advertisement
Editorial IGR 4-3
Dear Reader,
This issue of the International Glaucoma Review is so full of information - glaucoma is alive and well - that not all of it can appear in print. The reader will find some important parts online only. This is the second issue of IGR that has been preceded by GEM. Those readers who have provided us with their e-mail addresses will have received GEM. GEM is the fastest way to access IGR information. If you have not yet joined GEM, simply select the GEM option on your personal data page.You will like it!
RCTs
The year 2002 was an exceptional one for glaucoma, with the publication of the
results of the RCTs on treatment (OHTS, EMGT). The perception of glaucoma has undergone
a definitive change. We now have firm evidence that treatment works. We can go on
from there, and will go on with detailing the HOW and the WHO of treatment.
The importance of this phase in evidence-based glaucoma research is enormous, not
least for the patients. Luca Rossetti et al.
present the results - in part - of a meta-analysis of seven papers on glaucoma treatment.
While the essentials will be published elsewhere, IGR readers will have a chance
to see the meta-analytical conclusion in this issue, together with short comments
on the individual studies.
The reader will also find, mostly online, a proposal by Erik Greve and Roger Hitchings for the management of glaucoma, based on the evidence presented in RCTs. This proposal stresses the Quality of Vision and Quality of Life of the patient, and consequently the relationship between rate of progression and treatment. To treat or not to treat, to treat and WHEN to treat, that is the question. The evil that men do lives after them, so wrote Shakespeare.
WGA
The Association of International Glaucoma Societies continues to develop its
strategies for the increased quality of glaucoma science and care. The year 2003
will bring about the results of some of these efforts: guidelines for Reporting
and Publishing and for the Conduct of Meetings. A global Code of Practice has already
received substantial support. The medical and industrial members of the WGA will
soon be coming together for a unique major planning meeting, a sort of brainstorm,
the aim of which is to unite the ideas that live among both groups, and turn them
into action. The WGA will organize its first
Consensus Meeting in November 2003:
the topic will be "Structure and Function in the Management of Glaucoma".
Reports
A major review on our present knowledge of outflow is presented by Mark Johnson.
The presentation is such that the reader finds himself speedily updated. It should
not be missed.
The reader will find reports on glaucoma at the AAO and AAO Subspecialty Day, on
glaucoma in Poland and Korea, and from Don Minckler on terminology. Seoul, Korea,
hosted the first meeting of the AACGC (organizer, Chul Hong). The importance of
ACG as a blinding disease has already been stressed in previous issues of IGR. ACG
has received much less scientific attention than POAG, as measured from existing
RCTs. It is hoped that the AACGC initiative will result, not only in scientific
meetings, but also in the organization of badly needed RCTs for the diagnosis and
treatment of ACG.
Editor's Selection
The Editor's Selection is overflowing with the most valuable comments: a joy for the editors and no doubt for the readership; an ardent discussion on the potential of multifocal VEP perimetry; comments on outflow blend well with the Johnson overview. Thoughts on CCT, is this essential or not? Furthermore, factors influencing the dimensions of the excavation, a major move in the detection of glaucomatous neurodegeneration, myocilin revisited, and is there a role for cannabinoids? How good/bad are our 'good old' betablockers? Among other things, the surgical section introduces comments on the treatment of ACG and the management of the combination of glaucoma and cataract. Moreover, the measurements of IOP in the tortoise Geochelone carbonaria are almost too good to be true.
"Your Special Attention For"
Reader, do not forget to look at the "Your Special Attention For" page (page 443). An everlasting problem in the life of a glaucomatologist is TIME, time and time again. The reviews mentioned in the "Attention" section will save you a lot of time.
Poetry
This issue will also have its share of poetry. Yes, glaucoma is important, and even more so if it fits in with life's total spectrum. Poetry, collected by a glaucomatologist (Eamonn O'Donoghue, an Irishman), reminds us of the relative role of our efforts regarding glaucoma. Poetry does not appeal to our brain, but to our hearts. The heart that beats in every glaucomatologist. The poem "On Pride and Blindness" will surely enchant the reader.
Enjoy your reading!
Erik L. Greve
