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Optometrist Experiments To Correct Diminishing Eyesight
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- A longtime local optometrist is experimenting with magnets and supplements to help reverse diminishing eyesight in his patients -- even as other experts scoff at his methods. Dr. James Nedrow has put 250 patients with macular degeneration on the treatment -- and some have shown significant improvement, he said. Nedrow said 30 percent of his patients have improved eyesight and 50 percent have experienced no further loss of vision. The remaining 20 percent continued to decline despite the treatment. One patient who has shown dramatic improvement is 67-year-old Sandra Thill of Beatrice, whose eyesight has improved 50 percent with the treatments, according to Nedrow. He is convinced her improvement stems from treatment that even he admitted sounds more like snake oil than science. Nedrow had Thill take two nonprescription products: modified bovine colostrum and an herbal supplement rich in antioxidants. He also had her install tiny magnets in the temples of her eyeglasses. In six months, the corrected vision in her right eye had improved from 20/50 to 20/20. In response, Nedrow dialed back the prescription on her eyeglasses. Macular degeneration is a disorder that is the leading cause of blindness for people older than 55. It has no known cure. Nedrow stresses that his experiment is not scientific, and he does not call it a cure. The treatment has not passed the rigors of a scientific study, he said. But the optometrist, who has been licensed in Nebraska for 38 years, is optimistic about the results of his observations of the 250 patients with macular degeneration on the treatment. He has measured the results using four standard vision tests, in some cases dating back five years. Nedrow's experiment is the brainchild of Bob Plymate, a Jehovah's Witness minister in Nebraska City. The administration of the treatment is legal because it involves over-the-counter products that do not require approval or review by the Food and Drug Administration. While Nedrow and Plymate are eager to have the treatment tested, one expert in the field expressed strong doubts. There has to be a scientific approach,'' said Ed Aleksandrovich, president and founder of the Macular Degeneration Foundation.You have to legitimize any course of treatment.'' Legitimacy comes through a formal scientific study that carefully selects patients, tightly controls all variables and compares the treatment with a placebo. Such a study not only proves the effectiveness of a treatment, it helps identify any side effects. But running such tests and getting FDA approval costs hundreds of thousands of dollars -- money Nedrow and Plymate don't have. And Nedrow seems happy with the results of his own less-than-scientific findings. My job as a clinician is to make my patients see better,'' Nedrow said. In my opinion, this is a much better option than doing nothing at all.''