The following transcript has been edited for clarity.
Patricio G. Schlottmann, MD: Here we are at the southernmost tip of Patagonia, in Ushuaia, Argentina. We are attending our national retina society meeting, and we have the privilege and honor to have Francine Behar-Cohen, MD, PhD, attending our meeting. She gave some spectacular lectures. I’m going to ask her two questions. First, Francine, how is it going? How did you like Argentina and Ushuaia?
Francine Behar-Cohen, MD, PhD: When I was invited here, I was like, “I’m going to Ushuaia!” But it’s even better than I was expecting. It’s really incredible. And the meeting is a very, very good meeting—very high level and a very diverse range of subjects. So it’s really very nice.
Dr. Schlottmann: We are very honored to have you. You gave the main lecture at the meeting, and it was all about light and myopia. And not to sound funny, but it was a very enlightening talk, introducing concepts that have a significant impact on society, childhood, eye development, and even the design of buildings and schools—all the many things that you discussed. Can you summarize the key findings from the years of research you discussed in your talk, and give us the most important tips regarding light and myopia?
Dr. Behar-Cohen: Yes, of course. It’s a complicated subject. Light is not the only factor that is influencing myopia, but here the idea was to really explain and make people understand that the way we are living now and the new lighting systems and the screens have completely changed the light environment. Light is so important to all biological systems because it regulates all the circadian rhythms, and it’s regulating the growth of the eye. So, by changing the light environment, we have made a major change in the response of the body, and myopia is part of this response.
It’s important to understand that for now we cannot completely change this. It will take years before politicians decide to place pressure on the people that are manufacturing the lights. They can manufacture artificial lights that would provide the full spectrum of visible light, from red to blue wavelengths; it’s just a question of money.
We need to understand this and try to have an effect on our kids by at least having them close to the window without artificial light when it is possible and having them outside as much as possible. Because all the other things that we are doing, it’s very difficult to know what we are using. We don’t have an indication. When you buy a computer, you don’t know: What is the light spectrum emitted by the screen? We don’t have the information. And I think as a group of scientists, we should be able to lobby enough, first of all, to have information when we buy lights, systems, screens and so on, to know exactly what we have in our hands and to also be able to have power to influence the decisions at the society level so that we can change this. Because it’s not only myopia—these changes also have a bad effect on the fauna, the flora, and all the ecosystems.
Dr. Schlottmann: So, it’s nature, quality of life, and how we are affecting our children, who will develop myopia and be affected for the length of their lives because of something that we may—maybe not for all of them, but for many—be able to change. We can change the way they live for the rest of their lives. Because childhood is the time during which they develop myopia.
Thank you very much for coming. It was a pleasure to have you and we’re looking forward to having you again in another beautiful part of Argentina. RP
