The congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG) are a rapidly growing group of inborn errors of metabolism that result from defects in the synthesis of glycans. Glycosylation is a major post-translational protein modification and an estimated 2% of the human genome encodes proteins for glycosylation. The molecular bases for the current 60…

Damage to the areas of the brain that are responsible for higher visual processing can lead to severe cerebral visual impairment (CVI). The prognosis for higher cognitive visual functions in children with CVI is not well described. We therefore present our six-year follow-up of a boy with CVI and highlight intervention approaches that have proved…

Much research has shown the benefits of additional anatomical learning and dissection beyond the first year of medical school human gross anatomy, all the way through postgraduate medical training. We have developed an interactive method for teaching eye and orbit anatomy to medical students in their ophthalmology rotation at Duke University…

The actions of the individual extraocular muscles are best explained to medical students in a lecture format by showing the relationship of each muscle to the axes of the globe and the walls of the bony orbit. The lateral and medial rectus muscles cross only the vertical axis, and consequently, cause only abduction and adduction, respectively.…

Describes work by the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) to expand the standardized vocabulary, Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine (SNOMED), to accommodate a definitive ophthalmic standardized vocabulary. Mapped a practice-based clinical ophthalmic vocabulary to SNOMED and other vocabularies in the Metathesaurus of the Unified Medical…

At present there is no curriculum to guide physician lifelong learning in a prescribed, deliberate manner. The Conjoint Committee on Continuing Medical Education, a group representing 16 major stakeholder organizations in continuing medical education, recommends that each specialty society and corresponding board reach consensus on the…

Johns Hopkins researchers at the Wilmer Eye Institute have discovered what appears to be the first human gene mutation that causes extreme farsightedness. The researchers report that nanophthalmos, Greek for "dwarf eye," is a rare, potentially blinding disorder caused by an alteration in a gene called MFRP that helps control eye growth and…

As the world economy continues to evolve, businesses and industries must adopt new practices and processes in order to survive. Quality and cost control, work teams and participatory management, and an infusion of technology are transforming the way people work and do business. Employees are now expected to read, write, and communicate…

One way to motivate students' interest in physics is to teach it in the context of medicine. Optics, for example, can be taught with examples from the eye. For many years simple optics of lenses has been taught using a model of the eye. However, recent advances in using lasers for ophthalmological (ocular) examinations can be used to increase…

Age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in older adults, yet researchers are still in the dark about many of the factors that cause this incurable disease. But new insight from University of Florida (UF) and German researchers about a genetic link between rhesus monkeys with macular degeneration and humans could unlock…

The eyes of premature infants are especially vulnerable to injury after birth. A serious complication is called retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), which is abnormal growth of the blood vessels in an infant's eye. Retinopathy of prematurity develops when abnormal blood vessels grow and spread throughout the retina, which is the nerve tissue at the…

This article describes a device, the Visual Hand Display, used by pediatric ophthalmologists at the Children's Low Vision Center (Boston) to evaluate a child's postoperative visual functioning. The device consists of different sized black stripes on white circles and a face. (DB)

Retinitis pigmentosa is a rod-cone dystrophy, commonly genetic in nature. Approximately 60-80% of those with retinitis pigmentosa inherit it by an autosomal recessive transmission (Brilliant, 1999). There have been some reported cases with no known family history. The symptoms of retinitis pigmentosa are decreased acuity, photophobia, night…

A teaching eye model that allows the medical student to learn the hand-eye coordination and associated thinking patterns that allow for a more sophisticated use of the ophthalmoscope is described. The eye teaching model attempted to simulate the features found in the eye of a real patient. (MLW)

Ophthalmological screening was conducted on 113 clients in a work activity center for adults with mental retardation. Abnormalities that were neither refractive nor strabismic were found in 32 percent of clients. Findings suggest the value of conducting screenings in settings familiar to such clients. (Author/DB)