The Outlook

Official Newsletter of the Sight-Loss
Support Group of Central PA, Inc

The Sight-Loss Support Group of Central Pennsylvania, Inc.
Turning Darkness into Light Since 1982

P.O. Box 782, Lemont, PA 16851
office@slsg.org www.slsg.org 814-238-0132

THE OUTLOOK Newsletter

Fall 2026

2nd THURSDAYS SUPPORT GROUP MEETINGS

September 10: Audio-Described Fall Shows. The new year should really begin in September. Summer is over, the kids are back in school, AND it’s the beginning of theater season! At our September meeting Louise Victor will go over the fall season and everyone can sign up for the shows of their choice. There will be other opportunities to sign up, so no worries if you can’t attend this meeting.

October 8: Dr. Matthew Trego, O.D. Please join us for this special meeting. One of Dr. Trego’s areas of specialization is macular degeneration, which so many of us are learning to live with. He will address the latest research and treatments in the field of macular degeneration.

PLEASE NOTE: The date of this meeting, October 8, is early in the month but is indeed the second Thursday of the month. Be sure to mark your calendars.

November 12: “Work Arounds.” Those of us with vision loss are familiar with “work arounds.” We find solutions and address the challenges we face with vision loss sometimes without even realizing it. We would love for you to share a few of your best work arounds. This is a golden opportunity to learn from one another.

December 10: Holiday Party. We always celebrate the season with a feast and J.T. Thompson playing festive music on the piano. This year, please RSVP so we can better plan our celebration. You are welcome to bring a friend or spouse. Please RSVP by December 2, 2026; call 814-238-0132.

Our 2nd Thursdays lunch group meets on the second Thursday of each month at Mount Nittany Residences, rain, snow, or shine. If you are new to vision loss or are an old-hand, this is a good place to be. We always share a simple lunch, learn from one another, and enjoy each other’s company.

When: The second Thursday of each month, 11:30 am - 1:00 pm.

Where: Mt Nittany Residences, 301 Rolling Ridge Dr, State College, in the community room on the first floor.
Details: Lunch is provided and is “on the house.”

2nd Thursdays is a collaboration between the Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services, and the Sight-Loss Support Group. Staff members from both organizations attend the meetings.

AUDIO-DESCRIBED FALL SHOWS

VIEW VIA VOICE BY THE SIGHT-LOSS SUPPORT GROUP

EISENHOWER AUDITORIUM SHOWS

THE WIZ (Musical): Thursday, October 22, 2026, 6:30 pm
Everybody look around! The Tony Award-winning Best Musical that took the world by storm is back and coming to Happy Valley. THE WIZ returns “home” to stages across America in an all-new tour, direct from Broadway.
This groundbreaking twist on The Wizard of Oz changed the face of Broadway—from its iconic score packed with soul, gospel, rock, and ’70s funk to its stirring tale of Dorothy’s journey to find her place in a contemporary world.

A BEAUTIFUL NOISE, THE NEIL DIAMOND MUSICAL: Thursday, March 18, 2027, 7:00 pm
Created in collaboration with Neil Diamond himself, A Beautiful Noise is the uplifting true story of how a kid from Brooklyn became a chartbusting, show-stopping American rock icon. With 120 million albums sold; a catalog of classics like “America,” “Forever in Blue Jeans,” and “Sweet Caroline”; an induction into the Songwriters and Rock and Roll halls of fame; a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award; and sold-out concerts around the world that made him bigger than Elvis, Neil Diamond’s story was made to shine on Broadway—and head on the road across America.

PENN STATE CENTRE STAGE PRODUCTIONS

SISTER ACT (Musical): Saturday, October 17, 2026, Matinee,1:30 pm at the Playhouse Theater
Sister Act is a musical based on the hit 1992 film of the same name which starred Whoopi Goldberg.

TYRANTS (Musical): Friday, December 4, 2026, 7:00 pm at the Playhouse Theater

Tyrants is a new musical focusing on the famous Booth acting family, exploring the lives of acclaimed actor Edwin Booth and his extremist brother, presidential assassin John Wilkes Booth.

