TIPS - Searching the Alpha-C Blog

Help for Members who are unfamiliar with blogs.

If you like to look for information on past postings, you can shorten your search by using the key word search labelled "SEARCH BLOG" located at the top left-hand corner of the page.
Let's say you want to re-read the sharing session where "Kua Cheng Hock" was the speaker, you may key in either his full name or part of his name or any other key words you think are related to the subject.

Am I at risk for glaucoma?

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Am I at RISK for GLAUCOMA?

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• If you are 55 or older, you should get an eye exam at least once every two years.
• If you have diabetes or other health problems, you may need to see an eye doctor more often.
• A dilated eye exam will allow your doctor to check for glaucoma.

ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS :

• Have I had an eye injury or eye surgery, even as a child?
• Am I very near-sighted?
• Have I taken steriods on a long-term basis?
• Most importantly: have I had an eye exam recently?
• Am I 40 years of age or older?
• Did my parents, grandparents or great-grandparents lose their sight? What was the cause of their vision loss?
• Do I have diabetes?

SEE: Wills Glaucoma Service : Chat Highlights: Glaucoma Risk Factors and Their Significance

http://www.wills-glaucoma.org/supportgroup/20030625.php

Risk Factors for Glaucoma:

http://www.wills-glaucoma.org/risks.htm

Secondhand smoke raises heart disease risk: study

Secondhand smoke raises heart disease risk: study

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070212/hl_nm/smoking_secondhand_heart_dc_2

Keeping Doctor Appointments

Keeping Doctor Appointments
Interview Questions

We are looking into why a lot of people make doctor appointments but do not show up or are too early/late for the appointed time. With your comments we hope to get an understanding of the many problems relating to no-show.

1. Why do you think people do this?
2. Tell me about a time you or someone you know had an appointmentbut didn’t or couldn’t come.
3. What made it hard to keep the appointment with the doctor?
4. [Or] Is there anything that makes it hard for you to keep an appointment?
5. Do you have difficulties keeping the appointment time?
6. Do you have to make any special arrangements to get here?
7. (Transportation, child care, insurance company referrals, work, other)
8. How difficult is it for you to be on time for your appointment?
9. How do you know when you or someone in your family needs to seethe doctor?
10. How did you decide to choose a clinic?
11. What do you come here (the clinic) for?
12. How do you feel about having to see the doctor (eg, worried, anxious,hopeful, etc)? Why?

You need not answer all the questions. Just state the Question No. in your comments with your Answers.

How to use your eye drops

Alpha-CARE for U

Speed up the treatment, spread the word - compliance, compliance, compliance ......

How to use your eye drops

Some General Information

1. Use your drops as instructed by the doctor.


2. Read the label carefully and put the drops in at the times stated by the doctor/nurse. It is important to put your drops in at the same time each day.


3. Keep your drops in a cool, clean place (some drops may need to be kept in the fridge)


4. Remember to take your drops with you if you go out and, in particular, when you go on holiday.


5. Do not let your drops run out. Get a new bottle from your doctor in good time.


6. Always get a new bottle after 28 days even if you have some left


7. Do not stop using the drops unless your ophthalmologist tells you to do so


8. Some eye drops can affect your heart rate and/or breathing. Inform your doctor if you are using eye drops

If you experience any discomfort when using the eye drops please contact your eye doctor

--ooOOoo--

How to put your eye drops in

1. Wash your hands


2. Position yourself comfortably (stand, sit or lie)


3. Tilt your head back so you are looking up at the ceiling
4. Gently pull down the lower eyelid


5. Hold the bottle directly over the eye – you may find it helpful to use the bridge of your nose to rest the bottle on


6. Do not allow the dropper tip to touch the eye


7. Squeeze a drop into the pocket inside the lower lid – do not worry if more than one drop goes into your eye or it runs down your cheek


8. Close the eye and apply slight pressure to the inner corner of the eye for 2 to 3 minutes. This will prevent the drops from running down the tear duct into the back of the throat and will increase the benefit of the medication


9. If you use more than one drop in the same eye, allow about 5 minutes between each medication
   
   Please speak to your doctor or clinic nurses if you are having problems putting your drops in as they may be able to help.

