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Refined glaucoma referral practice offers prospect of improved capacity and expanded role for primary eye care professionals

Glaucoma is the most frequent cause of irreversible blindness worldwide and the second leading cause of blindness in the UK [1,2]. The global prevalence of glaucoma in 2010 was approximately 3.5% for people aged 40-80 years, according to Jonas et...

Could the sclera be key to glaucoma?

The glaucomas are a group of conditions characterised by optic neuropathy and associated visual field defects. Of these, chronic open-angle glaucoma (COAG) – diagnosed on the basis of progressive structural changes to the optic nerve head (ONH) and nerve fibre...

An update on idiopathic intracranial hypertension

The incidence of Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is increasing, likely in line with the worldwide epidemic of obesity. To date, there have been revisions in the terminology used and diagnostic criteria for IIH; these recognise the need to exclude secondary...

The International AMD Genomics Consortium study: another success in understanding the complex genetics of AMD

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a neurodegenerative complex disease of the eye and a major cause of blindness and visual impairment among the elderly worldwide. The early stages of the disease are characterised by asymptomatic pigmentary abnormalities and accumulation of...

The bionic eye – behind the headlines

Multiple visual prosthetic projects and other vision regeneration initiatives being tested in preclinical and clinical development worldwide illustrate continuing progress and opportunities in addressing profound blindness from hereditary retinal diseases and other causes (Table 1). Three implantable bionic vision systems...

Cutting-edge practice in glaucoma care: what, how and why?

More effective treatments and drug delivery modalities, implantable minimally invasive glaucoma surgical (MIGS) devices, as well as accelerating clinical research programmes, will transform the surgical and clinical management of glaucoma in the near future. There is also an ever-greater emphasis...

The role of inflammation in the pathophysiology of DMO

Diabetic macular oedema (DMO) is a major cause of visual loss in diabetes, with a complex multifactorial pathogenesis. In the UK alone it is estimated that there are nearly 2.5 million diabetic patients aged over 12 years. Approximately 65,000 of...

Ophthalmology in ancient india, Sushruta’s time and the modern era

While reading an article related to the history of Indian ophthalmology, I came across this description of a surgical procedure: “The doctor warmed the patient’s eye with the breath of his mouth. He rubbed the closed eye of the patient...

What’s next in retinal imaging? Faster, deeper and full-on

Fast-evolving technological leaps are opening the way toward clinically useful ocular coherence angiography, generating 3-dimensional microvasculature maps without intravenous dye injection, as well as whole-eye imaging, handheld patient-operated optical coherence tomography (OCT) devices and, for challenging vitreoretinal procedures, integrated intraoperative...

A paradigm shift in the way we approach cataract surgery

Cataract surgery is the most common elective surgical procedure in the UK [1], with in the region of 350,000 cases being conducted each year. With an ageing population, this figure will only continue to rise over time. Cataract surgery is...