Eyeworld

FEB 2014

EyeWorld is the official news magazine of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.

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Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014 Role of IOP variability still being elucidated While the mean IOP remains impor- tant and could be a key pressure variable, there are still factors about IOP variability and its role in glaucoma that remain unknown, a clinician said. Kuldev Singh, MD, Stanford, Calif., discussed the relationship be- tween IOP parameters and progres- sion of disease in "IOP variability and glaucoma risk." He said there are known factors about IOP, includ- ing that it is a risk factor for devel- opment of optic nerve damage and that IOP fluctuates and varies over the long term. "What we don't know, however, is the degree of IOP variability over the short or long term because we don't have commercially available 24-hour IOP measuring devices," he said. "We don't understand the rela- tive importance of the mean IOP, the peak IOP, the fluctuation or variability of IOP, which is some- times expressed as a range of IOP and other times as a standard of deviation." Dr. Singh said that interest in this topic began in the 1990s, with physicians examining variability of IOP and its connection to visual field loss. "The data is all over the place in this area. There are a lot of conflict- ing results in regard to long-term variability in glaucoma progression," he said. T he implications for clinical practice include that as 24-hour IOP monitoring becomes more available, the exact role of variability could be elucidated. Editors' note: Dr. Singh has no financial interests related to this presentation. Genetic testing can assist in early onset glaucoma Genetic testing today can be useful for glaucoma patients with early onset of disease, offering a chance at comprehensive treatment plans, pre-symptom therapy, risk assess- ment and genetic counseling, said Janey L. Wiggs, MD, Boston. "Clinically, genetic information can be used to identify screening tests, which has been done for breast cancer, and can be used to create a molecular diagnosis for a patient, which is necessary for gene ther- apy," she said. "It can indicate a response to therapies for pharma- cogenomics research and ultimately leads to personalized medicine." "While we can't do all that for glaucoma just yet, there are patients today in the clinic who will benefit from genetic testing for glaucoma," Dr. Wiggs said. Those patients who would bene- fit most are cases with disease onset before the age of 40 or advanced disease before age 55, she said. Partners In Vision is the leader in Optical Dispensary Development + Management for one very simple reason; Our reputation is on the line too. Tat's why we're known for superior customer service, atention to detail, responsive inventory management and patient education. How well are you protecting your brand? PartnersInVision.com Since 1999 WHAT'S YOUR REPUTATION WORTH? O P T I C A L D I S P E N S A R Y M A N A G E M E N T P i Ad 1/2 V i l i dd 1 12/10/13 10:53 AM 98-105 MR Hawaii_EW February 2014-DL2_Layout 1 1/30/14 11:57 AM Page 101

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