--ooOOoo--

Also see : Is eye-drops compliance that difficult? http://alphacian.blogspot.com/2007/02/is-eye-drops-compliance-that-difficult.html

Glaucoma - Ask the Expert

In conjunction with Glaucoma Awareness Month - January 2007

Ask the Expert

January 18, 2007: Thursday, FOX Morning Show with Dr. George L. Spaeth, a Wills Glaucoma Service physician. (Video - 262 Kbps 02:19 mintues)

Into counselling

© Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors

Into counselling

Most therapists possess an innate desire to help others, and because of this emotional involvement, sometimes it can be challenging to convert the potential into practical results.

Whilst we’ve tackled the basic premises which can help counsellors enter the market and attract clients, there is still one aspect of the counselling relationship which is indispensable for a counsellor’s success: client satisfaction. But isn’t that a matter of competence and an intrinsic part of being a counsellor?

Yes, it is. Being able to progress clients through to the achievement of their counselling goals has plenty to do with the counsellor’s ability to perform his/her services at the most basic level. However, it is exactly that logical assumption that induces many counsellors to oversee basic communication needs and counselling skills which will be the key for their success as a professional counsellor.

The Counselling Setting

Prior to engaging in the interpersonal communication process, there are basic requirements which will influence the client’s ability to express him/herself, and to make decisions regarding the relationship. These aspects refer to the counselling setting, which in the initial meetings can cause a significant impact in the client’s perception towards the counsellor. In a nutshell, the counsellor should observe the following:
Comfort: a comfortable setting improves client expression of feelings.
Security/Privacy: providing the client with security during a session.
Noise control: ensuring that noise does not affect communication.
Stimuli control: a neutral environment (light colours and decoration).
Supportive environment: a space in which the client can share in their own pace.
Facilities: Amenities, décor and other office facilities are relevant aspects to be observed.

Rules of Engagement

There are certain ‘rules of engagement’ which dictate the likelihood of a counselling relationship being constructive, and these rules apply to any context. For example, if you have just been introduced to someone at a social event, you should initially avoid asking personal questions as that is perceived to be intrusive. These rules are inherited by particular social groups, and following them is the basis for creating a positive profile and developing a receptive attitude from other group members.

In the counselling setting, there is much more necessity in applying such rules. The client is there for a specific purpose, which requires a particular approach to the situation. The client is also likely to be “uneasy” or unsure about what to expect, which increases the ‘risk’ of making a bad impression or not developing good rapport. Finally, there are more urgent ethical guidelines which must be complied within the counselling room, but would be of little relevance in a social setting.

In order to encourage the client to engage in a formal relationship, the counsellor must first avoid the common pitfalls which can make communication difficult. The first and foremost issue to consider in this scenario is the elusive impact of ‘first impressions’ in the eyes of a client. Trust and rapport are emotional keywords in a client’s subconscious, and once they have been negatively ‘red-flagged’ for any reason; it is very unlikely that relationship will move forward. So what can make this occur?

Dodging the Pitfalls

The standard communication pitfalls found in any relationship cover most potential problems of the first couple of meetings. They relate to a range of conscious and subconscious thinking patterns which could create communication gaps between the client and counsellor.

These patterns are based on the each individual’s education, relationships, attitudes, motivational targets, self-confidence levels and a range of other factors. Because the initial stages of a counselling relationship tend to be open and unpredictable, a good strategy to move forward is engaging in prevention: aiming to reduce the probability of communication pitfalls. To prevent this, counsellors must be aware of the common mistakes, or negative patterns, of good communication:

Judging: Criticising, name-calling, diagnosing and praising evaluatively
Sending Solutions: Ordering, threatening, moralising, and advising
Avoiding the Other's Concerns: Diverting, logically arguing, reassuring

The probable outcome of avoiding such pitfalls is establishing grounds for a productive relationship through good rapport and developing a certain level of trust and openness.

The Mindset of the Client

When it comes to interpersonal communication in therapy, being flexible and responsive is one of the most beneficial skills a counsellor can have. Different mindsets and emotional states require a particular approach; and the counsellor’s ability to adjust to a client’s needs is likely to dictate the success of that relationship.