For tickets, please sign up at a luncheon or call the Sight-Loss Support Group, 814 238-0132, to reserve the audio-description services. Tickets, which are required for all performances, must be purchased at least two weeks before the scheduled performances.

On the day of the performance, pick up your pre-ordered tickets from the person handing out your Audio-Description Equipment. At Eisenhower, your tickets will be at the Audience Services Desk (across the lobby from the Will Call desk). At all other events, pick up your tickets at the Audio-Description Equipment table. DO NOT GO TO THE WILL CALL WINDOW!

The State College Choral Society’s December concert, Let There Be Peace on Earth, will celebrate the music and spirit of the season. From Daniel Pinkham’s Christmas Cantata to the familiar song “Let There Be Peace on Earth,” seasonal music brings gladness and light. Featuring local youth choirs and an audience sing-a-long of familiar carols and songs, we hope you will join us for this joyful concert. As in years past, this concert is also a food drive with all proceeds going to a local food bank. Please bring donations of dry goods in lieu of the cost of a concert ticket! Saturday, December 5 at 3:00 pm, State College High School Performance Hall.

MACULAR DEGENERATION:

THE DUEL BETWEEN FREE RADICALS AND ANTIOXIDANTS

We continue our series of articles on macular degeneration. The information below comes from two books: 1) Macular Degeneration: The Complete Guide to Saving and Maximizing Your Sight by Lylas Mogk, M.D. and Maria Mogk, and 2) The Eye Care Revolution by Robert Abel, Jr., M.D.

The last issue of the newsletter, Winter/Spring 2026, discussed the link between the risk factors for macular degeneration and free radicals, the “bad guys” that attack our cells. Let’s take a closer look at these guys. Left to their own devices, free radicals cause trouble by reacting with other molecules in our bodies, preventing them from doing their jobs or actually destabilizing their molecular structures.

How do these pesky free radicals cause trouble? Free radicals are unstable molecules that form as a result of normal metabolism in the body. When the oxidation process metabolizes the nutrients in the foods we eat, it generates two things: the energy that fuels our cells and free radicals, the waste products that can damage normal cells.

A free radical can damage a normal cell because it is an incomplete molecule. It is missing an electron (picture a three-legged table) the free radical molecule is always unstable. (A normal molecule would be akin to a four-legged table.) In an attempt to right itself, the free radical wants to find a fourth electron to achieve a state of balance. It attacks another molecule and steals an electron, damaging the second molecule in the process.

Our bodies metabolize a lot of oxygen in our maculas, thus, a lot of free radicals are produced there. In addition to the retina, free radicals attack the muscles, joints, cell membranes, the lining of the coronary arteries and our genetic material, DNA. These unstable molecules cause the general wear and tear on our bodies associated with aging, and can contribute to the development of cancer, cataracts, AMD, arthritis, and heart disease.

Free radicals are actually a normal part of our system and Mother Nature has provided our bodies with a natural mechanism for handling free radicals. This is where the “good guys”, the antioxidants, come in. Antioxidants are the molecules found in our food that help slow down the oxidative process and neutralize free radicals. Antioxidants are designed to pair up electrically with free radicals; they pick up and carry away the damaging waste products.

If our bodies are designed to handle a certain amount of naturally occurring free radicals, then why are free radicals such a contributing factor to cancer and degenerative diseases such as macular degeneration? Research suggests that environmental hazards such as pollution, toxic chemicals, and food contaminants are likely culprits. Consider the prevalence of pesticides, car exhaust, cigarette smoke, chemical food additives, household cleaners and excessive unprotected sun exposure, which we wind up eating, breathing and soaking up. They all produce free radicals.

These free radicals are toxic to our eyes and to the rest of our bodies. They overwhelm our limited supply of antioxidants, especially if we aren’t replenishing antioxidants by eating foods that contain them. In the macula free radicals produce abnormal waste that accumulates in permanent deposits. Eventually these deposits back up the entire system that keeps the macula alive until it can’t process any more waste or deliver any more oxygen. The lack of oxygen kills the support tissue cells and then the rod and cone cells of the macula itself. In the case of wet macular degeneration, new abnormal blood vessels grow through the support tissue in a kind of misguided effort to supply more oxygen. These new vessels are weak and prone to leaking. They flood the rods and cones with blood, asphyxiating them even more quickly.

