A presentation to students of Music Therapy at the University of Missouri, Kansas City December 7, 2004 Presenter: Dan Roberts Founding Director Macular Degeneration Support Introduction Ten-year-old Brittany has been a music and composition student of mine for three years. She was born with a rare condition called anophthalmia, which translates as “without organs of [Read More]
Category: Eye Conditions
Drugs & Supplements With Adverse Effects on Ophthalmic Conditions Drugs
This list of drugs is derived from the American Academy of Ophthalmology Syllabus for “Drug-Related Adverse Effects of Clinical Importance to the Ophthalmologist (F.W. Fraunfelder, MD, Instructor). For details about each drug, see the Syllabus. DRUGS topiramate (Topamax) 10% phenylephrine pledgets (Neo-Synephrine) sildenafil (Viagra) isotretinoin (Accutane)amiodarone (Cordone) hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine (Plaquenil) marijuana tamoxifen Bisphosphonates: alendronic acid ibandronate pamidronate zolendronate Carbonic Anhydrase [Read More]
Charles Bonnet Syndrome (CBS)
by Dan Roberts September 2004 This syndrome is characterized by visual hallucinations in people who have a sudden change in vision such as that brought on by macular degeneration. Named after the man who first described it in 1780, it was later defined as “persistent or recurrent visual pseudohallucinatory phenomena of a pleasant or neutral [Read More]
What is Visual Impairment?
by Dan Roberts 2004 Visual impairment is ranked third behind arthritis and heart disease as the most common condition causing a need for assistance with activities of daily living for persons 70 years and older. It is, however, often overlooked in the home care setting when treating patients for other conditions. (Source: A caregiver’s eye [Read More]
Pattern Dystrophies
by Wendy Strouse Watt, O.D. November 2003 Pattern dystrophies are inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion and they involve the Retinal Pigment Epithelium (RPE) and the external macular retina. Pattern dystrophies represent a group of disorders that present in midlife with mild visual disturbances in one or both eyes. Since patients present later in life [Read More]