In order to better exemplify the diversity of mindsets which clients may approach counseling with, there are five generic profiles of clients – and respective strategies -to help improve the relationship and enhance client-counsellor rapport.

Profile 1: an emotionally unstable client

The client is emotionally unstable and finding difficulty in expressing him/herself.

Emotionally unstable clients normally require a client-centred approach which enforces the need to establish rapport and trust, and to ensure the client is aware that he or she is in a safe and friendly environment. The client will normally have difficulty in expressing him/herself because he/she is unable or not ready to deal with emotions.

Counselling strategies to establish rapport would include: using self-disclosure to relate to the client’s situation and create an emotional link; creating goals and accountability in order to encourage action from the client; providing transparency and positivity through communication.

Profile 2: an involuntary or skeptical client

The client has been forced to attend to counselling (e.g. legally mandated).

This type of client may be difficult to deal with in the early stages of the relationship. Normally, he or she will be skeptical about the process, and may not acknowledge any need to change. It is important for the therapist to gain respect from the client, and use that respect to establish trust.

One of the most common strategies to gain respect and create responsiveness from the client is to outline the process of counselling: what he or she is there for; what is the structure of the relationship; what are the rights and duties of the client; what might be the expected positive outcomes. Solution-focused strategies are a good way to create a sense of accountability and need for change.

Profile 3: the child

The client is a young child or adolescent.

Dealing with children is always challenging as there is a perceived ‘bigger’ communication gap. The goal for the counsellor is to establish trust using humour; engaging in activities such as games; encouraging a collaborative approach; using self-disclosure and role-playing. These are all common strategies to help improve communication with young clients.

Profile 4: the uncommitted client

Lack of commitment can be a challenging problem in the counselling setting. Normally, a client with little or no commitment has a specific agenda which justifies their attendance at a counselling session (an example would be a husband who was asked by his wife to attend counselling in order to preserve their marriage). Framing and re-framing are good tactics to re-model the way the client perceives the counselling relationship: shifting from the ‘helping’ mode to the collaborative approach. Creating goals and structuring will also motivate the client to go through the necessary stages for change, collect the rewards, and move on with his/her own life.

Profile 5: the demanding client

A demanding client will normally believe that the counsellor will provide answers to his/her problems. They will come to counselling without much resolve to act upon their current situation, and will normally create very unrealistic expectations regarding the counselling relationship and the counsellor.

Again, encouraging accountability, managing expectations and establishing well-planned goals is a good approach. The client should be encouraged to realise that change can only occur from within. Using role-playing, narrative therapy skills, and/or a solution-focused approach to empower and encourage the client may be the key for deriving motivation.

Hopefully, the above strategies assist with providing a firm foundation to establish the client-counsellor relationship.

--ooOOoo--

• © Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors. To republish or reproduce this article, please include this information at the end of the article. For more information about the Institute – please visit www.aipc.net.au/lz. To access our Article Library, visit www.aipc.net.au/articles.
  

Now that I've been told I have glaucoma, what can I expect?

Now that I've been told I have glaucoma, what can I expect?

By George L. Spaeth

"Now that I've been told I have glaucoma, what can I expect? " This question has to enter the mind of every person who has just learned that he or she has glaucoma. It may be a sufficiently frightening question that the person never speaks it aloud. But it's the sort of question that most physicians dread, because it asks for projections that are extremely difficult to make. It asks the ophthalmologist to "play God," and, while physicians may be respected for their knowledge, they are usually aware that they have no unique ability to see into the future. Nevertheless the question is the right one for patients to ask, and it is an essential one for the ophthalmologist to address with a patient.

The first thing that a person who has been told that he or she has glaucoma ought to do is to ask the doctor what he or she means by the word "glaucoma." The word "glaucoma" is still used in so many different ways, and it means so many different things to different people, that the question about what it means for the person to have glaucoma can't really be addressed at all until there's some agreement on what the word "glaucoma" means.

