Current opinion in ophthalmology
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Curr Opin Ophthalmol · Dec 2000
ReviewNew therapies for optic neuropathies: development in experimental models.
Experimental models of human diseases have affected the design and direction of both basic and clinical research into understanding the pathogenesis and treatments of demyelinating disease, stroke, and hereditary disorders of the central nervous system. However, in spite of major advances in molecular research that have linked Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy to mutations in mitochondrial DNA, there has been relatively little focus in applying basic scientific methodologies to optic neuropathies other than glaucoma. ⋯ Although the pathogenesis of visual failure in demyelinating, ischemic, and hereditary optic neuropathies appears diverse, a final common pathway for irreparable optic nerve injury may exist. This article reviews several models of experimental optic neuropathies that may aid in the development of novel treatments for neuro-ophthalmic disorders of the optic nerve during the 21st century.
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Developments of anesthesia for cataract surgery emerging from literature published during the scanning period include new drugs for sedation before general anesthesia and some discussion about monitoring. A few articles report on both improvements in and complications of peribulbar and retrobulbar injections. ⋯ A tendency toward topical anesthesia emerged. Intraocular drug delivery was studied for toxicity both for cornea and for retina, in experimental and clinical settings.
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Technical developments in magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and orbits provide a challenge to radiologists and practicing clinicians alike. Several new trends in brain imaging are reviewed, including fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR), diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), and perfusion and functional magnetic resonance imaging. These techniques are increasingly used in the clinical environment. Two innovative magnetic resonance techniques for imaging the orbit are also reviewed.
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This review focuses on neuro-ophthalmic disorders caused by trauma. Most articles discussed were published after 1995. ⋯ The topics are the oculomotor nerves and the facial nerve, the cavernous sinus, the orbit, the optic nerve, and the brain. Treatment options are discussed, including strabismus surgery, orbital reconstruction, and medical as well as surgical treatment of traumatic optic neuropathy.
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Curr Opin Ophthalmol · Dec 1997
ReviewNew discoveries in diabetes- and thyroid-related eye disease.
Although reports from Europe indicate a reduction in the incidence of diabetes-related visual loss, diabetic retinopathy continues to be the leading cause of blindness. One agent, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), has been found to stimulate angiogenesis and may be the cause of diabetic neovascularization and visual loss. New research implies that the manipulation of the VEGF pathway may be able to prevent diabetic visual loss. ⋯ Thyroid orbitopathy combined with ocular hypertension can produce true glaucoma. Nevertheless, this requires a prolonged duration of orbitopathy and most patients who have this combination will improve and not develop permanent glaucomatous changes. Similarly, the majority of Graves' disease patients develop improved function over time; however, the psychologic sequelae continue after the disease process is in remission, which warrants further studies.