Anyone who says they know all there is to know about retina is full of it. It wasn’t long ago that optometry didn’t even concern itself with this specialty. (See “Landmarks in Retina Care.”) The retina is a complex structure and research on the topic is mounting at an unforeseen pace.

As the population ages, and as it becomes ever more commonplace for optometrists to be intimately involved in the diagnosis and care of patients with retinal disease, it is critical that you stay on top of the mountain of knowledge that you and your colleagues in ophthalmology have accumulated thus far.

It’s no easy task. That’s why Review is doing its best to keep you informed with monthly columns, regular features, special reports and supplements, live and online educational programs, as well as partnerships with organizations like the Optometric Retina Society, which publishes a quarterly e-newsletter with more information than you find in most textbooks.

Here’s just a sample of some of the most recent resources that are available to you now:

• Retina Quiz. Authored by the accomplished Mark T. Dunbar, O.D., this column appears in every issue of Review and challenges readers to help solve even the most complex cases. This month, Dr. Dunbar’s patient presented with acute unilateral vision loss and significant fibrovascular membranes. What’s your diagnosis?

• A Look at Genetic Testing for AMD. As part of this year’s Retina Issue, optometrist Steven Ferrucci describes the intricate interplay between genetic and environmental causes of AMD, and how genetic tests are starting to help eye doctors determine which AMD patients can benefit from more frequent evaluation and earlier treatment.

• How Can You Profit from Low Vision Therapy? It’s a practical question that’s on the minds of many optometrists as you see more and more patients with retinal disease and failing vision. In this article, low vision specialist Stanley Woo, O.D., M.S., points out that you probably already provide low vision rehabilitation without even realizing it. If you can just throw out the old notion that low vision is only for patients with legal blindness, then you’ll start to realize how many folks in your practice may benefit—and how adding low vision can boost your practice’s bottom line. (See “ Make Low Vision Pay Off for Your Practice.”)

• Retina Coverage from ARVO. As we’ve done every May for the past dozen years, the Review team dug its heels in and read through the hundreds of abstracts presented at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology annual meeting. Some of the highlights of this year’s retina coverage included a discussion of the Comparison of Age-Related Macular Degeneration Treatment Trials (CATT) as well as a review of several new treatments for diabetic macular edema, such as topical dexamethasone eye drops. (See “ 12th Annual Report from ARVO,” May.)

• Optometric Retina Society e-newsletter. In this quarterly e-newsletter, edited by Steven Ferrucci, O.D., you’ll see case report presentations, receive clinical pearls for retinal disease management and catch up on the latest journal abstracts. To see previous e-newsletters or subscribe to the mailing list, go to: www.revoptom.com/e-newsletters/ors.

• The 7th Annual Guide to Retinal Disease. The most recent guide will not disappoint. It includes features such as “Clinical Application of Electrodiagnostic Testing,” by Julie K. Hutchinson, O.D., and Andrew S. Gurwood, O.D.; “PHP Technology: A New Concept in Monitoring AMD,” by Steven Ferrucci, O.D., and Jay M. Haynie, O.D.; “Genetic Advancements in AMD: A Glimpse at the Future,” By Mark T. Dunbar, O.D.; and, finally, a continuing education course on “Retinal Venous Occlusions: A Systematic Review and Update on Current Treatment Options,” by William D. Kress, O.D.

While there’s still a lot to learn about the retina, you’ve got some excellent resources and we at Review will continue to do our best to distill information into formats that still leave time for you to see patients.

     

Amy Hellem
Editor-in-Chief