Expect the Unexpected
The first thing that the patient with glaucoma should expect is the unexpected. Some types of glaucoma seem so serious that the physician worries that the affected person is likely to go blind. Other glaucomas seem quite mild, and the doctor may wonder if any treatment is necessary at all. But the patient with what appears to be a serious glaucoma may respond wonderfully to treatment and not have any further significant visual loss, while the one with the seemingly mild glaucoma may end up visually incapacitated because glaucoma in this case proves very resistant to all sorts of treatments.

Does this mean that the individual affected with glaucoma can't make any plans? No. While unexpected things are routine, the changes that occur in most people with glaucoma, once the initial diagnosis has been made and the initial treatment started, usually occur slowly over a period of many years. If the patient is alert and the physician is alert, the different directions in which the glaucoma is going can be spotted, and new and more appropriate projections made.

For example, the first patient mentioned above needs to be counseled at the start that there's a reasonable chance that he will lose his vision due to glaucoma. But as soon as it becomes apparent that the response to treatment is better than expected, a new counseling session is necessary in which the patient comes to understand that he's doing very well and the outlook for the future is far more favorable than had initially been considered. In a similar vein, when it becomes apparent to the physician that the second patient is not responding well to therapy, it's essential to share that information with the patient so the patient have a more accurate idea of where he or she can expect to be 20 years later.

Remain Vigilant
Except for a few types of glaucoma, the tendency for glaucoma to cause continuing damage remains with the person for the rest of the person's life. Thus, the person must not think that he or she is "cured" and stop being vigilant. There's a great difference between being vigilant and being a hypochondriac. To be vigilant means to be alert to warning signs and to exercise appropriate "preventive maintenance." To take care of a car properly does not require that the owner spend an hour a day inspecting the car. It does mean that periodically the car needs to be checked to make sure that the operating systems are working appropriately and that, if they don't seem to be working properly, that they are checked out promptly.

Warning signs that should alert the patient to call the doctor are symptoms of any kind that make the patient wonder if everything is OK. Of course, the most worrisome symptom is any sense that visual function is worse in any way. These symptoms would include:

• a sense that it's harder to get around, an increasing sense of clumsiness



• loss of depth perception



• more difficulty seeing at night



• less ability to distinguish between colors



• haziness of vision that is not corrected by glasses



• a perception that there are certain areas in the person's visual field that are getting worse



• pain in the eyes, especially when it's associated with smoky or misty vision or with rings around lights



• pain or fatigue after close work or when going into dark places such as restaurants or movie theaters



• achy eyes, that feel as though they have some pressure in them, especially when such aches occur repeatedly



• colored haloes around single lights such as street lamps



• a fluctuating sharpness of vision.

It's appropriate for the person to test each eye individually periodically. This need not be time-consuming or threatening. One way, for example, is on the first of each month for the person to check each eye individually to see if there's been a change in the smallest print that the person can read, and to check each eye to see if there's a change in the sense of the visual field, i.e., the awareness of all the things that surround a person. If one uses the same printed material each time to check vision, it becomes immediately apparent if the vision is becoming worse. If one looks at the same general scene, such as at a specific picture on the far side of the wall, then major changes in the visual field are easy to appreciate on repeated testing.

There are, of course, a wide variety of other visual symptoms that indicate that something might be wrong, such as "seeing double" or marked problems with glare. These symptoms, however, usually point to concerns other than glaucoma.

It's also important for the person to be vigilant regarding his or her general health. A person's general health has a profound effect on his or her glaucoma, and the glaucoma can have a profound effect on general health. Changes in the person's sense of well-being, the person's sense of energy, level of general fatigue, stress, and important events in the individual's life should be noted and relayed to the physician.

Prepare for Battle or Be Wary of Treatment?
Eyes that have far-advanced damage have demonstrated that the person's glaucomatous disease is the type that causes damage. Eyes that don't have much damage have demonstrated that they have the type of condition in which damage is much less likely to occur. The person, then, who at a relatively young age is found to have far-advanced glaucoma damage has to be prepared for a real battle. On the other hand, the person who's really doing quite well and isn't showing signs of progressive deterioration is more likely to be damaged by methods used to prevent further damage than he or she is likely to be damaged by the glaucomatous process itself.

