INTERESTING EYE NEWS & CLINICAL PEARLS

OSN SuperSite - Omega-3 fatty acids may prevent retinopathies, study suggests This study on mice suggests omega-3 fatty acids may be beneficial in patients w/ varying types of retinopathy.

OSN SuperSite - Effect of Hormone Replacement Therapy in Women on Ocular Refractive Status and Aberrations This study concludes: Hormone replacement therapy in postmenopausal women does not significantly affect refractive status, corneal topography, and wavefront aberrations of the eye at 6-month follow-up.

OSN SuperSite - Glaucoma surgery reverses optic disc cupping in some patients According to this report: 14% of patients treated surgically experienced a "reversal of cupping" compared with just 1% of patients treated medically.

Arch Ophthalmol -- Abstract: High-Speed Ultra-High-Resolution Optical Coherence Tomography Findings in Hydroxychloroquine Retinopathy, June 2007, Rodriguez-Padilla et al. 125 (6): 775 It may become standard in the future to monitor patients on Plaquenil using OCT.

OSN SuperSite - Systemic bevacizumab effective against PED secondary to AMD in small study According to this paper: Systemic treatment with bevacizumab improved vision and reduced lesion sizes in a small study of patients with pigment epithelial detachment secondary to age-related macular degeneration.

Journal of Glaucoma - Abstract: Volume 16(4) June/July 2007 p 372-383 Can Frequency-doubling Technology and Short-wavelength Automated Perimetries Detect Visual Field Defects Before Standard Automated Perimetry in Patients With Preperimetric Glauc According to this study: FDT and SWAP detect functional losses in cases of suspected glaucoma before glaucomatous losses detected by standard perimetry.

OSN SuperSite - Gonioscopy necessary before initiating glaucoma therapy, specialist says : "Gonioscopy is an essential tool for making an accurate diagnosis and understanding the biological mechanisms at work in glaucoma suspects, according to a specialist speaking here at the OSN Las Vegas meeting"