EUROPEAN OPHTHALMIC REVIEW – VOLUME 4 – SUMMER 2010

Research in various fields of ophthalmology is constantly evolving, resulting in a massive amount of papers published in peer-reviewed journals. In this context, review papers may provide good starting points from which to address different matters in specific areas. This issue of European Ophthalmic Review presents many interesting and up-to-date articles that will provide readers […]

Glaucoma is a progressive, multifactorial optic neuropathy characterised by acquired atrophy of the optic nerve due to the loss of retinal ganglion cells and their axons in the retina.1,2 Thus, evaluation of the retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) is key to diagnosing and monitoring changes in patients with glaucoma. Until recently, red-free fundus photographs were […]

Canon is a world leader and innovator of imaging and information technology solutions. Its dedication to breaking new ground has been continuously demonstrated during the company’s history, in particular with the birth of Canon’s electro-optical system (EOS) single lens reflex (SLR) technology more than two decades ago, which has since given rise to a range […]

Support: The publication of this article was funded by Santen Oy. The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Santen Oy. Glaucoma is a chronic, potentially blinding condition and one of the leading causes of blindness in the world. The vast majority of patients are asymptomatic until they […]

Глаукома – это потенциально ведущее к слепоте хроническое заболевание, являющееся одной из основных причин слепоты в мире. У подавляющего большинства пациентов заболевание протекает бессимптомно до наступления поздней стадии, на которой качество жизни резко ухудшается из-за значительного сужения поля зрения и потенциально возможного наступления слепоты. В основе терапии глаукомы лежит снижение внутриглазного давления (ВГД), являющегося важнейшим […]

In eyes with open-angle glaucoma, increased deposits of extracellular matrix have been found in the trabecular meshwork.1 As the trabecular meshwork is rinsed by aqueous humour, it seems possible and plausible that alterations of the aqueous humour might influence the behaviour of the trabecular meshwork cells.2 Fluids and their chemical compounds can be analysed quantitatively […]

Glaucoma, an optic neuropathy, is a major cause of vision loss worldwide,1 with many cases of falls in women accounted for by severe glaucomatous visual field loss.2,3 The most common form of this condition is primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), which accounts for 60–70% of all glaucomas. If secondary open-angle glaucomas such as pseudoexfoliation are included, […]

Clinical Evaluation of the Optic Nerve Head and Retinal Nerve Fibre Layer in the Diagnosis of GlaucomaThe evaluation and management of patients suspected of having glaucoma is part of the daily routine of many ophthalmologists. When examining each patient, clinicians integrate information from various diagnostic tools to make their decisions. Assessment of the appearance of […]

The laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) procedure is a safe, painless and quite common corneal refractive surgical procedure for the correction of myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism. It involves the initial creation of a corneal flap, followed by remodelling of the corneal stroma using an excimer laser. Finally, the corneal flap is placed back onto the […]

Lower-order eye aberrations such as myopia, astigmatism and hyperopia are corrected using conventional laser refractive surgery, with excimer laser refractive surgery being the most common procedure. Excimer laser refractive surgery aims to correct these aberrations by altering the shape of the corneal curvature through the ablation of corneal tissue. It includes three main types of […]

The femtosecond laser (FL) is a surgical tool used to prepare accurate, uniform and predictable incisions in the cornea.1 It separates the stromal lamellae using ultra-short-wavelength energy, which creates contiguous small bubbles that expand to form a resection plane. The laser has a very short pulse duration that takes place in the femtosecond range (10–5 […]

Surgery requires the utmost attention to detail and is never ‘easy’. However, easyPhaco®, a new device for cataract surgery, eliminates the need for the surgeon to constantly check the special features of standard phaco equipment. Problems that occur when using such equipment include instabilities, collapse, repulsion of fragments, turbulence and insufficient emulsification performance. There is […]

Despite recent technical advances in cataract surgery, the physical trauma of ocular surgery is still enough to induce significant post-operative ocular inflammation. Inflammation is a major risk factor for complications after ocular surgery, including pain, visual fluctuation, delays in visual recovery and wound healing, elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) and cystoid macular oedema (CMO).1–4 The blood–aqueous […]

Primary angle-closure glaucoma is a visually destructive type of glaucoma that accounts for approximately half of the worldwide blindness caused by this disease.1–5 The closure of the anterior chamber angle (ACA) seems to be the primary abnormality leading to intraocular pressure (IOP) increase and glaucomatous optic neuropathy.6 The contact between the peripheral iris and the […]

Corneal ectasias represent a group of disorders characterised by tectonic corneal weakness or thinning, decreased visual acuity and irregular astigmatism.1 These disorders comprise primary conditions such as keratoconus and pellucid marginal degeneration and iatrogenic corneal ectasia, which may occur after refractive procedures such as laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) surgery.

Epithelial basement membrane dystrophy (EBMD) and Fuchs endothelial dystrophy are two of the more commonly encountered corneal conditions in comprehensive and anterior segment ophthalmology practice. In many cases, epithelial basement membrane abnormalities, in the presence of endothelial disease, can be attributed to primary endothelial failure leading to corneal oedema and subsequent epitheliopathy. This article will […]

Lutein is a non-pro-vitamin A carotenoid pigment naturally found in plants. It exists in nature either associated with free fatty acids (lutein esters) or in free form (lutein) (see Figure 1). Lutein is mainly found in the leaves of plants, being an integral component of plant chloroplasts and working as an accessory pigment in the […]

Epidemiology of Dry Eye and Sjögren’s SyndromeDry-eye syndrome (DES) is a common ocular disorder, affecting an estimated 25% of patients presenting to general ophthalmology clinics.1 The incidence of DES varies significantly depending on the age of the population studied and the signs and/or symptoms considered for making the diagnosis. Recent studies suggested that over nine […]

Since the implantation of the first intraocular lens (IOL) in 1949, there have been significant improvements in their design, which have led to cataract surgery being transformed into a precise refractive surgical technique. The evolution of IOL designs has been rapid, and extensive development of new advanced IOLs has occurred in recent years.

The retinal ganglion cell (RGC) is the key cell implicated in the development of blindness in glaucoma.1–3 However, standard clinical tests are believed to identify visual field defects when up to as much as 40% of RGCs are lost, resulting in a potential 10-year delay in glaucoma diagnosis.4–6 Utilising the unique optical properties of the […]

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible visual loss in the western world.1–5 Broadly, there are two types of AMD: dry or non-exudative AMD, and wet or exudative AMD. The dry form is characterised by drusen formation and a slow, progressive focal atrophy of the macular retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and […]

Physiological medicine is a field that deals with the treatment and prevention of disease by the optimisation of physiology to youthful levels. This field is more properly called multimodal physiological medicine1 because it is of paramount importance to identify and correct as many physiological errors as possible. An analogy, to bring this concept home to […]