Ophthalmology

Vision is an important sense, and is even more vital for artists who rely on it for their livelihood. One such artist that suffered from visual impairments was Claude Monet. In 1912, he was diagnosed with bilateral cataracts (Marmor & Ravin 1997, p. 170). Cataracts cloud several aspects of vision like form and color, and can affect the development of artistic style (Goldstein 2007, p. 553). To test such a link with the scientific method would require an experiment within groups of participating…

Late presentation of Glaucoma to health facilities is mostly influenced by poor knowledge of the disease, its risk factors and associated consequences. Sources of eye health information is limited and obtained mostly from family members or friends based on past experiences as such, the available information may be inaccurate and influenced by traditional beliefs. In addition, appropriate information is poorly targeted to persons at risk of developing the disease hence, the health and economic…

Ocular Ischemic Syndrome (OIS) is a rare, primarily unilateral condition caused by hypoperfusion secondary to ophthalmic and carotid artery blockages.1 An internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis happens 90% of the time causing perfusion pressure to decrease in the central retinal artery.1 In patients with an ICA stenosis, studies have shown that plasma levels of homocysteine and C-reactive protein are linked to the development of OIS.3 When ICA stenosis occurs, there is an incomplete blood…

Glaucoma is a retinal disease that can lead to vision loss if it remains undetected and untreated. It usually occurs at the optic nerve head region due to the damage of ganglion cells. A study conducted by the Cataract Surgery Registry (CSR) from 2002 to 2012 on patients with pre-existing ocular co-morbidity showed that there has been an increase of around 119 number of patients from year 2011 to 2012 with 1976 and 2095 patients respectively (Mohamad Aziz Salowi & Goh, 2012). Although glaucoma…

Referred to as “a forgotten disease of a forgotten people” by Paul Emerson, Director of the Trachoma Control Program at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia; trachoma is a hyperendemic of preventable blindness in the world. Trachoma is an ocular infection caused by intercellular parasite Chlamydia trachomatis. It thrives in dirty atmospheres with close proximities since the disease is spread by contact of infected eye and nose discharge through hands, towels and flies. Most of the risk…

On a cool october day at lambeau field you can hear a loud roar from the fans after brett Favre went down with a concussion. William Joseph drove Brett Favre into the ground when Favre got up he thought it was a little cloudy. The doctors did not want to put him back in the game with the fear of him having a concussion. One of the touchdowns in the game he could not even remember. Some people think that the NFL is spending too much money on concussion research. But many people still don't think…

Cortical blindness is one of the rare neurological condition characterized by binocular vision loss due to insult in the occipital cortex. Pupillary light reflex are preserved as anterior visual pathway is intact. One of the rare complication of cortical blindness is Anton Babinski Syndrome. This syndrome results from damage to visual association cortex (brodmann area 18, 19) along with primary visual cortex (brodmann area 17) [1, 2]. Discussion Anton Babinski syndrome is a condition in…

Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness for people over 60 years old. It is a group of diseases that occur when aqueous humour is unable to flow out of the eye properly, causing an increase in fluid pressure in the eyes, which cause ocular hypertension and damage the optic nerve over time. The flow of aqueous humour can be disrupted either by a partial or full block of its drainage canal or an excess production of the fluid, and the chronic increase in intraocular pressure (IOP) leads to a…

Teaching point: For patients with chronic ocular conditions, patient re-education is key. ____’s condition is consistent with wet macular degeneration. Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the primary cause of legal blindness in North Americans 65 years of age or older. AMD is divided into two types: dry (also known as “nonexudative” or “non-neovascular”) and wet (also called “exudative” or “neovascular”). Approximately 10-15 percent of AMD cases involve dry AMD progressing to the more…

In Home Senior Care and Macular Degeneration As we age, our eyes slowly deteriorate. The process is different for each person, but the result is tens of millions of seniors with vision-related problems. The most common of these problems in seniors is macular degeneration. Macular degeneration is a disease that affects the center of the eye. The disease makes it hard to read, drive, or even watch television since the central part of the vision is gone (the peripheral vision is still intact).…