Diseased Eye Tissue Useful for Research
While most of us think of donating our eyes for corneal transplants to help give the gift of sight, the director of the Duke Eye Center says eye tissue â€" healthy or not â€" is also needed for research into the causes and possible treatment of serious eye-related diseases.

David Epstein, M.D., chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at Duke University Medical Center, says healthy eyes are always needed for transplant surgery, but you can be an eye donor even if your eyes aren’t medically suitable for transplantation.

“If patients have common eye diseases such as glaucoma and macular degeneration, the gift of sight can also be made by donating their eyes for research,� Epstein says. “Most feel that their eyes are damaged and why would they be good for anything, even though they still have the generosity of spirit of wanting to do something for the next generation.�

Epstein says donated eyes with common ocular diseases may hold the secret to someday finding a treatment or cure for these diseases.

For information on eye donation, contact your state’s eye bank. And be sure you let your loved ones know of your desire to be an eye donor.

Don’t Let Bedbugs Bite
The bedbugs are back! No, it’s not a reunion of an obscure ‘60s rock group. It’s the tiny insect â€" once associated with cheap motels and dirty boarding houses â€" that is checking into upscale hotels and pristine homes in a number of states.

DDT wiped the pests out in the 1950s, but experts believe they’re hitching rides in the suitcases of international travelers and becoming bedfellows with their favorite source of food â€" humans.

These apple seed-sized nocturnal nuisances reside not only in mattresses and box springs, but also in the cracks and crevices of the room they infest, including behind and beneath base-boards, beneath area rugs, between carpeting and walls, and even in the folds of curtains and drapes. Since they only come out at night, it can be difficult to figure out exactly what’s bugging you while you sleep. They leave red welts reminiscent of fleabites, but one of the bedbugs’ calling cards is a smell in the room often described as “sickly sweet.�
Duke pediatric dermatologist Neil Prose, M.D., first became aware of the bedbug’s reappearance two years ago when he saw a 10-year-old girl with itchy red sores on her feet. A biopsy revealed that she had been bitten by an unknown insect. Her mother went on a nighttime raid, captured a few of the perpetrators among the girl’s bedclothes and found an exterminator that got rid of them. The experience prompted Prose to coauthor an article about the recurrence of bedbugs for Pediatric Dermatology.

Changes in pesticide practices may be contributing to the bedbug explosion, Prose says. DDT is outlawed, of course, and exter-minators are turning more toward ridding homes of insects with gel baits, which don’t attract bedbugs, instead of sprays. In addition, exterminators more often apply narrow-spectrum insecticides that target specific infestations.

Although they can harbor pathogens, there’s no evidence that bedbugs transmit disease. Secondary infections are not uncommon, anemia occasionally occurs in those with numerous bites and allergic reactions are possible. But mostly, just thinking about them makes people’s skin crawl.

Preventing Knee Injuries In Women
Female athletes are at far greater risk for serious knee injuries than their male counterparts. Depending on her age and the sport she plays, a young woman is five to 10 times more likely to suffer a torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament).

Some of this increased risk, but not all, is due to hormonal differences between men and women, says Allison Toth, M.D., an orthopaedic surgeon who directs the Duke Sports Medicine Center and is team physician for Duke’s women’s athletic teams.

“The biomechanical factors, such as some weakness about the hips, the dominance of the quadriceps muscles over hamstrings, are factors that we think we can control to help prevent some of these injuries,� she explains.

Toth says there are specialized programs to help female athletes avoid knee injuries: “Most of them focus on teaching balance and landing techniques, as well as strengthening muscles around the pelvis and legs selectively, to help prevent those injuries.�

The best age for girls to begin injury-prevention screening and training is in pre-adolescence, says Toth, but it’s helpful for athletes of all ages.