EUROPEAN OPHTHALMIC REVIEW – VOLUME 7 ISSUE 1 – SUMMER 2013

I would like to welcome you to the summer edition of European Ophthalmic Review, which features timely reviews and updates in glaucoma and surgical techniques, ocular surface, dry eye disease, diabetic macula oedema, optic neuritis and uveal melamona. My featured article entitled ‘Ocular Surface Disorders and Cataract and Refractive Surgery Success’ highlights the importance of […]

Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is a major risk factor for the development and progression of glaucomatous neuropathy.1–3 Thus, treatment options focus mainly on IOP lowering to prevent or slower worsening of the disease. Furthermore, previous clinical trials have demonstrated the need of additional levels of IOP reduction the more advanced the stage of the disease.1,4–6 […]

In very recent years there is an increasing interest on microinvasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) procedures.1 Traditional ab externo glaucoma surgical procedures (e.g., trabeculectomy, tubes, deep sclerectomy) are associated with significant risks and complications, whereas MIGS procedures are associated with mild and less frequent side events and do not limit other surgical options in the future. […]

Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is a chronic and usually bilateral disease. It can vary in time and onset and is characterised by abnormalities in the visual field that are caused by loss of optic nerve fibres. Open anterior chamber angle is characteristic in this disease. Typical form of secondary open-angle glaucoma is pseudoexfoliative glaucoma (XFG).1 […]

Historical targeting of the ciliary body to achieve intraocular pressure control was first carried out with the use of cyclodiathermy1 and cryotherapy2 in the first half of the twentieth century but these have now largely been superceded by the use of laser photocoagulation.3 More recently, the neodymium Nd-YAG laser has been largely replaced by the […]

Glaucoma is a set of eye conditions in which the optic nerve head (ONH) and retinal ganglion cells are damaged, resulting in the visual field (VF) of the sufferer being reduced. Part of what makes glaucoma so dangerous is that the rate of VF impairment is typically slow and that it usually begins by affecting […]

Dry eye syndrome (DES) is a multifactorial ocular surface disease (OSD),1–3 the incidence of which is about 16 %,4–7 and is one of the most common reasons why people visit their ophthalmologist – approximately one in three patients seek treatment from a specialist.8 Many cases of dry eye are associated with other disorders such as […]

Tears are a critical body extracellular fluid coating surface epithelial cells of cornea and conjunctiva and providing the optically smooth surface necessary for refraction of light onto the retina. Production and quality of tears are controlled and co-ordinated by the lachrymal function unit (LFU), which consists of the main and accessory lachrymal glands, the ocular […]

Hypertension has previously been reported as a possible risk factor for the development of central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR). In these studies, hypertension was documented retrospectively and based on patient questionnaires or as an incidental finding during the evaluation of sympathetic–parasympathetic nervous system in patients with central serous retinopathy.1–3 We report herein, for the first time, […]

Diabetic macular oedema (DMO) is the major cause of visual loss in the working-age population worldwide. Based on one study during a period of 10 years the development of DMO occurred in 20.1 % of patients with type I diabetes, 25.4 % of type 2 patients requiring insulin and 13.9 % of type 2 patients […]

Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most common primary intra-ocular malignancy in adults. The incidence of UM ranges from 4.3 to 10.9 cases per million and has remained stable for the past 50 years.1 Presentation is at a median age of 60 years, and men and women are equally affected. UM is a neoplasm that arises […]