The rather striking cover photograph on this issue of the journal shows gonioscopy images before and after Avastin® injection in a patient with neovascular glaucoma (Paula et al. in this issue). The editorial in this issue discusses the use and abuse of numbers in data values, in particular the excessive use of decimals when mean values are calculated. Professor Sven Erik G. Nilsson, recipient of the 2006 Acta Ophthalmologica Honorary Award, reflects on the journey he and his fellow scientists have made through the wonderlands of eye research. Massin et al., from Paris, review the use of optical coherence tomography in the evaluation of diabetic macular oedema and propose the technique as a key tool in the management of the condition. Pedersen et al., of Copenhagen and Reykjavik, found that optic nerve pH is slightly lower than arterial blood pH and both change in tandem. Optic nerve oxygen tension is influenced by CO2 concentration, but not by pH alone. German authors Huber et al. found increased blood flow velocity in the ophthalmic and central retinal arteries in normal subjects under hypercapnia. Contrast sensitivity was also improved by hypercapnia. Hacioğu et al., Turkey, found that polyunsaturated fatty acids have a beneficial effect on the visual evoked potentials in hypertensive rats. Swedish researchers Lundström et al. have designed a new clinical tool for evaluating indications for cataract surgery. The tool takes into account the objective measurements of visual acuity and the patient's subjective evaluation of visual function. Oslo-based Liv Drolsum found deep sclerectomy to be a safe and effective procedure in pseudoexfoliative glaucoma; the beneficial effect of the surgery lasts several years. Rekonen et al., Kuopio, also studied deep sclerectomy, in both primary open-angle and pseudoexfoliative glaucoma. They found deep sclerectomy to be equally effective in both conditions. Oliveira et al., based in New York and Erlangen, found evidence of exfoliation material in the middle-aged offspring of patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome, thus substantiating the hereditary character of the syndrome. Slettedal et al., Oslo, used scanning electron microscopy to study the epithelium in donor corneas and found progressive epithelial cell loss with time. However, a healthy rim of peripheral epithelial cells remained, even after a week. Antwerp-based Verhelst et al. reviewed 107 cases of contact lens-related corneal ulcers and found severe ulcers requiring hospitalization to be an increasing problem in Belgium. Puell et al., writing from Madrid, found that dry eyes significantly impair contrast sensitivity. Japanese researchers Uchino et al. report the first child case of pseudomembranous conjunctivitis in acute graft versus host disease after stem cell transplantation. Mehta et al., London, describe subconjunctival crystals in paediatric blepharokeratoconjunctivitis, a condition that has not previously been reported in children. Finnish authors Leinonen et al. examined the variability of refractive error measurements and found it to be greater in eyes with lower visual acuity. Sadeghi et al., based in Sweden and the USA, examined the progressive loss of visual acuity and visual fields that begins in the second and third decades of life in both types 1 and 2 Usher syndrome. Gränse, writing from Lund, suggests that multifocal visual evoked potentials may be useful in evaluating the acute phase of Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy. Mauget-Faÿsse et al., Lyon, present a case of photodynamic therapy for choroidal metastasis from lung adenocarcinoma in the diagnosis/therapy section. Two letters report the use of Avastin. Paula et al., from Brazil, used Avastin successfully in neovascular glaucoma; the cover figure on the journal comes from this study. German practitioners Spandau et al. present a case of macular oedema due to central retinal vein occlusion where Avastin was helpful. The abstracts for the International Perimetric Society's 17th Visual Field and Imaging Symposium are printed in this issue. I hope that this issue of Acta proves to be both pleasurable and educational.
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Nov 1, 2006
Mark J Gallardo + 3
Open Access