Dr. Gerald Horn is Committed to Taking Science to the Next Level in Optometry and Beyond
The only way for science to move forward is for those within the medical field to remain committed to the cause. It involves research, ideas, and not accepting the status quo. Dr. Gerald Horn is not only an ophthalmologist responsible for thousands of LASIK surgeries, but he’s also the owner of well over 70 US and International issued and pending patents.
According to Dr. Gerald Horn, in his view, the field of science travels conceptually along an ever branching tree, each large branch a discipline of human knowledge, each with infinite and continuous branches building on previous discoveries with new opportunities to further branch out discoveries needing to be made. When people are prepared to believe in themselves and are willing to risk ridicule from conventional wisdom and even rejection of their ideas as they push the envelope on this “infinite tree of knowledge” scientific progress and advancement can result. On the other hand unanticipated adverse consequences can occur as well, a key responsibility we must address to ensure the safe future of our planet and civilization period.
As a graduate of Northwestern University with a biochemistry major, and the University of Illinois School of Medicine, he has always been interested in new discoveries, and has had the opportunity to work on a number of research projects, both successes and failures. He has worked with a university professor to invent a new laser, invented and eventually licensed an eye whitening drop that has become one of the world’s leading drops, invented an eye drop that reversibly corrects reading vision that is in FDA trials, is, as a pharmaceutical chief scientific officer for several companies, and most recently developed a caffeinated beverage in the functional “better for you” natural caffeine category known as Breinfuel (www.breinfuel.com).
Dr. Gerald Horn is quick to remind people that vision is one of the most important and extraordinary senses. No camera can duplicate it’s range of light and dark vision adaption. A century ago, if a person suffered from nearsightedness, the only option was to wear glasses. Even then, the refractive lenses weren’t what they were today. However, due to accelerated advances of science he has been part of his career, he has been able to see a number of profound improvements in all aspects of eye care. Cataract removal no longer with sandbags to keep the head still and inpatient hospitalization, contacts not hard oxygen barrier plastic, laser vision correction with larger treatment zones and aspheric better visual quality curve potential, better glaucoma drugs, and ever improving treatments on the horizon for presbyopia (reading) and treating dry eye to name just a few of the continually evolving improvements in ophthalmology alone.
Dr. Gerald Horn was an early adopter of LASIK refractive eye surgery. In the past 20 years, he has performed and overseen over 86,000 procedures, and witnesses the continual discovery of ways to make LASIK surgery safer and more effective. His mantra, “the only constant is change” means every year of his career there he expects a discovery or some refinement or other that helps his patients.
Dr. Gerald Horn has interest in multiple areas of medicine and science outside of ophthalmology. He has been very excited about the development of Breinfuel, a beverage that evolved from his personal quest to find something better than coffee, energy drinks or nootropic supplements to keep him sharp on treatment days.
Breinfuel was the result, evolving from coffees/teas, energy drinks, better for you naturally caffeinated beverages, and nootropics what he believed may he a next generation of more cerebral beverages.
Breinfuel provides the same category of ingredients in coffee but in a non-coffee base to get the benefit of the rich health promoting compounds from natural caffeine’s and green coffee bean extract without the toxicity roasting a coffee bean to up to 450 F can cause in coffee; adds potentially key antioxidants from Vitamins C and E, as well as from other supplements he believes to be important to the best antioxidant blend possible.
In addition he believes caffeine without metabolic fuels, like 0 cal drinks adds brain toxicity, as does poor fuel sources like high carbohydrate drinks with high fructose corn syrup, or high fat content bulletin coffees. Breinfuel adds a potent fuel blend on collagen protein with high glycine content important for brain antioxidant pathways, a single low glycemic sugar, and medium chain fatty adding healthy fuel options for the brain and body. Poor fuel may cause inflammation and oxidative stress BreinFuel is designed to reduce.
Potential Brain health boosting additives like zinc, creatine, and beet root powder with numerous published studies on their health potential, and a set of flavor SKUS from a renowned flavor house complete Breinfuel. The result is a Cerebral Beverage, evolved from coffees, energy drinks, and nootropics. It is designed to provide mental focus, and long duration concentration – cognitive endurance, along with overall uplifting energy.
Dr. Horn believes our understanding of how we eat and how we stimulate our brain and body is the heart of our health issues for almost all diseases. The byproducts of what we eat and under what conditions we stimulate our bodies to work harder cause more or less “oxidative stress” in every organ, tissue, and cell, and to which the brain is incredibly sensitive.
From traumatic brain injury to Alzheimers, Parkinson’s and almost every other neurodegenerative disease; almost any systemic condition from heart, liver, kidney, our blood vessels and even cancer oxidative stress is causing oxygen needed for metabolism to create an excess of the singlet oxygen our T cells need to kill the bad guys, but the rest of our bodies find dangerously toxic if in excess. Everyone can rip an electron out of surrounding tissue causing disease. No single antioxidant is sufficient, however by providing a natural blend of caffeine and many of the antioxidants in coffee, tea, and key vitamins and supplements, a healthy low glycemic sugar, protein and MCT/ keto fuel blend, and adding six of the nine nutrients some studies have shown best for brain health Breinfuel is designed to provide a healthier way to assist your brain and allow it to better function at high metabolism.
At a quick glance, Dr. Gerald Horn may be just a LASIK surgeon. Or the inventor of one of the world’s leading eye whitening drops. Or the discoverer of an eye drop in FDA trials to reversibly restore reading vision. But he is simply a curious self described “nerd” who knows everything in our world has a path to make it better, adding another branch to the infinite tree of human knowledge.
Breinfuel evolved from about two years of toying with better coffees, nootropics and energy drinks to help him stay sharp on surgery days. As that evolved, and his colleagues described similar benefits, he elected to continue improving it and finally Breinfuel was born. Fueling the brain with metabolic fuels, natural caffeine, antioxidants, and other key additives. The total ingredient mix, their combinations and ratios are all intended to promote better alertness, focus, productivity and overall health. Even the use of preservatives is to protect the antioxidant blend and proteins from deleterious effects the high heat of pasteurization may cause that is otherwise required.
Dr. Gerald Horn encourages medical students and board-certified doctors to be advocates within the field of science, too. Anyone in or outside of medicine can discover something that may prove useful or beneficial to others and in some small way add to our world knowledge. From
Better management of waste to apps providing greater efficiency or even fun, to medicine and or ways of better protecting our future world anyone can contribute if he can.
Dr. Gerald Horn believes that, by working together, more of the medical problems that people face can be solved by using science. Even a drink is not just a thirst quencher. Coffee should have taught us that, if not teas. Drinks are a potential under-appreciated potential for evolving the key health elixir of our future he claims. Something that makes one tiny increment better every day might be better for us as a preventative than a billion dollar blockbuster Alzheimer’s drug. From health comes prevention. Breinfuel is Dr Horn’s attempt to move the needle a few microns are left in the right direction. He hopes it will add to the rich history of evolving healthier beverages since the introduction of tea and coffee.
