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Editorial IGR 7-2
Dear Reader,
WGC 2005
The World Glaucoma Congress has received enthusiastic praise and scored really high in the evaluation (click here for the report). This has been a great stimulus to the WGA to continue its efforts to bring all those who are involved in glaucoma together in a global meeting.
WGC 2007
The WGA plans to organize the next World Glaucoma Congress in July 2007 in Asia. Although the main concept of the meeting will be similar to that of the successful meeting in Vienna 2005, the WGC 2007 will pay special attention to topics of particular regional interest such as Angle Closure Glaucoma, Normal Pressure Glaucoma and Prevention of Blindness.
WGA
The WGA has published its 'Directory of International
Glaucoma Societies'. The Directory provides relevant information on all
known regional and national Glaucoma Societies. The WGA aims at providing
IGR to all members of Glaucoma Societies in addition to other types of
information on WGA activities.
Also, the WGA expects to have an active cooperation with National Glaucoma
Societies in its Consensus Meetings and Guidelines.
The WGA has several research committees dealing with topics
considered to be of prime importance for prevention of global glaucoma
blindness and/or improvement of glaucoma care. One such Committee is on
Cooperation with Medical Therapy. The reader will find a first report
from this committee (page 185) and two reviews in the Editors' Selection.
Another WGA committee reviewed the evidence for Screening of Open Angle
Glaucoma. The committee will report at the upcoming meeting of the WGA
Steering Committee (October). A conclusion will follow in the next issue of
IGR.
The WGA will continue its program of Consensus Meetings. The preparations
for the next Consensus Meeting have started. The topic will be Angle Closure
Glaucoma. The actual meeting is scheduled for early May 2006. More
information will follow soon.
The WGA committee on Reporting and Publishing (see
http://www.worldglaucoma.org ) will continue its efforts to improve quality
of reporting and publishing (see below, under Editors' Selection). The
Editors of major ophthalmology journals are also emphasizing the need for
quality of Reporting and Publishing. An editorial appeared in IOVS on
'double publication'. The IOVS editor cautions that authors should not
violate established ethical rules (reported in the IOVS).
Special Attention
IGR has always had a few pages on articles that deserve
Special Attention from the reader. It seems wise to emphasize again that
these
recommended articles contain great and effectively presented wisdom. Most
are reviews and thus of interest to the specialist plagued by time shortage.
This issue of IGR asks your attention for several interesting reviews, a few
of which are mentioned here:
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Changes in the outflow system where age-related and glaucoma-caused damage seem so close;
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Progression where one method may not give similar results as another;
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Different conclusions from Glaucoma RCT's in the developing world;
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Questions about fixed combinations: "How well do the specific drugs work together in terms of efficacy, safety and actual patient use";
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A badly needed meta-analysis of medication versus surgical treatment: no evidence yet for prostaglandins versus surgery;
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Dietary supplements, not only for glaucoma. This booming market operates often outside the rigorous control of evidence based medicine. The emphasis is on LACK OF DATA;
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Masterful review of various aspects of glaucoma in the Friedenwald Lecture going from the macrocosm of definition of glaucoma, through prevalence, incidence and progression, through optic disk, RNFL and visual function to the microcosm of retinal ganglion cells and pathogenesis.
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The latest official statements on screening of OAG.
Reports from Glaucoma Societies
The reader will find reports from Glaucoma Meetings in China, South-Africa, Japan and India.
Editors' Selection
The Editors' Selection starts with two articles on (lack of) quality of scientific presentations. They are elegantly reviewed by Anne Coleman, co-chair of the WGA committee on Reporting and Publishing. One of the articles recommends that the WGA should create more guidelines on reporting and publishing. This is exactly what the WGA is doing and plans to do (see also www.worldglaucoma.org).
A brief selection of the many interesting topics in the Editors' Selection: IOP and systemic hypertension, systemic hypercholesterolaemia in glaucoma, myocilin unravelled, IOP fluctuation has no effect on progression, CCT no relation to progression, definition of glaucoma: chaos, iridotomy and pigmentary glaucoma, new instrument for filtering surgery, angle closure and cataract extraction, and much more.
Again: a real delight for the enthusiastic glaucomatophil.
Erik L. Greve
