3DJH Re-Printed from Vmail, Wednesday, June 7, 2017 4:25 PM HARTFORD, Conn.—In the final hours of the 2017 legislaƟve regular session, the Senate in ConnecƟcut voted unanimously late Tuesday night to approve a bill that will limit the use of some new technologies in issuing or refilling prescripƟons for contact lenses. As VMail reported earlier this week, the ConnecƟcut state legislature is scheduled to adjourn today (June 7). If the Senate had not approved the bill before the adjournment, it likely would have been dead for this legislaƟve session. The House unanimously voted earlier in the legislaƟve session to approve the proposal, House Bill 6012, “An Act Concerning Consumer ProtecƟon in Eye Care.” The legislaƟon, which was supported by the ConnecƟcut AssociaƟon of Optometrists (CAO), now awaits a signature by the governor before it can take effect as scheduled, Oct. 1, 2017. CAO has stated in tesƟmony that it believes the legislaƟon will protect consumers from “unproven, un-tested technology.” The language in the new legislaƟon prohibits the use of informaƟon obtained during an eye test with a “remote refracƟve device” from being used as the only basis for a consumer to secure or refill a contact lens prescripƟon. The wording “remote refracƟve device” means “automated equipment or an applicaƟon designed to be used on a telephone, computer or Internet-based device that can be used either in person or remotely to conduct a test.” Science Reveals a Weird Truth About Eyesight and the Brain WriƩen by INVISION Staff 05 June 2017 Commonly held belief is wrong, researcher says. The visual cortex actually conƟnues to develop unƟl someƟme in the late 30s or early 40s, a McMaster University neuroscienƟst and her colleagues have found. Researchers and doctors previously believed the human brain’s vision-processing matured and stabilized in the first few years of life. Kathryn Murphy, a professor in McMaster’s department of psychology, neuroscience and behavior, looked at post-mortem brain-Ɵssue samples from 30 people ranging in age from 20 days to 80 years. According to a press release from the university: "Her analysis of proteins that drive the acƟons of neurons in the visual cortex at the back of the brain recasts previous understanding of when that part of the brain reaches maturity, extending the Ɵmeline unƟl about age 36, plus or minus 4.5 years." The release describes the finding as a "surprise" to Murphy and her colleagues. They had expected to find that the cortex reached maturity stage by 5 to 6 years. "There’s a big gap in our understanding of how our brains funcƟon," Murphy said. "Our idea of sensory areas developing in childhood and then being staƟc is part of the challenge. It’s not correct." The research appears in The Journal of Neuroscience. The finding could have big implicaƟons for eyecare. The release notes: "Murphy says treatment for condiƟons such as amblyopia or 'lazy eye,' for example, have been based on the idea that only children could benefit from correcƟve therapies, since it was thought that treaƟng young adults would be pointless because they had passed the age when their brains could respond." Connecticut Senate Approves Legislation That Sets Restrictions on CL Rx's Derived from Online Tests