- Email: [email protected]
The use of contact lenses to treat visually symptomatic congenital nystagmus
ABSTRACTS EDITED BY HANS E. GROSSNIKLAUS, MD
●
The use of contact lenses to treat visually symptomatic congenital nystagmus. Biousse V*, Tusa RJ, Russell B, Azran MS, Das V, Schubert MS, Ward M, Newman NJ. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2004;75:314 –316.
F
OR HUMAN BEINGS TO SEE AN OBJECT OPTIMALLY, THE
image of the object must be held steady upon the foveal region. By disrupting fixation, nystagmus degrades vision. It has been suggested that contact lens wear improves the visual function of patients with visual loss from congenital nystagmus. In this study, four patients with congenital nystagmus had two evaluations separated by at least one week (one with spectacles, one with contact lenses) including visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, oscillopsia scale, quality of life questionnaire (NEI VFQ-25), and eye movement recording with an infrared tracking system. All patients subjectively preferred contact lenses to spectacles. Their contrast sensitivity and VFQ-25 scores were improved with contact lenses compared with spectacles alone. Several parameters of nystagmus showed no change in two patients, worsening in one patient and improvement in one patient. This suggests that much of the clinical improvement observed in these patients may result from a better optical correction of their refractive error with contact lenses than with spectacles, rather than from a true damping effect of the nystagmus by contact lenses.—authors’ abstract
*Vale´rie Biousse, MD. Emory Eye Center. 1365-B Clifton Road. Atlanta GA 30322; email: [email protected]
●
Ophthalmologic features of Parkinson’s disease. Biousse V*, Skibell BC, Watts RL, Loupe DN, Drews-Botsch C, Newman NJ. Neurology 2004;62:177–180.
P
ATIENTS WITH PARKINSON’S DISEASE (PD) COMMONLY
complain of impaired visual function and difficulty reading, despite normal visual acuity. Visual problems are particularly important in this population of patients with impaired ambulation and driving safety issues. Although previous studies have evaluated contrast sensitivity, color vision, visuospatial processing, visual hallucinations, and ocular movements, none has systematically evaluated the ocular complaints and ocular findings of PD patients.
972
©
2004 BY
Thirty patients with early untreated PD and 31 control subjects without neurologic or known ocular diseases were ophthalmologically evaluated for the frequency of visual complaints, dry eyes, blepharitis, visual hallucinations, reduced blink rate, blepharospasm, and convergence insufficiency. Ocular complaints suggesting ocular surface irritation, altered tear film, visual hallucinations, blepharospasm, decreased blink rate, and decreased convergence amplitudes were more common in PD patients than in control subjects. These findings likely account for many of the visual difficulties commonly encountered by PD patients and are directly secondary to PD and not to side-effects of drugs used to treat PD. These ocular abnormalities frequently respond to treatment. A list of practical advices regarding the ocular evaluation of PD patients is provided at the end of the article.—authors’ abstract *Vale´rie Biousse, MD. Department of Ophthalmology, Emory University, 1365-B Clifton Road. Atlanta, GA. 30322 USA; email: vbiouss@ emory.edu
● An action video game modifies visual processing. Riesenhuber M*. Trends in Neurosciences 2004;27:72–74.
● See also: Green CS, Bavelier D. Action video game modifies visual selective attention. Nature 2003;423:534 – 537.
I
N THIS EDITORIAL, THE AUTHOR DISCUSSES THE ARTICLE
by Green and Bavelier on action video games modifying visual processing. Indeed, it has been emphasized that playing a video game markedly improves subject performance on a range of visual skills related to detecting objects in briefly flashed displays (such as baggage screeners to pick out suspicious objects from cluttered suitcases). Green and Bavelier have provided evidence that habitual video game players exhibit superior performance relative to non video game players on a set of benchmark visual task that tested the ability to process cluttered visual scenes and rapid stimulus sequences. These results suggest that actionvideo-game playing is capable of altering a range of visual skills. They also demonstrated that this advantage is not a result of self-selection (i.e. not because subjects with superior visual abilities tend to prefer playing video
ELSEVIER INC. ALL
RIGHTS RESERVED.
