Journal of the American Optometric Association

BACKGROUND: Accommodative infacility, as commonly measured by accommodative flippers, has been implicated as a factor in academic underperformance. This study compares four areas of academics (reading, writing, math and gym) to accommodative flexibility scores. METHODS: Seventy-six elementary school children with a mean age was 8 years, 8 months were tested monocularly and binocularly with traditional accommodative flexibility flipper testing and with a new accommodative flexibility apparatus that allows control of visual acuteness, minification/magnification, and reaction time...

BACKGROUND: The use of anti-reflection coatings (AR) for spectacle lenses is steadily increasing. These ultra-thin coatings reduce reflections in lenses, increasing light transmittance about 8% (from 91% to 99%). Patient reports of crisper detail and brighter environment indicate that this perceived increase in visual function would probably be of benefit to many, including highway patrolmen who must make daily judgments on the basis of fine visual detail. METHODS: Nineteen presbyopic Missouri State Highway Patrolmen (MSHP) participated in this crossover study...

BACKGROUND: Optometrists and Ophthalmologists have a history of difficult professional relationships. This paper discusses common issues both professions face while working under managed care. CONCLUSIONS: Managed care initiatives may help to improve the ability of Optomotrists and Ophthalmologists to work together to treat the patient's eye problems.

BACKGROUND: Most eye injuries are preventable. Military personnel, workers, athletes, and other spectacle wearers--especially children and the functionally one-eyed--who require protection from impact, should expect that safety eye-wear actually protects. PURPOSE: To present to eye care professionals the current state-of-the-art in eye injury prevention. METHODS: A review of the current eye protection standards, guidelines, and warnings for the activities of daily living, work, hobbies, education, and sports with emphasis on the importance of standards and the role of the recently organized Protective Eyewear Certification Council (PECC)...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) remains the leading contributor to severe vision loss in the United States among persons 20 to 70 years of age. Despite advances in disease management and treatment, patients with vision loss from DR continue to constitute a significant portion of patients served in vision rehabilitation service (VRS) settings. These patients present special challenges to VRS providers because of early onset, fluctuations in and the complex nature of vision loss, unique visual demands of disease management, and associated multi-system losses...

BACKGROUND: Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) is the leading cause of blindness in people over the age of 65, and the prevalence of ARMD is expected to increase as the population ages. Although the incidence of ARMD increases sharply with age, recent studies indicate that prevention measures and dietary changes, implemented early in life, can reduce an individual's risk of ARMD. METHODS: Several dietary components have been proposed and studied with regard to their ability to protect against ARMD; these components include antioxidant vitamins and specific carotenoids...

BACKGROUND: A description and justification for using a standardized clinical low-cost, "low-technology," ocular and systemic "ARMD work-up" protocol was presented in the methods paper (Part I). METHODS: Fourteen male patients (70 +/- 9 years), receiving 0.73 +/- 0.45 portions of dark-green, leafy vegetables/day base intake, were placed on an additional portion of 5 ounces sauted spinach 4 to 7 times per week or lutein-based antioxidant (three patients). Detailed "ARMD work-up" data for six of these patients and summary pilot (case series) environmental intervention data are presented...

BACKGROUND: Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), the leading cause of vision loss in aging Western societies, is (in part) a nutrition-responsive disease that can be stabilized through environmental intervention. The atrophic form of the disease constitutes nearly 90% of cases, yet a standardized ophthalmic and systemic evaluation protocol does not exist. METHODS: A basic science and epidemiologic rationale for evaluating atrophic ARMD using a standardized low-cost, "low-technology," clinical approach is presented...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Common clinical characteristics of juvenile onset primary open-angle glaucoma (JPOAG) include increased intraocular pressure, optic nervehead damage, visual-field loss, and a normal-appearing iridocorneal angle by gonioscopy. Histologic analysis of the angle structures may show varying developmental abnormalities that are observed to be less obvious as age of onset increases. Individuals who are African-American, male in gender, and myopio, are at highest risk--particularly if a positive family history exists...

BACKGROUND: The corneal shape is significantly altered after LASIK, necessitating new contact lens designs and fitting techniques for optimal postoperative contact lens performance. METHODS: Procedures for fitting soft and rigid gas-permeable lenses are described on the basis of the authors' experience. Topographic map options are explored to assess the best curvature and contour data to assist in RGP lens fitting. RESULTS: Standard soft and rigid lenses are often used with success after LASIK...

BACKGROUND: Since a large intracranial hemorrhage is a space-occupying mass, it may cause the brain to shift, resulting in neurologic deficits both at the location of the bleeding and at a site distal to the hemorrhage. A parietal lobe hemorrhage may push the brain downward, causing the uncus of the temporal lobe to herniate through the tentorial notch, compressing the midbrain. The signs of parietal lobe damage, uncal herniation, and several midbrain syndromes that effect ocular motility are discussed...

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have detailed the prevalence and etiology of ocular complications resulting from coronary artery bypass surgery. Of these, retinal nerve fiber layer infarctions are reported most commonly. The clinical sequelae of nerve infarction may include loss of visual acuity, compromised pupillary function, and visual-field defects (the severity of which may be correlated with the location and extent of the insulted tissue). METHODS: A patient who had experienced bilateral juxtapapillary nerve fiber layer infarction with subsequent loss of visual acuity and peripheral visual field was followed postoperatively for more than 6 weeks...

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