Obituary: Leonard Apt, 90, doctor-scientist who gave gift of vision to millions of children

Internationally respected UCLA eye surgeon Dr. Leonard Apt, who co-developed an inexpensive antiseptic eye drop that substantially reduced the incidence of blindness in children in developing countries, died Feb. 1 at UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica, after a brief illness. He was 90.   A founding member of the Jules Stein Eye Institute at UCLA and an emeritus professor of ophthalmology, Apt was the first physician in the world to become board-certified in both pediatrics and ophthalmology. He devoted his career to preventing blindness in children.   Together with longtime collaborator Dr. Sherwin Isenberg, Apt identified povidone–iodine as a safe topical antimicrobial agent. Prior to their research, no previous studies provided a standard for sterilizing the surface of the eye before surgery. Known commercially as Betadine, the eye drop is now used throughout the world to prepare patients for eye surgery and prevent infection. Apt and Isenberg also demonstrated that Betadine was safer, cheaper and more effective than silver nitrate or antibiotics in preventing eye disease in newborns.   "Leonard described himself as 'a man of firsts,' and he really was," said Isenberg, UCLA's Laraine and David Gerber Professor of Ophthalmology and chief of ophthalmology at Los Angeles County Harbor–UCLA Medical Center. "He had very clever ideas and constantly looked for meaningful ways to improve patient care on a large scale. His prolific research ...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news