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Top-Ten Australia New Zealand and Glaucoma Club Meeting
March 14th 15th, 2003, Gold Coast, Australia
Anne Brooks
At the Australian and New Zealand Glaucoma Club Meeting held on 14th and 15th March, 2003, at the Sheraton Mirage, Gold Coast, Robert Fechtner was the invited speaker. There were over 95 registrants. The Top Ten from this meeting were, in order of presentation:
- Rob Fechtner spoke on optic nerve head imaging - who needs it? He concluded that all patients needed it, but that it is not yet available in the form needed.
- Tim Roberts spoke of the nocturnal dip in blood pressure.
- Paul Healey spoke on systemic risk factors for open angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension. His report from the Blue Mountains Eye Study confirmed the importance and independence of many systemic associations with glaucoma and ocular hypertension in a representative older Australian population. These data can help to guide a better targeted approach to screening for glaucoma.
- Jamie Craig spoke on the increased risk of normal-tension glaucoma associated with the apolipoprotein epsilon4 genotype in the Tasmanian population tested. Confirmation of these findings in another population is required. Other recently published work also suggests that further investigation of links between glaucoma and other neurodegenerative disease may be warranted.
- Paul Healey spoke on the Blue Mountains Cohort Glaucoma Study which will enable the documentation of the natural history of glaucoma over ten years. It may also allow risk factors for the development and progression of glaucoma to be identified, and will enable evaluation of the utility of new glaucoma assessment tools in circumstances that reflect actual use.
- Mike Patella spoke on SITA SWAP, which is being developed, and on a FDT screener second generation machine, which will soon be available, as well as SITA change probability analysis.
- Rob Fechtner spoke on therapeutics, his present trabeculectomy technique, and translating evidence into practice - clinical trials in glaucoma.
- Paul Healey spoke on the effect of human serum on antimetabolite trabeculectomy. Human serum reduces the antipro- 1liferative effect of 5FU and mitomycin C. Meticulous hemostasis may improve the outcome of trabeculectomy.
- Graham Lee advocated cyclodiode photocoagulation for refractory glaucoma after complicated penetrating keratoplasty.
- Anne Brooks spoke on vascular anomalies in anterior segment pigment dispersal syndrome using CT angiography. This suggested that orbital vascular changes may be a feature in some patients with anterior segment pigment dispersal syndrome
