Ophthalmology

Editor's Choice

Prolonged hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, and dyslipidemia in patients with diabetes can lead to microvascular complications that severely impair a patient's quality of life. One such microvascular complication is diabetic retinopathy, which is responsible for 12,000 to 24,000 new cases of blindness in the United States each year and is the leading cause of blindness among US adults aged 20 to 74 years.

LATEST ARTICLES

Physician's Focus: Diabetic Retinopathy

Physician's Focus: Optic Neuritis and Multiple Sclerosis

Though officially categorized as a ?rare disease? by the National Institutes of Health, optic neuritis is a serious condition more prevalent in younger adults. Though it was once believed that one third of patients affected would go on to develop multiple sclerosis, subsequent research and tracking indicates that the incidence of MS in intervening years is closer to 50%. Thus, ophthalmologists must be alert to its symptoms?and aware of the more serious complications to which these symptoms may be linked.

Physician’s Focus: Age-Related Macular Degeneration—The Role of the Primary Care Physician

Age-related macular degeneration is still the leading cause of legal blindness of Americans aged 65 and older. This collection includes articles on the helping the primary care physician make an initial diagnosis and appropriate referral, a patient aid, and a podcast and blog on possible role of diet and supplements in protecting against this disease.

Physician’s Focus: Intraocular Lenses (IOLs)—Performance and Outcomes

ModernMedicine has surveyed key studies in the outcomes of implantable lens surgery. In addition to a study comparing IOLs' refractive outcomes with LASIK and PRK procedures, data is now available on long-term effects of IOL implantation.

Increased cataracts risk in elderly associated with SSRIs, SNRIs

In an on-line article published in the journal Ophthalmology, researchers reported a possible adverse association between certain selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) and the development of cataracts in those aged >65.