Hill Country Eye Center Blog

Are you a glaucoma patient or do you have a family member who suffers with the eye condition?

If so, you may want to consider the true importance of regular treatment.

It is now being noted that glaucoma patients who fail to use their eye treatments as prescribed can face
serious visual field defects as a result.

The study at the base of this new information involved one hundred-two patients, with a median age of sixty-seven years.

Using a specialized monitoring system, the researchers recorded patients placing the prescribed drops in their afflicted eyes.

They gauged the patients’ ability to adhere to the recommended routine and also their technique in applying the medication.

While more than 80% were able to successfully apply the drops, far fewer applied them correctly.

Of the 102 patients studied, eighty-nine were eighty percent successful at adhering to the prescribed schedule.

Their dedication here also led to fewer visual defect complications detected later.

As a result of the findings, researchers are urging eye doctors everywhere to put more emphasis on the discussion regarding treatment.

Patients should feel comfortable discussing troubles in self-application and should also be made to understand the consequences if the treatment plan is not followed.

With glaucoma still a leading cause of blindness, it is worth understanding the importance of treatment.

Keep reading the full article.

Currently, there is no way to prevent cancer. There is no injection, medication, or other substance that a person can receive in order to prevent the mutations of the cells that the disease causes.

However, what if the cancer could be caught early enough to stop the growth before it becomes a big problem?

This is the question that has been tossed around by many in the field of medicine and researchers have recently provided one more way for this to be a possibility.

In a recent study of 53 patients diagnosed with uveal melanoma (cancer in the eye) and at high genetic risk of other varieties of cancer, it was found that there was a mutation of a particular gene in some of the patients.

The mutated gene would have been handed down from generations before and would make those patients at increased risk of this and other varieties of cancer.

The gene, known as BAP1, is thought to play a significant role in regulating cell growth.

For that reason, when the gene malfunctions, cancer would be a likely result. At the time that the study was published, six families had been discovered to share the genetic mutation.

If patients could be diagnosed with this irregular gene at a young age, they would know to be screened for cancer regularly, thereby reducing risk of it becoming a major issue in the future.

For more information on the findings, you can continue reading the full article.

For patients undergoing Lasik eye surgery, there are often many concerns and worries.

Having the suction fail during the procedure means that the eye is not held still and the cut made to create the flap that will be lifted as an access to the corneal tissue to be reshaped, will not be accurate.

However, a recent study gives hopes to those who have this occur during their surgery.

Seventy-one eyes of seventy patients were studied after suction failure. The mean patient age was thirty-three years.

The researchers tested visual acuity before the patient received the procedure and then again at one day, one week, and three months post-op.

When suction failed during the procedure, the doctor was forced to reposition the device and begin again.

A second incision was made to create the flap and the surgery continued as usual.

It was found that all seventy patients had perfect vision at day one and at three months, with approximately seven of them falling just shy of that mark at one week.

More importantly, though, was the fact that there were no signs of delayed healing or other complications with any of the patients.

Researchers are pleased with the findings and both patients and doctors can rest a little easier when suction fail does occur.

For more information, visit the full article.

Would you like to increase the chances that you are able to see as clearly at eighty-five years old as you do today?

There are a few things that you can do today that will help to improve your eye health long into the future.

Exercise
It’s good for your body. It’s good for your mind. It’s great for your eyes! The improved blood circulation and oxygen levels will nourish your eyes well and keeping your weight at a healthy level also decreases the chances of diabetes and related eye diseases.

Quit Today!
The small high that you get from that cigarette in the morning, after lunch, or on your way home is hardly worth the mounting health problems that it can cause. In addition, smoking today can mean cataracts tomorrow. Worse yet, pregnant women who smoke or ingest a large amount of secondhand smoke can increase the likelihood of retinopathy in their children – which can be blinding.

Get Some Rest
Even those who eat right, exercise regularly, and avoid bad habits, can experience many different illnesses and health complications if they fail to get a good amount of sleep. Furthermore, the eight hours of uninterrupted sleep also allows the eyes to be properly lubricated.

Be Tested
Are you sexually active? Have you had more than one partner in recent years? The transmission of STDs comes with more stress than one might think. Herpes, Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Syphilis, and HIV/AIDS can all negatively impact the eyes, causing serious and lasting problems.

For more information and tips, keep reading the full article.

Need an eye exam? There’s an app for that! It’s true.

The iExaminer hardware combined with the coordinating iPhone application allows for very clear imaging of the back of the eye, including the retina, for patients who fear that there is need for immediate attention.

In fact, the app even walks the user through a complete eye exam to test for visual acuity, vision accuracy, and more.

In a time when eye disease continues to cause unnecessary vision loss and blindness, the ophthalmology industry is in support of anything that brings eye health to the forefront.

This is especially true as diabetes ravages the world’s population. It is expected to claim more than five hundred million victims by 2021, and with it comes a wide variety of eye-related issues, including diabetic retinopathy.

It is important to note that this app will not work properly without the proper hardware, which is available at iExam.com, but with the proper setup, it can provide clear imagery, an easy to follow exam, and the option to print or save.

Developers believe that this tool will be just as valuable to medical professionals as it is to the general public.

The emergency room staff can use it to capture quick images as proof of retinal detachment or corneal ulcers.

Neurologists can use it in routine exams, and generalized doctors’ offices might use it to test for diabetic retinopathy.