Value Your Own Assessment of What You're Feeling
The person with glaucoma has to realize that the system of medical care which has come to be considered to be the best medical care is based on science, and science is based on unbiased, objective measurements which are analyzed in an unbiased, objective way. This means that the concerns of patients, which are never objective, and are always biased, are always considered with skepticism by the scientist. But in fact every individual person is unique and different from every other person. The patient wants a physician to be scientific, objective, and knowledgeable, but the patient must be prepared to do battle with physicians who don't appear to value what the patient feels about himself or herself. For example, when a patient says to the doctor that he's getting worse, by definition the patient is getting worse. The doctor may not be able to find manifestations of that deterioration but that doesn't mean the deterioration isn't occurring. The glaucoma patient, then, must pay a great deal of attention to his own sense of well-being and must be prepared to communicate that convincingly to his or her physician.

Be Ready for Repeated Optic Disc and Visual Field Assessments
The two most important tests done on the glaucoma patient are evaluation of the optic disc and visual field. Patients need to be prepared to have serial, repeated tests of these two functions. The patient also must be prepared for the huge amount of variability that exists between testing sessions and must not conclude that he or she is either getting worse or stable just on the basis of an apparent change in a photograph or on a visual field. The determination of whether a test really does represent a deterioration or an improvement is frequently an extraordinarily difficult determination and should not be made lightly by either the physician or the patient.

Be Prepared to Make Trade-Offs
The person who has a serious glaucoma, in which the optic nerve already has become damaged must realize that he or she is going to have to make trade-offs. Using drops is a nuisance; the vision is temporarily blurred, it's not comfortable to have to leave a meeting to go into the bathroom to use one's drops, it's a nuisance to make sure that one always has one's drop with one, etc. But if one has the type of glaucoma that is going to get worse, and the glaucoma is being controlled with medications, either one uses the drops or the glaucoma gets worse.

The two most important tests done on the glaucoma patient are evaluation of the optic disc and visual field. Patients need to be prepared to have serial, repeated tests of these two functions. The patient also must be prepared for the huge amount of variability that exists between testing sessions and must not conclude that he or she is either getting worse or stable just on the basis of an apparent change in a photograph or on a visual field. The determination of whether a test really does represent a deterioration or an improvement is frequently an extraordinarily difficult determination and should not be made lightly by either the physician or the patient.

Similarly, when glaucoma surgery is done, the eye is not returned to normal. The pressure may be controlled by the surgery, but the surgery usually substitutes one problem of less magnitude for the greater problem of losing vision. It is essential that the patient understand that there will be such trade-offs and it is the job of the patient and physician together to decide how to prioritize the problems so that the patient is most likely to accomplish those things which are of most importance to the patient.

Source: Wills Glaucoma Service

Year of the Boar

Alpha-C Support Group

wishes all our Chinese friends a

Happy Lunar New Year

Glaucoma - Interview in Malay

It is worth repeating the Radio Interview conducted in July 2006 with SNEC Ophthalmologist, Dr Hoh Sek Tien, on Glaucoma in Malay

http://www.ab-glaucoma-sin.org/media/RSI/11jul2006.html

Kata orang ya, mata adalah jendela kita untuk melihat dunia. Dengan matalah, kita lihat keindahan alam sekitar dan telatah manusia ya? Setuju, saudara?

Opportunity is limitness.

Where there is an open

mind, there will always

be a frontier.

- Charles F. Kettering

Visit to SAVH : Low Vision Clinic on 13th Feb 2007

Dear Members and Friends,

The visit to the Low Vision Clinic at SAVH is confirmed for 13th Feb 2007 at 2:30pm.

There are a few more slots available for members interested to attend and they may contact me at samfong@glaucoma-singapore.org

Yours truly,
Samfong


Those who like more details please visit SAVH website listed below:
Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped (SAVH)47 Toa Payoh Rise Singapore 298104Tel: (65) 6251 4331 (ext 142)Fax: (65) 6253 7191

URL: http://www.savh.org.sg/

Lifestyle & Glaucoma - Wills Glaucoma

• P: Nine months ago I started a walking routine, usually 45 to 50 minutes a day. After five months of that exercise, my blood pressure had dropped low enough that I no longer needed medicine to control it. My cholesterol also dropped. Further, I lost 17 pounds. The best news, however, is that at my last checkup my IOPs were10 mm Hg. My glaucoma specialist said that my visual field is stable. Since I have not changed glaucoma medication, I attribute the decrease in IOPs to walking. My IOPs have never been that low.
  Dr. Rick Wilson: You are a good example: I see that all the time. In fact, when my son was born 21 years ago, I was found to have seriously high blood pressure. I started swimming four times a week and lost 15 pounds. I have never had to take medicine for high blood pressure as it dropped significantly.
  
