Epidemiology of visually impaired and blindness as a medical and social problem

2020 ◽  
pp. 46-53
Author(s):  
Yliana V. ZHABINA ◽  
Denis B. EFIMOV
Keyword(s):  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Visually Impaired ◽  
Retinal Disease ◽  
Age Related Macular Degeneration ◽  
Steady Increase ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Optic Nerve Disease ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Near Future ◽  
Nerve Disease

The article provides comparative data on the level of visual impairment and blindness in different countries and in the world as a whole. We found out that 1.3 billion people worldwide suffer from visual impairment, among which 36 million are blind. The main causes of visual impairment were cataracts, refraction disorders and glaucoma. Up to 80 % of the causes of visual impairment are thought to be possibly prevented or cured. However, taking into account the low availability of ophthalmological care, it is difficult to achieve. The proportion of visual impairment resulting from cataract and trachoma is projected to decrease in the near future, but the proportion of refraction, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration will increase. In Russia, there is a steady increase in disability as a result of ophthalmopathology, the prevalence of which reaches 28.8 per 10 thousand adults, with the first five causes of disability being retinal disease (25 %), glaucoma (24.9 %), degenerative myopia (19.3 %), optic nerve disease (15.1 %), lens pathology (4.4 %). Despite ongoing research, which would reduce the burden of ophthalmopathology, the problem of visually impaired and blindness remains relevant worldwide to date. The development and implementation of preventive programs will contribute to the prevention of visual impairment and blindness among the population with eye diseases

scholarly journals Vision Improvement with Refractive Correction Does Not Completely Exclude Major Eye Diseases: Analyses of Visually Impaired South Korean Population in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009–2011

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Young-Woo Suh ◽  
Ji Sung Lee ◽  
Hwan Heo ◽  
Shin Hae Park ◽  
Seung-Hyun Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Visually Impaired ◽  
Age Related Macular Degeneration ◽  
South Korean ◽  
Health And Nutrition ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Refractive Correction ◽  
Group 3 ◽  
Group 2 ◽  
Group 1

Purpose. To investigate the association between vision improvement with refractive correction in the visually impaired eyes and the prevalence of ocular comorbidities in the South Korean population. Materials and Methods. The data of 24,620 individuals in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES 2009–2011) were reviewed. Visual impairment was defined as a presenting visual acuity < 20/60. The participants with visual impairment in at least one eye were divided into 3 groups according to the best-corrected visual acuity (group 1: <20/30, group 2: ≥20/30 but <20/25, and group 3: ≥20/25). The prevalence of ocular comorbidities was estimated and compared between the three groups. Results. Visual impairment in at least one eye was found in 3031 individuals. Groups 1, 2, and 3 comprised 23.5%, 22.2%, and 54.3% of these visually impaired eyes, respectively. The prevalence of cataract, diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, corneal opacity, blepharoptosis, and pterygium was similar to or even higher in group 2 compared to group 1. The prevalence of glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration was 5.40% and 11.39%, respectively, in group 2 and 3.31% and 3.76%, respectively, in group 3. Conclusions. Appropriate ophthalmologic examination is necessary even if people exhibit vision improvement after optical correction.

scholarly journals Development of a Fundus Image-Based Deep Learning Diagnostic Tool for Various Retinal Diseases

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 321
Author(s):  
Kyoung Min Kim ◽  
Tae-Young Heo ◽  
Aesul Kim ◽  
Joohee Kim ◽  
Kyu Jin Han ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Network Models ◽  
Retinal Disease ◽  
Age Related Macular Degeneration ◽  
Diagnostic Tools ◽  
Retinal Images ◽  
Dense Layer ◽  
Retinal Diseases ◽  
Fundus Image ◽  
Neural Network Models ◽  
Age Related

Artificial intelligence (AI)-based diagnostic tools have been accepted in ophthalmology. The use of retinal images, such as fundus photographs, is a promising approach for the development of AI-based diagnostic platforms. Retinal pathologies usually occur in a broad spectrum of eye diseases, including neovascular or dry age-related macular degeneration, epiretinal membrane, rhegmatogenous retinal detachment, retinitis pigmentosa, macular hole, retinal vein occlusions, and diabetic retinopathy. Here, we report a fundus image-based AI model for differential diagnosis of retinal diseases. We classified retinal images with three convolutional neural network models: ResNet50, VGG19, and Inception v3. Furthermore, the performance of several dense (fully connected) layers was compared. The prediction accuracy for diagnosis of nine classes of eight retinal diseases and normal control was 87.42% in the ResNet50 model, which added a dense layer with 128 nodes. Furthermore, our AI tool augments ophthalmologist’s performance in the diagnosis of retinal disease. These results suggested that the fundus image-based AI tool is applicable for the medical diagnosis process of retinal diseases.

scholarly journals Clinical Perspectives and Trends: Microperimetry as a trial endpoint in retinal disease

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yesa Yang ◽  
Hannah Dunbar
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trial ◽  
Retinal Disease ◽  
Age Related Macular Degeneration ◽  
Gene Therapies ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Trial Endpoints ◽  
Visual Acuity Loss ◽  
Psychophysical Test ◽  
Trial Endpoint

Endpoint development trials are underway across the spectrum of retinal disease. New validated endpoints are urgently required for the assessment of emerging gene therapies and in preparation for the arrival of novel therapeutics targeting early stages of common sight-threatening conditions such as age-related macular degeneration. Visual function measures are likely to be key candidates in this search. Over the last two decades, microperimetry has been used extensively to characterize functional vision in a wide range of retinal conditions, detecting subtle defects in retinal sensitivity that precede visual acuity loss and tracking disease progression over relatively short periods. Given these appealing features, microperimetry has already been adopted as an endpoint in interventional studies, including multicenter trials, on a modest scale. A review of its use to date shows a concurrent lack of consensus in test strategy and a wealth of innovative disease and treatment-specific metrics which may show promise as clinical trial endpoints. There are practical issues to consider, but these have not held back its popularity and it remains a widely used psychophysical test in research. Endpoint development trials will undoubtedly be key in understanding the validity of microperimetry as a clinical trial endpoint, but existing signs are promising.