It can even be used in veterinary hospitals on for pet eye care.

Currently the price of the iExaminer hardware is $179.99, plus shipping, but the application remains free for iPhone users.

For more information about the product, keep reading the full article.

In a third round of testing, the new drug Ruboxistaurin has proven its worth in patients with diabetic retinopathy.

The study compared the outcomes of two previous tests involving placebo-controlled research on a combined 813 patients.

Of those people participating in the studies, four hundred-twelve received the actual medication, while the remainder received only the placebo.

Approximately twenty-five of the patients receiving Ruboxistaurin saw controlled vision loss of the period of three years, nineteen actually gained fifteen letters or more on follow-up exams, while thirty lost fifteen or more letters.

This was compared to those who received the placebo, of which forty-one saw controlled vision loss, just nine saw notable improvement, and a whopping forty-six saw drastic vision decline.

There were no safety concerns noted in the report of findings. A little more than a quarter of the patients receiving the medication required laser treatment to cauterize abnormal blood vessels in the eye, but more than thirty-five percent of those receiving the placebo required the procedure.

The researchers believe that the benefits of Ruboxistaurin in patients with diabetic retinopathy are a result of its limiting macular edema (swelling or thickening of the macula).

You can read more about these findings in the full article.

Recommendations are now being made to the Glaucoma researchers in the field of ophthalmology.

Rather than focusing on how to improve the current treatments for Glaucoma patients, many are pushing for answers on how to alter the course of the disease.

In other words, by treating the cause of the disease, could doctors slow or completely stop the progression of vision loss?

Recent developments around this topic have led to the development of ROCK inhibitors (adenosine agonists), but some experts feel that the reason for choosing this treatment over those used previously has not been made clear.

What can the ROCK inhibitor do to change the way the disease affects the eye?

Is there a dysfunction of cellular mechanics that makes it more worthwhile?

The current treatments (prostalangin analogues) are affordable and relatively effective. They are not likely to be superseded by a medication that promises nothing new.

The goal, many feel, should be to disrupt the disease at its core, which will only be done through the use of disease-modifying therapies.

Currently, none exist.

Though there are those that are skeptical regarding the new treatment methods, they are being considered by the marketplace, and that could be a good sign that the private industry is seeking new answers for this horrible disease.

For more information, continue reading the full article here.

Myopia is one of the most common eye-related conditions seen in this country, and around the world.

Also known as nearsightedness, it affects a person’s ability to see in the distance.

For sufferers of myopia, the news has been made worse by recent discoveries.

A study of medical records of nearly fifty thousand patients, dated from 1994 to 2010, demonstrated a strong correlation between myopia and open-angle glaucoma.

Though people with low myopia might have less risk for the condition than those diagnosed with more severe nearsightedness, there is still a strong correlation.

Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness in the United States.

It affects a large number of adults and there is no real cure for the condition.

Though research has led to many effective treatments to slow its progression, it can often advance quite far before giving the individual any warning signs.

So, while the connection may scare many myopia patients, the truth is that this information can help optometrists and ophthalmologists to make better decisions about their treatment.

A more frequent inspection of eye health may be recommended for these individuals, so early detection can lead to better treatment in the earliest stages of glaucoma.

For more information on this topic, visit the full article.

If you have ever stared at something for a long time and then seen the image even after you have looked away, then you know about afterimage illusion.

This concept has been studied in depth by scientists and leaders in the ophthalmology field.

More and more is being understood about the phenomenon every day, but a recent discovery has left many with their jaws hanging open.

It has been long believed that the resulting afterimage was the result of something called ‘retinal bleaching’.

Put another way, many thought that the flash of the image was due to its light imprint being temporarily ingrained on the retina, responsible for passing information to the brain about what is seen by the eye.

The new study proved that this is not the case.

It was discovered that the afterimages appeared in forms different that what was originally seen.

It was already known that the afterimages were typically seen in complimentary colors to the object actually stared at, but this study showed that the shape did not remain the same either.

A circle was seen as a hexagonal afterimage. The reverse was also true.

This would not be the case if it was simply a matter of the image being stamped on the retina.

Even if the image was seen with the left eye, the afterimage was seen by the right eye.

Through these and other discoveries, the researchers are now convinced that the afterimage is created by the brain, not the eye.

You can read more about the findings by checking out the full article.

Patients of age-related macular degeneration may soon have reason to celebrate.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new form of treatment called Eylea or VEGF Trap-Eye.

Currently, individuals with the potentially blinding disease have been forced to report to the eye doctor office monthly to receive injections for treatment of the condition.

This new product may significantly reduce the number of trips required to see the same results.

After two studies, involving approximately 2,500 participants, it has been made clear that Eylea can provide the same efficacy expected of current treatment, but patients, will receive injections for two months straight and then can spread the visits out to every eight weeks.

This, of course, will mean that patients will spend less time and money at the doctor’s office, while seeing the same results that they have come to expect.

The ophthalmology community is very excited about the prospect and those involved in the study have said that Eylea should be available right away.

Though the risks of treatment remain the same as those of the more traditional injections – including eye pain, conjunctival hemorrhage, and vitreous floaters – the discomfort associated with treatment will be far less frequent, which is a relief for many wet AMD sufferers.

To read more about these studies and the FDA’s decision, you can view the full article here.