On January 15th over 50 members attended our General Membership meeting at the newly renovated Capital City Club in Brookhaven. While the food was delicious and the company as delightful as always, the highlight of the meeting was our speaker, Dr. Jiong Yan. Dr. Yan is both a practicing physician and a researcher at Emory University. Her specialty is Retina and Vitreous disease and her presentation focused on macular degeneration.
Dr. Yan began by discussing what defines the disease, the difference between wet and dry macular degeneration and the current treatment options for both. She told the group that anything you do to improve your cardiovascular health will also improve your chances of avoiding macular degeneration. She advised everyone to eat a colorful diet with lots of fruits and vegetables and to exercise regularly. She also cautioned the group not to smoke and if you do smoke - stop. She mentioned one of the great successes in the field of Public Health is the reduction of smoking in the American population. This shout out brought a smile to the face of longtime member Kathryn Graves, an executive at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory. Dr. Yan also mentioned she takes an over-the-counter vitamin for eye health. While this is not proven to prevent disease, she said there is no evidence the vitamin causes harm and the possibility of improving eye health was well worth the expense.
The presentation concluded with a discussion of Dr. Yan’s research using stem cells to repair the damage done to eyes by macular degeneration. They are in clinical trials with human patients at Emory and are having some success. Dr. Yan discussed how difficult it is to inject stem cells into the small and delicate space of the eye. She then showed a video of her doing an actual procedure with a micro needle. She assured the group the patient was not experiencing any pain as many in the group had an audible reaction.
The event concluded with a brief business meeting and dessert. The group then went back out into the cold as the last of Atlanta’s recent snow continued its slow melt.
Thank you to our Special Events Chair, Tricia Rosenbaum and Chair-Elect Cathey Millichap for organizing this informative and delightful meeting.