scholarly journals A Review of the Role of the Intestinal Microbiota in Age-Related Macular Degeneration

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 2072
Author(s):  
Phoebe Lin ◽  
Scott M. McClintic ◽  
Urooba Nadeem ◽  
Dimitra Skondra
Keyword(s):  
Macular Degeneration ◽  
Intestinal Microbiota ◽  
Retinal Disease ◽  
Age Related Macular Degeneration ◽  
Intestinal Microbiome ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Intestinal Dysbiosis ◽  
Apo E ◽  
Dry Amd

Blindness from age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is an escalating problem, yet AMD pathogenesis is incompletely understood and treatments are limited. The intestinal microbiota is highly influential in ocular and extraocular diseases with inflammatory components, such as AMD. This article reviews data supporting the role of the intestinal microbiota in AMD pathogenesis. Multiple groups have found an intestinal dysbiosis in advanced AMD. There is growing evidence that environmental factors associated with AMD progression potentially work through the intestinal microbiota. A high-fat diet in apo-E-/- mice exacerbated wet and dry AMD features, presumably through changes in the intestinal microbiome, though other independent mechanisms related to lipid metabolism are also likely at play. AREDS supplementation reversed some adverse intestinal microbial changes in AMD patients. Part of the mechanism of intestinal microbial effects on retinal disease progression is via microbiota-induced microglial activation. The microbiota are at the intersection of genetics and AMD. Higher genetic risk was associated with lower intestinal bacterial diversity in AMD. Microbiota-induced metabolite production and gene expression occur in pathways important in AMD pathogenesis. These studies suggest a crucial link between the intestinal microbiota and AMD pathogenesis, thus providing a novel potential therapeutic target. Thus, the need for large longitudinal studies in patients and germ-free or gnotobiotic animal models has never been more pressing.

scholarly journals Estimated Cases of Blindness and Visual Impairment from Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration Avoided in Australia by Ranibizumab Treatment

PLoS ONE ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. e101072 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Mitchell ◽  
Neil Bressler ◽  
Quan V. Doan ◽  
Chantal Dolan ◽  
Alberto Ferreira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Macular Degeneration ◽  
Age Related Macular Degeneration ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Ranibizumab Treatment

New Electro-Optic and Display Technology for Visually Disabled People

2013 ◽  
pp. 687-718
Author(s):  
Ricardo Vergaz Benito ◽  
César Vega-Colado ◽  
María Begoña Coco ◽  
Rubén Cuadrado ◽  
Juan Carlos Torres-Zafra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Impairment ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Age Related Macular Degeneration ◽  
Disabled People ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Technical Aids ◽  
The World ◽  
World Information ◽  
Materials Used ◽  
Visually Disabled

The aim of the chapter is to review the most recent advances in electro-optical technologies applied to visually disabled people. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the number of people in the world with some kind of visual impairment is 285 million, with 246 million of these persons in a partially sighted or Low Vision (LV) condition. The top three causes of visual impairment are uncorrected refractive errors, cataracts and glaucoma, followed by age-related macular degeneration. On the other hand, Head Mounted Displays or electro-optical materials used in liquid crystal or electrochromic devices can be used in technical aids for LV. In this chapter, the authors review how disabled people receive real world information using these new technologies, how the recently developed electro-optical technical aids can improve visual perception, and how these LV aids do work, from a technological point of view.

Common age-related eye diseases and visual impairment

2017 ◽  
pp. 1165-1170
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Chua ◽  
Ching-Yu Cheng ◽  
Tien Yin Wong
Keyword(s):  
Diabetic Retinopathy ◽  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Macular Degeneration ◽  
Refractive Error ◽  
Vision Loss ◽  
Age Related Macular Degeneration ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Eye Disorders ◽  
Appropriate Treatment ◽  
Uncorrected Refractive Error

General physicians have an essential role in preventing vision loss in older people. However, most vision-threatening eye disorders are initially asymptomatic and often go underdiagnosed. Therefore screening, early detection, and timely intervention are important in their management. The most common cause of visual impairment is uncorrected or undercorrected refractive error, followed by cataract, age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy. Spectacles and cataract surgery can successfully restore sight for uncorrected refractive error and cataract, respectively. Visual impairment as a result of age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy can be prevented with appropriate treatment if they are identified early enough. This chapter provides an overview of common age-related eye disease and visual impairment.

Medical retina

2014 ◽  
pp. 515-592 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alastair K.O. Denniston ◽  
Philip I. Murray
Keyword(s):  
Retinal Disease ◽  
Age Related Macular Degeneration ◽  
Cystoid Macular Oedema ◽  
Eye Disease ◽  
Anatomy And Physiology ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Clinical Presentations ◽  
Diabetic Eye Disease ◽  
Retinal Vascular Disease ◽  
Medical Retina

‘Medical retina’ provides the reader with a practical approach to the assessment and management of retinal disease. After outlining the relevant anatomy and physiology of this structure, the chapter addresses the key clinical presentations arising from retinal disease, notably age-related macular degeneration, diabetic eye disease, cystoid macular oedema, retinal vascular disease, and genetic retinal disease. Using a patient-centred approach the key clinical features, investigations and treatment (medical and surgical) are described for each condition.

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