It’s hard to find a comprehensive source for the ocular problems experienced by patients with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.
Our practice continues to be sought out by patients for help in their quest for answers to the potential ocular complications related to Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, such as dry eye syndrome and keratoconus, as a result, the number of patients we see with EDS grows rapidly.
Posted in Cornea, dry eye syndrome, Ehlers-Danlos
Tagged chronic fatigue, dry eye syndrome, EDS, ehlers-danlos syndrome, fibromyalgia
As parents we often think that our son or daughter has good vision and therefore does not need an eye exam. Common misperceptions of why eye exams in children are not important include, my son doesn’t complain of blurry vision, my child’s grades are good, or the parents have good vision therefore the kids probably do too.
School screening don’t qualify as an eye exam. While an essential part of protecting the visual and physical health of our children, school screenings were never intended to replace a professional eye exam. School screenings prevent children from “falling between the cracks” and are best used to supplement regular eye care. Read more about safeguarding our children’s vision.
Posted in children, examinations, Refractive issues, Vision
Tagged children, eye exam, school screening, Vision
David Calkins, Ph.D., Director of Research at the Vanderbilt Eye Institute published a study indicating that the brain may hold the key to the early signs of glaucoma. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study indicates that glaucoma may be like other central nervous system disorders with its origins being in the brain.
Traditional thinking regarding glaucoma is that the either the high pressure slowly crushes the nerve fibers or the pressure decreases blood flow to the optic nerve. Should Dr. Calkins’ findings be confirmed in human studies it would cause a paradigm shift in the treatment and diagnosis of glaucoma. Dr. Calkin’s study demonstrates that glaucoma starts in the brain and then as the disease progresses the optic nerve starts to show evidence of the disease. Currently Dr. Calkins’ research is directed toward looking for medical therapies that can restore the connection of the nerve fibers between the brain and the retina.
I have to applaud Dr. Calkins and his team for thinking outside the box in their pursuit of answers to the second leading cause of blindness. The study was funded by the National Eye Institute, the Glaucoma Research foundation and Research to Prevent Blindness. More details on the study results are available on The Reporter, Vanderbilt Medical Center’s Weekly Newspaper.
Posted in Glaucoma, Optic Nerve
Tagged brain, diagnosis, Glaucoma, treatment, vision loss
The March issue of Ophthalmology cites an eight year Swedish study of 30,000 women comparing the cataract surgery rate for women that have used hormone replacement therapy and those that have not. Birgitta E. Lindblad, MD, the lead author of the study, stated that “if future studies confirm the associations we found, increased risk for cataract removal should be added to the list of potential negative HRT outcomes.”
The rate of cataract surgery in the study was up to 18% higher in women that were using HRT, that rate corresponded with how long the patient had been using HRT. It was also noted that alcohol greatly increased the cataract removal rate with the study showing a 42% higher rate in women using HRT and having more than one alcoholic drink per day over those that were not using HRT.
The study also noted that when the body produces estrogen it prevents cataract formation, however supplemental estrogen medication does not react entirely the same way in the body and increases cataract formation.
Posted in cataract, Refractive issues
Tagged alcohol, cataract, cataract surgery, hormone replacement therapy
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COLLEYVILLE, TEXAS – March 6, 2010 – In honor of World Glaucoma Awareness Week (March 7 to March 13, 2010), Total Eye Care will be offering free Glaucoma Screenings on World Glaucoma Day, March 12, 2010 at the Colleyville office located at 6114 Colleyville Blvd. from Noon to 2pm.
“Early detection and awareness are crucial to limiting vision loss from glaucoma. The purpose of Glaucoma Awareness Week is to get the word out and prompt patients to seek an evaluation from their eye doctor. At Total Eye Care we would like to make it easier for patients to learn about glaucoma by offering a free screening ” says Dr. Richard Driscoll, clinical director at Total Eye Care. Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide, not because of lack of effective methods for diagnosis and treatment, but due to insufficient information available to the public and low awareness of the implications of the disease. Glaucoma is asymptomatic in its early stages, while the patient’s vision suffers irreversible and cumulative damage. Visual disturbances are noted by the patient during the later stages on the way to blindness, whereas timely diagnosis and therapy could have prevented this degradation.
“We have so many advanced medications and diagnostic instruments available to us that the detection and treatment of glaucoma has been greatly advanced in the last 10 to 15 years” says Dr. Alycia Green. A glaucoma awareness questionnaire is available on the Total Eye Care website along with detailed handouts for patients on glaucoma and many other eye diseases such as macular degeneration and keratoconus.
Total Eye Care participates in Glaucoma Awareness Week, the complete press release.