Since we gain most antioxidants from the food we eat, we must make intelligent decisions about our diets. Think about your antioxidant bank account – you are constantly withdrawing from it, but are you making enough deposits? Our eyes depend upon antioxidants for protection from disease. The next issue of The Outlook will focus on the foods and supplements that nourish the eye and are rich in antioxidants.

Here’s a delicious way to make a deposit into your antioxidant bank account. The following recipe is from the kitchen of Board member Eileen Rivoir. Her kale sweet potato salad was a big hit at last year’s holiday party.

KALE SWEET POTATO SALAD

1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and diced ½ inch (about 2 medium)

1-15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 T olive oil

1 tsp kosher salt

½ tsp black pepper

1 large bunch curly kale, stems removed and roughly chopped

2 scallions thinly sliced

¼ c crumbled feta

¼ c sunflower seeds

¼ c olive oil

For the vinaigrette

Juice of 1 lemon

2 T white wine vinegar

1 garlic clove

2 T whole grain mustard

½ tsp kosher salt

¼ tsp black pepper

¼ olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a sheet pan toss the sweet potatoes and chickpeas with 1 T olive oil, 1 tsp kosher salt and ½ tsp pepper. Spread into a single layer. Roast for 25-30 minutes until potatoes are browned and chickpeas are crisp.
Combine the potatoes and chickpeas with the kale, scallions, feta and sunflower seeds in a large bowl.
For the vinaigrette whisk together lemon juice, white wine vinegar, garlic, mustard, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp black pepper and olive oil in a small bowl. Drizzle the vinaigrette into the salad, tossing to combine. Enjoy!

THE FUTURE IS ALREADY HERE: RETINAL PROTHESIS RESTORES SIGHT LOST TO MACULAR DEGENERATION

In a Stanford Medicine-led clinical trial, a tiny wireless chip implanted in the back of the eye and a pair of high-tech glasses have partially restored vision to people with an advanced form of macular degeneration. Participants in the European clinical trial regained enough vision to read books, food labels, and subway signs. The device, called the PRIMA eye implant, simulates the functionality of photoreceptors – highly evolved cells in the retina that transmutes light into images in the brain that actually allow us to see. Yes, we see with our brain.

Let’s take a short diversion to better understand the biology of the eye and the crucial role that photoreceptors play. Photoreceptors are the specialized cells in the retina at the back of the eye that catch the light and convert it into electrical signals. These signals travel through the optic nerve to our brain which translates them into the images we call sight. Macular degeneration and other retinal diseases, damage these light-sensitive photoreceptors and impair our ability to see. Most macular degeneration patients retain some healthy photoreceptor cells in the center of the retina and a significant amount in the periphery of the retina. This allows for peripheral vision to be used in conjunction with some central vision.

PRIMA takes advantage of what is preserved. A small camera mounted on high-tech glasses captures images from the visual environment. The camera projects infrared light patterns onto a tiny chip implanted in the retina. The chip’s pixels absorb this light and convert it into electrical pulses. These pulses stimulate the remaining healthy central retinal cells, passing signals through the optic nerve to the brain. The brain then transforms these signals into the images we see. PRIMA, in a rudimentary way, is doing the job of the damaged photoreceptor cells. The PRIMA device allows patients to use their natural peripheral vision along with the prosthetic central vision, which helps patients with orientation and navigation.

The results of the clinical trial led by Standford Medical researchers and international collaborators, were published in the October 20, 2025 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine. Twenty-seven out of 32 participants regained the ability to read a year after receiving the device. With digital enhancements, such as zoom and higher contrast, some participants could read with acuity equivalent to 20/40 vision. This is the first version of the chip and resolution is relatively low. For now, the PRIMA device provides only black-and-white vision with no shades in between – the all-important gray-scale necessary for facial recognition. The next generation of the PRIMA chip will have smaller, enhanced pixels capable of the fine-tuned resolution needed for gray-scale vision and facial recognition.

