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Retinoblastoma – the challenges of a rare cancer and the role of international partnerships

Introduction: the global challenge The global burden of retinoblastoma (Rb) is one in 15,000-18,000 live births, which equates to 8000 new cases worldwide each year. The global disparities in Rb outcome represent a paradigm of health inequality worldwide [1]. In...

Strabismus and ocular motility, demystified

I am a former orthoptist, now trained in medicine and working as a foundation doctor. In my previous work, I was frequently approached by ophthalmology trainees eager for guidance with strabismus and ocular motility. Drawing on my clinical experience, I...

Part 2: the Arclight Device: frugal imaging for eyecare

In this three-part series (Click here for Part 1 and here for Part 3) Andrew Blaikie and his team explore the role and application of the Arclight Device in Imaging of the Eye. There are many different types of ophthalmic...

Planes, trams, and auditoriums: Beware predatory conferencing

Predatory open-access journals and predatory conferences are considered the two main areas of predatory infiltration in academic medicine that are of growing concern [1–7]. Unsolicited publishing requests from potentially predatory publishers occur frequently among faculty in ophthalmology [8]. Predatory conferencing...

Simulating the visual impairment symptoms of age-related macular degeneration in virtual reality

A new virtual reality application visually simulates age-related macular degeneration and demonstrates its progression over time including some Charles Bonnet syndrome hallucinations. Introduction Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in developed countries with the prevalence of...

Diabetes and diabetic retinopathy: Changes in understanding of the disease over the last 25 years and how the UK is helping low-income countries tackle the challenges

Diabetes – a historical perspective Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic disease caused by inherited and / or acquired deficiency in production of insulin by the pancreas, or by the ineffectiveness of the insulin produced. Such a deficiency results in...

IN FOCUS - VISION 2020 LINKS Programme: the contribution of health partnerships to reduction in blindness worldwide

As other articles in this series (IN FOCUS Apr 2020) demonstrate, the year 2020 is highly significant in the eye care field. Naming a global initiative ‘VISION 2020: The Right to Sight’ in 1999 was a daring way to focus...

Refraction planning in cataract: avoid creating an unhappy patient

“It is much more important to know what sort of a patient has a disease than what sort of a disease a patient has.” William Osler The focus of this paper is the prevention of an unhappy patient following cataract...

Pathophysiology of diabetic macular oedema: why combination therapy may be better

The prevalence of diabetes has continued to increase over the years. It is currently estimated that there are 382 million with diabetes worldwide in 2013, and that this figure is expected to rise to 592 million by 2035 [1]. In...