My husband, Carl B. Camras, MD (chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha), died at age 55 years in 2009. His dying wish was to be remembered for being...My husband, Carl B. Camras, MD (chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha), died at age 55 years in 2009. His dying wish was to be remembered for being the first to hypothesize that prostaglandins lower intraocular pressure and had potential as a medication to treat glaucoma. I reviewed the research he performed as an undergraduate at Yale University (New Haven, Connecticut), as a medical student at Columbia University (New York, New York), and on the faculty at Mount Sinai School of Medicine (New York, New York), which confirmed his hypothesis and led to the development of latanoprost. This article summarizes his contributions to glaucoma research, his role in the development of latanoprost, and the error of omission that prevented his recognition as its coinventor. Carl is best remembered as an ethical scientist, a gifted clinician, and a beloved teacher, who inspired the medical community and the next generation of ophthalmologists.
Repositioning a glaucoma drainage device tube from the anterior chamber to the ciliary sulcus or pars plana can be a challenging procedure owing to the difficulty in obtaining tight closure of the original limbal fistula...Repositioning a glaucoma drainage device tube from the anterior chamber to the ciliary sulcus or pars plana can be a challenging procedure owing to the difficulty in obtaining tight closure of the original limbal fistula. Failure to achieve watertight and airtight closure of the fistula can result in substantial difficulty in completing other key portions of the surgery and may lead to postoperative hypotony and associated complications. A novel technique using a Tutoplast scleral plug, polyglactin sutures, and, in certain cases, fibrin tissue sealant to close a limbal fistula at the time of glaucoma drainage device tube repositioning is described. This technique can be replicated with ease and provides a tight seal so that other concurrent surgical procedures can safely be completed and postoperative hypotony is avoided.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the balance between the sexes of published ophthalmic material at the editorial, reviewer, and author levels. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study of 3 journals, American Journal of Ophthalmology, Archive...OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the balance between the sexes of published ophthalmic material at the editorial, reviewer, and author levels. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study of 3 journals, American Journal of Ophthalmology, Archives of Ophthalmology, and Ophthalmology, for 1969, 1979, 1989, 1999, and 2009. The data were compared with ophthalmologist-in-training and physician profile in major contributing states from North America and Europe during the same period. RESULTS: Of the 3 major ophthalmology journals, none had a female editor-in-chief. For all journals, the proportion of editorial board members who were women increased from 3.3% in 1969 to 18.8% in 2009. For all journals and all years, women composed a higher proportion of first authors (29.2% in 2009) compared with senior authors (22.9% in 2009), reviewers (18.9% in 2009), or assistant editors (12.5% in 2009). There was an abrupt shift toward women after 1989 in first authorship in Ophthalmology (1969, 4.6%; 1979, 5.4%; 1989, 12.3%; and 1999, 20.2%), Archives of Ophthalmology (1969, 6.6%; 1979, 5.1%; 1989, 15.6%; and 1999, 28.6%), and American Journal of Ophthalmology (1969, 5.6%; 1979, 4.2%; 1989, 9.2%; and 1999, 23.9%). There was also an abrupt increase in female senior authorship for American Journal of Ophthalmology after 1989 (1979, 8.5%; 1989, 8.1%; and 1999, 18.3%). The increase in female first authorship during the 5 decades was parallel with the increase in US female physicians. CONCLUSIONS: Women ophthalmologists are authoring publications in increasing numbers that match their prevalence in the academic and overall workforce. However, all editors are men. This discrepancy relates to the relatively younger generation of female ophthalmologists or selection bias, a subject that requires further investigation.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the involvement of the Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) gene BBS1 p.M390R variant in nonsyndromic autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa (RP). METHODS: Homozygosity mapping of a patient with isolat...OBJECTIVE: To investigate the involvement of the Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) gene BBS1 p.M390R variant in nonsyndromic autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa (RP). METHODS: Homozygosity mapping of a patient with isolated RP was followed by BBS1 sequence analysis. We performed restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of the p.M390R allele in 2007 patients with isolated RP or autosomal recessive RP and in 1824 ethnically matched controls. Patients with 2 BBS1 variants underwent extensive clinical and ophthalmologic assessment. RESULTS: In an RP proband who did not fulfill the clinical criteria for BBS, we identified a large homozygous region encompassing the BBS1 gene, which carried the p.M390R variant. In addition, this variant was detected homozygously in 10 RP patients and 1 control, compound heterozygously in 3 patients, and heterozygously in 5 patients and 6 controls. The 14 patients with 2 BBS1 variants showed the entire clinical spectrum, from nonsyndromic RP to full-blown BBS. In 8 of 14 patients, visual acuity was significantly reduced. In patients with electroretinographic responses, a rod-cone pattern of photoreceptor degeneration was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Variants in BBS1 are significantly associated with nonsyndromic autosomal recessive RP and relatively mild forms of BBS. As exemplified in this study by the identification of a homozygous p.M390R variant in a control individual and in unaffected parents of BBS patients in other studies, cis - or trans -acting modifiers may influence the disease phenotype. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: It is important to monitor patients with an early diagnosis of mild BBS phenotypes for possible life-threatening conditions.