  

You don't use it, you lose it!

To access Chat Highlights : http://www.willsglaucoma.org/supportgroup/20070103.htm

Glaucoma - Is there a cure?

Public Forums at Tan Tock Seng Hospital relating to the Eye

• 1. LASIK Public Forum
  Date: 17 March 2007
  Time: 1.30 to 3.30pm
  Venue: TTSH Theatrette, Level 1
  Registration Fee: $5
  For registration or enquiries, please contact Ms Lim Sing Yong / Mr Eugene Kwek at 6357-2678 / 7736 or email: Sing_Yong_Lim@ttsh.com.sg
  
  2. Glaucoma Public Forum
  Date: 28 April 2007
  Time: 1.30 to 3.30pm
  Venue: TTSH Theatrette, Level 1
  Registration Fee: $5
  For registration or enquiries, please contact Ms Lim Sing Yong / Mr Eugene Kwek at 6357-2678 / 7736 or email: Sing_Yong_Lim@ttsh.com.sg
  
  3. Public Forum: Warning signs for diabetes complications in eye and foot problems
  Date: 12 May 2007
  Time: 2.00 to 4.00pm
  Venue: TTSH Theatrette, Level 1
  Registration Fee: $5
  For registration or enquiries, please contact Ms Lim Sing Yong / Mr Eugene Kwek at 6357-2678 / 7736 or email: Sing_Yong_Lim@ttsh.com.sg
  
  4. Cataract Public Forum in Mandarin
  Date: 19 May 2007
  Time: 1.30 to 3.30pm
  Venue: TTSH Theatrette, Level 1
  Registration Fee: $5
  For registration or enquiries, please contact Ms Lim Sing Yong / Mr Eugene Kwek at 6357-2678 / 7736 or email: Sing_Yong_Lim@ttsh.com.sg

Events at Alexandra Hospital relating to the Eye

Myopia : genetic, risk factors, emerging treatment

Alpha-C Support Group role in this posting is to lead members to a progamme hosted in the Health Promotion Board Website

To access radio interview : http://www.hpb.gov.sg/web/nmpp/myopia_interview.html

To access radio interview : http://www.hpb.gov.sg/web/nmpp/myopia_interview.html

Alpha-C Sharing Session - 3 Feb 2007 - Discussion on Glaucoma

Here are some photos of the 11 participants at this discussion session . A Summary of the discussion will be appended to this posting soon. We specially welcome Peggy, Dr Sharon Siddique's mother, who came from Vail, Boulder, USA and she is in Singapore for a one-month family visit.

Alpha-C Sharing Session - 3 February 2007
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For this Sharing Session a 15min video was screened from the internet a talk on “Discussion on Glaucoma” by Leila Rafla-Demetrious, MD, Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at Cornell University, NY
.

The video summarizes the results of Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS) and the Early Manifest Glaucoma Trial (EMGT) and explains how these studies impact the management of glaucoma..

-
--ooOOoo--
.

As a follow up from the video we discussed and shared how these studies and practices relate to our own personal experiences

The two studies address 2 seperate concerns. Both studies focus on lowering IOP as the vehicle for slowing down the disease progression.

1. OHTS - people with ocular hypertension: what are the chances that they develop POAG and will medication slow-down or prevent the disease.

2. EMGT - people with early manifest glaucoma: will medication prevent or slow-down the progression of the disease.

.

The Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS)

Two Groups were studied for period of 5 years: one without medication(Observation Group) and a medication group. Note that the sample population selected had not developed POAG but exhibited high IOP. This is a very large study carried at multi-centers throughout America.

