INTERESTING EYE NEWS & CLINICAL PEARLS

Eye - Abstract of article: Stratus-OCT imaging in early glaucomatous and in ocular hypertensive patients with and without frequency-doubling technology abnormalities

OCULAR SURGERY NEWS U.S. EDITION January 15, 2007 Heart disease, ocular health share important common ground in women. “I think we’re all aware that the eye really can be the first manifestation of systemic disease, whether it be cardiovascular disease or other systemic diseases,” Ivana Kim, MD, said. Studies have shown that women are more likely than men to show arteriolar narrowing with an increased risk for secondary ocular vascular complication and possible vision loss. “If we saw significant changes suggestive of hypertension, then I would make sure that the patient was aware, first of all, what their blood pressure was, whether or not they had been diagnosed with hypertension,” Dr. Kim said. “Narrowing of the carotid artery caused by atherosclerotic plaque that can predispose you to stroke can also predispose you to have a blockage of a retinal arteriole, either central or branch, and can lead to vision loss,” Dr. Kim said. “It’s like having a stroke in the eye basically. Dr. Kim...

A new glaucoma risk estimator has been developed using data from untreated patients in the Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study and the European Glaucoma Prevention Study. It uses five baseline features to determine the risk that a patient with ocular hypertension will develop glaucoma over the next 5 years. It has demonstrated good accuracy but should be considered an aid to clinical judgment and not a substitute. See the above link for this FREE glaucoma tool.

I've actually had the misfortune of seeing this twice! Avastin is a miracle drug in the treatment for exudative macular degeneration. However, as with all medical treatment, potential complications like this must be diagnosed as soon as posssible.

SOURCE: Optom Vis Sci. 2005 Jun;82(6):512-8. CONCLUSIONS.: CRT lenses significantly reduced myopia, improved visual acuity and subjective vision, and flattened central corneal curvature. Maximal effect was achieved after 10 days and was maintained for the rest of the study period.

Source: Cornea. 25 Supplement 1:S59-S63, December 2006. Hiraoka, Takahiro MD; Okamoto, Fumiki MD; Kaji, Yuichi MD; Oshika, Tetsuro MD Conclusion: Corneal irregular astigmatism and higher-order aberrations significantly increased even in clinically successful orthokeratology, and the increases correlated with the magnitude of myopic correction. A large myopic correction by orthokeratology should be avoided to not decrease corneal optical quality.