina is the source of vision, understanding what it is made up of, how it works and how it can be damaged and repaired is one of the big keys to protecting and restoring sight.

As also noted by the speaker at our previous program, the leading cause of vision loss is now Age-Related Macular Degeneration, and it affects 10 million people in the USA. The macula is the center portion of the retina, and it can be damaged by AMD, diabetic retinopathy, injury, and in other ways. There are two forms of AMD - dry, which is slow to progress and is the early and intermediate stage, and wet, which causes rapid deterioration of vision. The dry form is treatable in some cases, but not yet curable. Causative factors include smoking, overweight, and high blood pressure.

Cholesterol is a common factor in many diseases and it can cause "protein jams" in retinal cells which damage the cells. It has its uses, however - it's part of cell membranes and transports protein in cells. Current studies of protein function in cells help researchers to figure out what exactly is going on, or going wrong, in there.

Prof Lakkaraju says you can help preserve your eye health by eating right but not too much, not smoking, exercise, wearing sunglasses and taking antioxidants, lutein and beta carotene. Sounds like these factors will help in a lot of ways beyond vision.