0002-9394/04/$30.00
●
The use of contact lenses to treat visually symptomatic congenital nystagmus. Biousse V*, Tusa RJ, Russell B, Azran MS, Das V, Schubert MS, Ward M, Newman NJ. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2004;75:314 –316.
F
OR HUMAN BEINGS TO SEE AN OBJECT OPTIMALLY, THE
image of the object must be held steady upon the foveal region. By disrupting fixation, nystagmus degrades vision. It has been suggested that contact lens wear improves the visual function of patients with visual loss from congenital nystagmus. In this study, four patients with congenital nystagmus had two evaluations separated by at least one week (one with spectacles, one with contact lenses) including visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, oscillopsia scale, quality of life questionnaire (NEI VFQ-25), and eye movement recording with an infrared tracking system. All patients subjectively preferred contact lenses to spectacles. Their contrast sensitivity and VFQ-25 scores were improved with contact lenses compared with spectacles alone. Several parameters of nystagmus showed no change in two patients, worsening in one patient and improvement in one patient. This suggests that much of the clinical improvement observed in these patients may result from a better optical correction of their refractive error with contact lenses than with spectacles, rather than from a true damping effect of the nystagmus by contact lenses.—authors’ abstract
*Vale´rie Biousse, MD. Emory Eye Center. 1365-B Clifton Road. Atlanta GA 30322; email: [email protected]
●
Ophthalmologic features of Parkinson’s disease. Biousse V*, Skibell BC, Watts RL, Loupe DN, Drews-Botsch C, Newman NJ. Neurology 2004;62:177–180.
P
ATIENTS WITH PARKINSON’S DISEASE (PD) COMMONLY
complain of impaired visual function and difficulty reading, despite normal visual acuity. Visual problems are particularly important in this population of patients with impaired ambulation and driving safety issues. Although previous studies have evaluated contrast sensitivity, color vision, visuospatial processing, visual hallucinations, and ocular movements, none has systematically evaluated the ocular complaints and ocular findings of PD patients.
972
©
2004 BY
Thirty patients with early untreated PD and 31 control subjects without neurologic or known ocular diseases were ophthalmologically evaluated for the frequency of visual complaints, dry eyes, blepharitis, visual hallucinations, reduced blink rate, blepharospasm, and convergence insufficiency. Ocular complaints suggesting ocular surface irritation, altered tear film, visual hallucinations, blepharospasm, decreased blink rate, and decreased convergence amplitudes were more common in PD patients than in control subjects. These findings likely account for many of the visual difficulties commonly encountered by PD patients and are directly secondary to PD and not to side-effects of drugs used to treat PD. These ocular abnormalities frequently respond to treatment. A list of practical advices regarding the ocular evaluation of PD patients is provided at the end of the article.—authors’ abstract *Vale´rie Biousse, MD. Department of Ophthalmology, Emory University, 1365-B Clifton Road. Atlanta, GA. 30322 USA; email: vbiouss@ emory.edu
● An action video game modifies visual processing. Riesenhuber M*. Trends in Neurosciences 2004;27:72–74.
● See also: Green CS, Bavelier D. Action video game modifies visual selective attention. Nature 2003;423:534 – 537.
I
N THIS EDITORIAL, THE AUTHOR DISCUSSES THE ARTICLE
by Green and Bavelier on action video games modifying visual processing. Indeed, it has been emphasized that playing a video game markedly improves subject performance on a range of visual skills related to detecting objects in briefly flashed displays (such as baggage screeners to pick out suspicious objects from cluttered suitcases). Green and Bavelier have provided evidence that habitual video game players exhibit superior performance relative to non video game players on a set of benchmark visual task that tested the ability to process cluttered visual scenes and rapid stimulus sequences. These results suggest that actionvideo-game playing is capable of altering a range of visual skills. They also demonstrated that this advantage is not a result of self-selection (i.e. not because subjects with superior visual abilities tend to prefer playing video
ELSEVIER INC. ALL
RIGHTS RESERVED.
0002-9394/04/$30.00