Because the retina is an outgrowth of the brain, this technology functions as a “subretinal brain-computer interface.” It represents a massive paradigm shift because existing pharmaceutical treatments only slow down vision loss. In contrast, PRIMA is the first device to actively restore functional central vision in patients who are legally blind.

In the United States PRIMA holds a “Breakthrough Device Designation” from the FDA and discussions for clinical pathways remain ongoing. In Europe, where the clinical trial was conducted, the process is further along. PRIMA is currently under regulatory review with commercial approval and a European market launch expected sometime in 2026.

MY YEAR OF LIVING BLURRILY

A guest essay by Dani Shapiro in the New York Times.

The painting beckoned me from across the room. In a bright, high-ceilinged gallery of the Courtauld, a small museum in London known for its collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art, I moved past van Gogh’s “Self-Portrait With Bandaged Ear,” beyond Degas’s dancers and Seurat’s fisherman, straight to a small Monet titled “Vase of Flowers.” I stood before it and felt my breath slow. My husband walked over to me. I wanted him to understand. “This is how I see now,” I said quietly.

It was my year of living blurrily. After the discovery of a small tumor behind one eye, I’d had surgery and radiation. My doctors told me I would probably survive. I would also gradually become blind in the affected eye – a small price, it seemed, to pay for my life. But the slow leaching of my sight played havoc with not just one eye, but both - possibly a result of a medical phenomenon known as “sympathetic ophthalmia”. And so, the world softened and receded into a haze. Faces were unrecognizable until I got up close. Familiar streets became difficult, even frightening, to navigate.

It was in places and spaces I didn’t know well that I felt most unmoored. On this trip to London, I had been experiencing a near-constant state of dizziness. Disoriented, I steadied myself against the walls, tested the depth of curbs before stepping off. A trip in the underground with its maze of tunnels and escalators felt topsy-turvy, as if it had sprung from an M.C, Escher lithograph. At one point, we ran to catch a train, and I stepped inside just as the doors slid closed, only to turn and look out the smudged windows at my husband’s stricken face, his palms flat against the other side of the glass. I couldn’t read the signs and didn’t know the stops. The doors slid back-open and my husband joined me, but for that second, it felt to me as if I could become lost in the world.

But here was “Vase of Flowers.” An extravagant explosion of mallows in a mossy ceramic vessel. It was a painting Monet had begun in the 1880s, then set aside and finally completed around 1920, six years before his death. The label suggested that the viewpoint creates “a strange feeling, as if the table and flowers are tilting forward and the forms dissolving.” But for me, the feeling wasn’t strange at all. I saw the whole world now as an Impressionist painting. It was a comfort to know that at least in this moment, standing in front of “Vase of Flowers.” I was not alone. I was seeing it as any museum-goer would.

Monet suffered from cataracts, but had resisted surgery for years, the subject of a poem called “Monet Refuses the Operation” by Lisel Mueller. In the poem, Monet chides his doctor for assuming he’d prefer to see clearly, extolling the virtues and beauty of blurred sight. “I tell you it has taken me all my life/ to arrive at the vision of gas lamps as angels, / to soften and blur and finally banish / the edges you regret I don’t see.” When Monet returned to his long discarded “Vase of Flowers,” he would have been at the nadir of his vision, the middle of his cataract period. (He finally relented and had the surgery in 1923, just three years before he died.) What allowed him to finish the painting? What softness? What self-forgiveness? What awareness of the beauty of forms dissolving? What willingness to be lost in the world?

Until that moment, I had longed for the crispness of sight I had taken for granted until it was gone. I had railed against being seen – or seeing – as a fragile person. I wanted to cross against the light, scamper up and down steps and leap onto trains. But now, surrounded by the work of Impressionists who dedicated themselves to capturing felt experience rather than reality, I sensed for the first time since my ordeal began that perhaps I would be OK – no, more than OK – with my altered sight. We learn, after all, that beauty is transient, that fading is only a matter of time. As I stood in that gallery before “Vase of Flowers,” the sharp and noisy world receded. I didn’t regret not seeing the edges.

The Outlook, Fall 2026