Therapeutic Optometrist and Optometric Glaucoma Specialist Dr. Richard Driscoll has been serving the eye care needs of Colleyville, Texas since 1995. Dr. Alycia Green brings over 10 years of experience to Total Eye Care, specializing in pediatrics. The Colleyville office is located at 6114 Colleyville Blvd. Total Eye Care’s Keller office is located at 1834 Keller Parkway. More information can be found on The Eye Doc Blog or the Total Eye Care website at www.TotalEyeCare.com
Dr. Richard Driscoll
Total Eye Care
6114 Colleyville Blvd.
Colleyville, TX 76034
817.416.0333
Good Morning America reports that the American Academy of Ophthalmology states 90% of patients achieve 20/20 vision following laser vision correction. What the AAO report does not address is that 20/20 does not mean that the patients have a good quality of visual acuity. The Good Morning America Video (video at the end) interviews both satisfied and unsatisfied patients. Some patients complain of a worsening of their dry eye symptoms, halos or shadows, glare or starbursting, poor night vision, reduced contrast or simply uncorrectable blurry vision. The vast majority of the patients that have had LASIK or PRK are happy with the result. However, laser vision correction is not reversible and some of the resultant problems from refractive surgery are not resolvable.
Options available to patients that are not happy with their surgical result, of course depend on the symptom. Some of the options available to patients are:
These special contact lenses are available as soft contacts, as gas permeable lenses and as a combination soft/gas permeable. Post refractive surgery contact lenses are usually used when a patients vision can not be corrected by additional surgery, glasses or regular contact lenses because their corneal surface has become slightly irregular or distorted. The symptoms may include, blurry vision, halos and shadows.
The most common complaint following refractive surgery is dry eyes. Most often the dryness improves two to six months following surgery. Ocular dryness can also cause blurry vision. Should the dryness not improve there are numerous solutions to improve patient comfort and it is worth seeking help from an eye doctor that is familiar with treating dry eye syndrome.
Often glare, halos and night vision problems are due to large pupils and/or uncorrected refractive error. Night driving glasses will usually help patients that are still a little nearsighted following refractive surgery. Treating the glare is little more difficult. Glare often improves with time, however a medication called Alphagan has been known to improve night glare symptoms by causing the pupil to constrict slightly. Alphagan may contribute to the ocular dryness, however.
LASIK and PRK are good procedures and can greatly improve one’s quality of life. Prior to taking the refractive surgery plunge patients should thoroughly research their options. In an upcoming article I’ll cover the alternatives to refractive surgery.
At Total Eye Care we offer all of the refractive surgery and non surgical vision correction options available and we pride ourselves on giving our patients an objective opinion of all of their choices. It is important for our patients to be well educated on the pros and cons of each option so that they can make an informed decision.
Check out the video below from the Good Morning America’s investigation on LASIK, it offers a balanced report on refractive surgery.
Posted in Cornea, dry eye, LASIK, Refractive issues, video
Tagged LASIK, LASIK Complications, night glare, PRK, refractive surgery
Here are some good optical illusions in this slide show on the Fox News Website.
Results from a pilot study conducted by doctors at the New England College of Optometry were recently presented at Optometry’s Meeting and the American Academy of Optometry. In the study, subjects were examined using the methods of traditional ophthalmoscopy and optomap® assisted ophthalmoscopy, where an ultra-widefield retinal image from the Optos P200C guides the BIO fundus examination.
Forty subjects underwent non-mydriatic imaging with the P200C. Subjects were then dilated and underwent traditional ophthalmoscopy and optomap® assisted ophthalmoscopy. The traditional exam consisted of BIO and slit lamp biomicrosopy with precorneal lenses. optomap® assisted ophthalmoscopy was identical to traditional, with the exception that the doctor reviewed optomap® Images before performing their BIO examination. A masked Reader graded the optomap® Images of all subjects. A retinal specialist examined 28 of the 40 subjects and served as the gold standard. Continue reading
Comments Off on Pilot Study* Indicates Targeted Ophthalmoscopy With the Optomap® Retinal Exam Increases Ocular Disease Detection
Posted in Optic Nerve, Retina, Technology
Tagged camera, fundus, ophthalmoscopy, optomap, retinal exam, scanning laser ophthalmoscope
We now have LACRISERT® available in the office for the treatment of dry eye syndrome. So far the results have been promising. LACRISERT® is inserted inside your lower lid once or twice a day. Lacrisert slowly releases supplemental tears to your eyes throughout the day.
Most patients have found that using the LACRISERT® once a day provides sufficient relief for most of the workday. When the LACRISERT® has almost completely dissolved it tends to not stay trapped inside the lower lid, causing intermittent blurred vision. A drop of artificial tears flushes out the last remnant restoring vision.
Please feel free to call the office to see if LACRISERT® may be an option for your dry eyes.
Comments Off on LACRISERT® – an Option for Patients with Severe Dry Eye Syndrome
Posted in Cornea, dry eye, dry eye syndrome
Tagged burning, discomfort, dry eye syndrome, lacrisert, ocular, sjogren's syndrome
It seems that virtually everyone that has experienced a migraine wants to crawl into a dark room. The February 2010 issue of the journal Nature Neuroscience has published a study that explains why this phenomena may occur.
The study links a possible connection between light sensitive retinal nerve cells and nerve cells in the brain that are responsible for the perception of migraine pain. The study noted that blind patients also avoided light when suffering from a migraine, however blind patients that had lost their eye did not avoid light. The authors concluded that some of the retinal axons, included some light sensitive axons were sending signals to the hypothalamus, a part of the brain that is responsible for the perception of headache pain.
Comments Off on The Connection Between Light and Migraines
Posted in headache, Low Vision, Optic Nerve
Tagged blind, headache, journal, light, migrain, nature science, pain