EyeWorld is the official news magazine of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.
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EW NEWS & OPINION 26 October 2014 Dr. Leat stressed that antidepres- sants were not necessarily causing the binocular vision disorder. "It could be the other way around," she said. "It could be that having a vision problem tends to make one more likely to need an antidepres- sant." An association was also found between vision disorders and age and with a comorbidity index of general health, Dr. Leat reported, explaining that the comorbidity index was a measure of people's general health, and that was also a predictor in certain groups. The association with aging and vision disorders appears to be clear-cut, Dr. Leat said. "But as far as general health is concerned, again you can't be sure which way the association goes," she said. "You might initially think, 'Someone who has poor health is more likely to have eye problems and more likely to have an eye movement disorder,' but it is possible that it can go the other way as well." Because someone has poor vision, he or she may be less active and therefore have poorer general health, she explained. In the clinic From a clinical perspective, Dr. Leat views the work here as valuable, as such disorders can often be fore- stalled or easily treated. "To decrease the risk of develop- ing them, people can have frequent eye exams, make sure their glasses are up to date, and make sure that any of the causes are dealt with and treated as soon as possible," she said. In cases where patients develop binocular vison disorders, some of these can be treated with eye exer- cises, by possibly placing prisms in a person's spectacles, or with muscle surgery. Overall, she stressed the impor- tance of keeping this research on the radar. "I think our take-home mes- sage is for practitioners to consider [these disorders] as important and look for, manage, and treat them," she said. "They tend to be over- looked because older people have so many other vision problems." EW Reference Leat SJ, Chan LL, Maharaj PD, Hrynchak PK, Mittelstaedt A, Machan CM, Irving EL. Binocular vision and eye movement in older adults. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science. May 2013; 54(5):3798–3805. Editors' note: Dr. Leat has no related financial interests Contact information Leat: susan.leat@uwaterloo.ca parallel retraction. less pressure. better docking. 973-989-1600 • 800-225-1195 • www.katena.com K1-5696 patent pending ® Watch it! K1-5697 Chu, 13mm K1-5691 K-Wire, 15mm K1-5696 Chu, 17mm K1-5695 V-Wire, 15mm Double -X Speculums Unique "Double - X" mechanism retracts blades in a parallel motion for even tension along the lid. As the lids are retracted the mechanism moves out of the way for unobstructed access. Ball tips eliminate discomfort for patients with excess lid tissue. New 3 2 Katena introduces a new family of speculums that feature the patented "Double - X" mechanism. Their unique action opens the lids in a parallel motion for minimal external pressure on the globe. In addition, the mechanism is designed to move away from the surgical field as the blades open for unobstructed access to the surgical field. 2 3 1 1 Key Features: Ideal for cataract, refractive, glaucoma and corneal procedures. New view continued from page 24 "Our take-home message is for practitioners to consider [these disorders] as important and look for, manage, and treat them. They tend to be overlooked because older people have so many other vision problems." –Susan J. Leat, PhD