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The impact of calcium channel blockers on glaucoma remains a topic of debate, with some studies suggesting they may increase the risk of glaucoma and others indicating a protective effect.
In this study published in Ophthalmology Glaucoma researchers observed a potential protective association between calcium channel blocker use and visual field deterioration. But they suggested the need for further investigation.
Spectacle lenses containing highly aspherical lenslets have been shown to slow myopia progression. Chinese Researchers of this study found that 95% of children who wore anti-myopia glasses experienced myopia progression of less than 2.50D.
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Researchers concluded: “Therefore, long-term wear of highly aspherical lenslets eyeglass lenses could significantly reduce the incidence of high myopia.”
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Alcon recently released a new over-the-counter eyedrop, Systane Pro Preservative-Free (PF), formulated with an added hydrating agent to prolong symptom relief.
The multi-dose, triple-action solution contains the same ingredient (propylene glycol 0.6%), nano-sized lipids and hydroxypropyl guar as Systane Complete, another OTC artificial tear offered by Alcon. However, the new product’s formula is enhanced by the addition of hyaluronate, which the company says helps improve tear film retention on the ocular surface, provide sustained hydration, restore tear film stability and protect against further irritation of dry eyes, ultimately giving patients longer-lasting relief than that provided by other Systane drops on the market.
For more information, go to alcon.com.
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One recent study published in Ophthalmology aimed to determine whether these widely used medications could reduce the risk of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and ocular hypertension, particularly in non-diabetic overweight populations
Specifically, they noted a 50.4% reduced risk of POAG at the three-year follow-up, and by the five-year follow-up, the reduction increased to 58.5%. Ocular hypertension risks were similarly diminished by 55.9% and 65.8% across the same timelines.
GLP-1RAs have been shown to reduce retinal ganglion cell loss. “The degeneration of retinal ganglion cells and axon loss is characteristic of glaucomatous optic neuropathy and reduction in mechanisms potentiating this process would ultimately reduce glaucoma progression and severity—as confirmed by our results,” the researchers noted.
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A minimum of 10,000 steps per day has been associated with numerous health benefits, including a reduction in blood pressure, an enhancement in exercise capacity and a decrease in sympathetic nerve activity among individuals with hypertension.
A recent study published in Journal of Glaucoma revealed that increasing patients’ daily exercise, particularly to more than 10,000 steps per day, may be a pragmatic approach to improving optic disc blood flow in glaucoma patients.
“Our study implies that daily physical activity may have a long-term impact on ocular blood flow” the study researchers wrote in their paper.
| Click here for the journal source. |
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A new study in American Journal of Ophthalmology demonstrated a connection between chronic stress and age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
The data revealed that AMD patients exhibited significantly higher chronic stress scores as far back as a decade before their diagnosis when compared to controls without AMD. For each unit increase in chronic stress score, the odds of having AMD increased by a factor of 1.11, highlighting a direct correlation between chronic stress and the increased likelihood of developing AMD.
While this study reinforces that smoking cessation is the most important lifestyle modification to lower AMD risk, the researchers point out the connection between smoking and chronic stress.
Smoking has been directly associated with higher stress scores. Nicotine exposure may lead to activation of stress systems, and chronic stress may lead to adoption of poor health behaviors like smoking.
Future work could expand on current efforts to understand the role of chronic stress in ocular health and disease outcomes, such as AMD progression.
A recent study published in Ophthalmology demonstrated GLP-1 receptor agonists were associated with reduced hazard of nonexudative AMD. Notably, GLP-1 receptor agonists also significantly reduced the risk of exudative AMD and POAG compared to insulin after three years.
“The consistency of these findings across multiple comparisons suggests a potential benefit of GLP-1RAs in mitigating the risk of nonexudative AMD,” the researchers wrote in their paper. “Demonstrating a reduction in risk of POAG without a significant impact on the rate of ocular hypertension could indicate the protective effect is separate from lowering intraocular pressure.”
This report in American Journal of Ophthalmology concluded:
This systematic meta-analysis found that GLP-1 RA use is associated with reduced glaucoma development in retrospective studies. Future, well-designed, long-term studies focusing on GLP-1 RAs and SGLT-2 inhibitors are needed to validate these findings and evaluate their effects on glaucoma progression and vision loss. The overall interpretation should be cautious.
This article in Review of Optometry has an excellent review with photographs of the most common anterior segment conditions.
From Review of Optometry:
"There are many ocular diseases in which inflammation is a key factor, potentially leading to abnormalities in these ancillary tests. The two most common and relevant clinical scenarios are temporal arteritis and uveitis. Elevations in ESR and CRP levels, for example, are often diagnostic for temporal arteritis or polymyalgia rheumatica in conjunction with the clinical picture.12
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Uveitis, pictured here, is one ocular condition with marked inflammation, which would be indicated upon ESR or CRP testing. Photo: Kyle D. Dohm, OD. Click image to enlarge. |
"Uveitis is a manifestation of numerous underlying systemic conditions, many of which would result in elevated ESR and/or CRP values. While uveitis in and of itself is inflammation, regardless of cause, studies have shown that first attacks of uveitis do not often lead to abnormal laboratory values. However, elevated levels of ESR and CRP suggest a systemic process causing uveitis. Further investigation has also attributed elevations in ESR to be due to autoimmune or collagen vascular disease etiologies, whereas abnormal CRP was more associated with trauma and infectious causes.3,13
"When taken together, both ESR and CRP laboratory tests can be helpful in the clinical setting. Understanding the nuances of each test and why they are measured will give the clinician the highest yield in the diagnosis and monitoring of diseases with inflammatory components."
In this study:
Lower baseline 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure measurements, as well as low systolic blood pressure during follow-up, were associated significantly with faster rates of glaucomatous visual field loss progression and may be used as a predictor of risk of glaucomatous progression.
In this study:
"Over 5 years, the continued 0.05% atropine treatment demonstrated good efficacy for myopia control. Most children needed to restart treatment after atropine cessation at year 3. Restarted treatment with 0.05% atropine achieved similar efficacy as continued treatment. Children should be considered for re-treatment if myopia progresses after treatment cessation."
.05% performed better than .025% and .01%.