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate screening for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in Sweden and to investigate possible modifications of the present screening guidelines. METHODS: Infants in Sweden with a gestational age (GA) of 31...OBJECTIVES: To evaluate screening for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in Sweden and to investigate possible modifications of the present screening guidelines. METHODS: Infants in Sweden with a gestational age (GA) of 31 weeks + 6 days or less are screened for ROP. Data from the Swedish national register for ROP (SWEDROP) during 2008 and 2009 were extracted and compared with a national perinatal quality register. RESULTS: In SWEDROP, there were 1791 infants born before a GA of 32 weeks from January 1, 2008, through December 31, 2009. Another 70 infants were registered in the perinatal quality register but not in SWEDROP (dropout rate, 3.8% [70 of 1861 infants]). Seven infants died before termination of screening. In the final study cohort (1784 infants), 15.6% had mild ROP and 8.5% had severe ROP. Treatment was performed in 4.4% of the infants, none of whom had a GA at birth of more than 28 weeks. Nine infants with a GA of more than 28 weeks at birth developed stage 3 ROP, which regressed spontaneously. The total number of examinations was 9286 (964 in infants with a GA of 31 weeks), and the mean (range) number of examinations of each infant was 5.2 (1-30). CONCLUSIONS: The SWEDROP, a quality register for ROP, has a national coverage (ie, participation) of 96%. Data from 2008 to 2009 show that it seems possible to reduce the upper limit for screening in Sweden by 1 week, including only infants with a GA of 30 weeks + 6 days or less. However, such a change should be combined with a strong recommendation to neonatologists to refer also severely ill and more "mature" infants.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of cataract surgery on subjective quality of vision. METHODS: The Quality of Vision (QoV) questionnaire (Italian translation) was completed before and 3 months after cataract surgery...OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of cataract surgery on subjective quality of vision. METHODS: The Quality of Vision (QoV) questionnaire (Italian translation) was completed before and 3 months after cataract surgery in 4 groups of patients recruited from September through December 2010: first eye with ocular comorbidity, first eye without ocular comorbidity, second eye with ocular comorbidity, and second eye without ocular comorbidity. The questionnaire measures 3 aspects of quality of vision: frequency, severity, and bothersome nature of symptoms. The Lens Opacities Classification System (LOCS) III was used for cataract grading. Friedman and Kruskal-Wallis H tests were performed to compare QoV scores within and between groups. Spearman rank correlations (rs) were calculated to investigate the correlation between LOCS III and QoV symptoms. RESULTS: Two hundred twelve patients (mean [SD] age, 74.2 [8.7] years) were recruited, and 212 eyes were included in the study. Improvements in QoV scores were found in all 4 groups (P < .05). There were no statistically significant (P > .05) differences among the 4 groups in the improvement in QoV scores or in the preoperative or postoperative scores. Blurred vision was correlated with posterior subcapsular cataract (rs = 0.420, P = .04). CONCLUSIONS: Cataract in one or both eyes causes a similar loss in subjective quality of vision, which is also irrespective of the presence of ocular comorbidity. Posterior subcapsular cataract causes the specific symptom "blurred vision." Cataract surgery resulted in a large and comparable improvement in subjective quality of vision, regardless of ocular comorbidity and first or second eye surgery.
Arch Ophthalmol
· 2012 Sep · PMID 23130365
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OBJECTIVES: To present and evaluate a new combined index of structure and function (CSFI) for staging and detecting glaucomatous damage. METHODS: Observational study including 333 glaucomatous eyes (295 with perimetric g...OBJECTIVES: To present and evaluate a new combined index of structure and function (CSFI) for staging and detecting glaucomatous damage. METHODS: Observational study including 333 glaucomatous eyes (295 with perimetric glaucoma and 38 with preperimetric glaucoma) and 330 eyes of healthy subjects. All the eyes were tested with standard automated perimetry and spectral domain optical coherence tomography within 6 months. Estimates of the number of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) were obtained from standardautomated perimetry and spectral domain optical coherence tomography and a weighted averaging scheme was used to obtain a final estimate of the number of RGCs for each eye. The CSFI was calculated as the percent loss of RGCs obtained by subtracting estimated from expected RGC numbers. The performance of the CSFI for discriminating glaucoma from normal eyes and the different stages of disease was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic curves. RESULTS: The mean CSFI, representing the mean estimated percent loss of RGCs, was 41% and 17% in the perimetric and preperimetric groups, respectively (P.001). They were both significantly higher than the mean CSFI in the healthy group (P.001). The CSFI had larger receiver operating characteristic curve areas than isolated indexes of structure and function for detecting perimetric and preperimetric glaucoma and differentiating among early, moderate, and advanced stages of visual field loss. CONCLUSION: An index combining structure and function performed better than isolated structural and functional measures for detection of perimetric and preperimetric glaucoma as well as for discriminating different stages of the disease.