Alhambra youngsters, ages 6 months to 6 years, are invited to participate in MEPEDS-a Multi-Ethnic Pediatric Eye Disease Study.

 What is MEPEDS?

MEPEDS is a two-year Multi-Ethnic Pediatric Eye Disease Study and residents in the City of Alhambra are being selected to participate in this very important study — the first ever of its kind to study eye diseases among young children in the United States. The project, funded by an $11 million federally-funded grant through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is being conducted by the Doheny Eye Institute and the University of Southern California (USC).

About 12,000 children in the Los Angeles area ranging in age from 6 months to five years will be offered free MEPEDS vision exams; those who are found to have disorders will be referred to local professionals for glasses or other appropriate treatment.

Beginning in August, researchers will begin visiting neighborhoods in Alhambra to recruit children (all interviewers will be wearing a MEPEDS identification badge). First, parents will be asked to complete a confidential brief health questionnaire about their child’s general health and well-being. If the household is eligible, an appointment will be made so parents can bring their child for a thorough exam at a clinic set up in Alhambra by a pediatric eye doctor from USC. The complete examination will be provided at no cost. Upon completion of the examination, participants will receive the results of the child’s eye examination and a $25 gift certificate.

Vision experts will be looking for signs of three conditions: refractive error (encompassing nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism); strabismus (known commonly as wandering eye or crossed eye); and amblyopia (a condition in which clear pictures cannot form on the retina).

When doctors better understand which eye disorders are common in certain groups of children, they will be able to take more effective steps to detect and treat problems early—and even keep some children from going blind, says Rohit Varma, associate professor of ophthalmology and preventative medicine at USC’s Keck School of Medicine, and leader of the MEPEDS study.

To find out more about the study and potential involvement, call (818) 291-9121.

(The USC Department of Ophthalmology and the Doheny Eye Institute have been ranked in the top 10 ophthalmology programs in the country by U.S. News & World Report and Ophthalmology Times. In fact, a Doheny physician was the first to discover a gene responsible for the leading cause of ocular cancer in children, and 13 of its physicians are included among “America’s Best Doctors.”)