Please visit www.infantsee.org for more information

________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The American Optometric Association (AOA) and The Vision Care Institute of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., have partnered to create InfantSEE®, a no-cost public health program developed to provide professional eye care for infants nationwide. Through InfantSEE®, optometrists will provide a one-time, comprehensive eye assessment to infants in their first year of life, offering early detection of potential eye and vision problems at no cost regardless of income.

The InfantSEE® program:

* Provides no-cost access to an eye-care doctor who has the instruments and resources not available to general-care doctors like pediatricians and family physicians * Detects potential problems that, if undetected, may lead to learning and developmental issues later * Gives new parents the peace of mind that their infant’s vision is developing properly

Prevalence of Vision Problems and Eye Diseases That Will Develop in Children

* 1 in 10 children is at risk from undiagnosed vision problems[i] * 1 in 30 children will be affected by amblyopia – often referred to as lazy eye – a leading cause of vision loss in people younger than 45 years[ii] * 1 in 25 will develop strabismus – more commonly known as crossed-eyes – a risk factor for amblyopia[iii] * 1 in 33 will show significant refractive error such as near-sightedness, far-sightedness and astigmatism[iv] * 1 in 100 will exhibit evidence of eye disease – e.g. glaucoma[v] * 1 in 20,000 children have retinoblastoma (intraocular cancer) the seventh most common pediatric cancer[vi]

Clinical Data Demonstrating the Need for InfantSEE®

* A study reported by the American Academy of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS) in 1999 compared two groups of 8-year-olds for amblyopia[vii] o One group of 808 children had been screened between the ages of 12 and 30 months and provided appropriate treatment[viii] o The other 782 children from the same community did not receive the infant screening[ix] o At age 8, the group that did not receive the infant screening was 17 times more likely to have amblyopia[x] * The Avon Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood (ALSPAC) reported that intensive screening performed 6 times between ages 8 months and 37 months by an eye care professional led to a decrease in[xi]: o Amblyopia, which was three times less likely after treatment – from 1.8 percent to 0.6 percent [xii] o Residual amblyopia from 25 percent to 7.5 percent after treatment[xiii] * Current red reflex screening appears to be ineffective in detecting early retinoblastoma as over 80 percent of patients had their presenting sign detected by a family member or friend[xiv] * Untreated amblyopia costs the U.S. nearly $7.4 billion in earning power each year. There is a return of $22 for each dollar spent on amblyopia diagnosis and treatment [xv]

To learn more about InfantSEE® call toll-free (888) 396-EYES (3937) or visit www.infantsee.org.

[i] American Optometric Association. Pediatric eye and vision examination. 2nd ed. St. Louis (MO): American Optometric Association; 2002.

[ii] Ibid

[iii] Ibid

[iv] Ibid

[v] Ibid

[vi] Abrahamson DH, Beaverson K, Sangani P, Vora RA, Lee TC, Hochberg, HM, Kirszrot J, Ranjithan M. Screening for Retinoblastoma: Presenting Signs as Prognosticators of Patient and Ocular Survival. Pediatrics. December 2003; Vol. 112 No. 6: pp 1248-1255

[vii] Eibschitz-Tsimboni et al. Early Screening for Amblyogenic Risk Factors Lowers the Prevalence and Severity of Amblyopia. Journal of AAPOS. August 2000; Vol 4 number 4: 194-199

[viii] Ibid

[ix] Ibid

[x] Ibid

[xi] Williams C, Harrad RA, Sparrow JM,. Screening for amblyopia in preschool children; results of a population based, randomized controlled trial. ALSPAC Study Team. Avon Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood. Ophthlmic Epidemiol. 2001;8: 279-295

[xii] Ibid

[xiii] U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Screening for Visual Impairment in Children Younger Than Age 5 Years; Recommendation Statement. Ann Fam Med 2004;2:263-266

[xiv] Abrahamson DH, Beaverson K, Sangani P, Vora RA, Lee TC, Hochberg, HM, Kirszrot J, Ranjithan M. Screening for Retinoblastoma: Presenting Signs as Prognosticators of Patient and Ocular Survival. Pediatrics. December 2003; Vol. 112 No. 6: pp 1248-1255

[xv] Membreno JH, Brown MM, Brown GC, Sharma S, Beauchamp GR. A Cost Analysis of Therapy for Amblyopia. Ophthalmology. December 2002; Volume 109, Number 12: pp2265-2271