Selection of population study on basis of ages between 40 and 80 with IOP greater than or equal to 24 mm Hg but less than or equal to 32 mm Hg in at least one eye and IOP greater than or equal to 21 but less than or equal to 32 mm Hg in the fellow eye,

Study closed in June 1996.

Result of Study:
At end of 5 years, the study concluded the cumulative probability of developing POAG was 4.4 percent in the medication group and 9.5 percent in the observation group. There was little evidence of increased systemic or ocular risk associated with ocular hypotensive medication.

The study was able to highlight to doctors reasonable estimates of risk for individual ocular hypertensive patients and to determine which ocular hypertensive individuals are most likely to benefit from early prophylactic (preventive) medical treatment.

Baseline factors that predicted POAG included older age, larger vertical or hotrizontal cup-disc ratio, higher intraocular pressure, greater pattern standard deviation, and thinner central corneal measurement.

.

Early Manifest Glaucoma Trial (EMGT)
The study concluded in 2002 -- called the Early Manifest Glaucoma Trial conducted in Sweden-- followed 255 patients, aged 50-80 years, with early stage glaucoma in at least one eye. Most patients were identified in a population screening. The average age of the patients at the beginning of the study was 68 years. One group was treated immediately with medicines and laser to lower eye pressure, and the other group -- the control group -- was left untreated. Both groups were followed carefully and monitored every three months for early signs of advancing disease, using indicators that are extremely sensitive for detecting glaucoma progression. Any patient in the control group whose glaucoma progressed was immediately offered treatment.

After six years of follow-up, scientists found that progression was less frequent in the treated group (45 percent) than in the control group (62 percent), and occurred significantly later in treated patients. Treatment effects were also evident in patients with different characteristics, such as age, initial eye pressure levels, and degree of glaucoma damage. In the treated group, eye pressure was lowered by an average of 25 percent.

The findings from this study reinforce the known evidence that lowering eye pressure in glaucoma's early stages slows progression of the disease. It suggests that early detection and treatment will slow the disease progression.

.
--ooOOoo--
.

Read also the Chat Highlights on OHTS from Wills Glaucoma Service at

http://www.wills-glaucoma.org/supportgroup/20021030.php

http://www.wills-glaucoma.org/supportgroup/20020828.php

.

References:
Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS)
http://www.nei.nih.gov/neitrials/viewStudyWeb.aspx?id=24
Early Manifest Glaucoma Trial (EMGT)
http://www.agingeye.net/glaucoma/emgt.pdf

--ooOOoo--

What has our Health Ministry got to say about the 2 clinical trials:
IOP goals in specific groups of glaucoma patients
Recent large prospective randomised clinical trials conducted in the
US have provided some benchmarks that should guide the clinician
when managing specific categories of glaucoma patients.
It is recommended that glaucoma therapy in the local context should
be informed by, but not unduly constrained by, or indiscriminately
adherent to, the following trials:

• 1. The Collaborative Normal Tension Glaucoma Study (CNTGS)
  2. The Advanced Glaucoma Intervention Study (AGIS)
  3. The Collaborative Initial Glaucoma Treatment Study (CIGTS)
  4. The Early Manifest Glaucoma Trial (EMGT)
  5. The Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS)

Source: MOH Clinical Practice Guidelines on Glaucoma - Ministry of Health : Singapore

Definition of Glaucoma : Diagnosis & Screening

Source: Ministry of Health- Singapore

2nd Glaucoma Day Forum

Last year the Glaucoma Society Singapore held its Glaucoma Day Forum on 3 June 2006 and it was an overwhelming success...

This year the 2nd Glaucoma Day Forum will be held on 22 July 2007 .. Look out on these pages for further announcements. The President,GSS revealed that: "The forum will feature a panel of world renowed specialists in Glaucoma."

Support the AMD Support Group

Visit : AMD Support Group Website : http://www.amd-singapore.org/

Plan now to meet it head on ... OLD AGE

In order to achieve anything one needs to plan

and that includes planning for old age

.

--ooOOoo--

.

In seed time learn, in harvest teach,

in winter enjoy

- William Blake

.

--ooOOoo--

.

Source: THE STRAITS TIMES - HOME - THURSDAY - FEBRUARY 1, 2007

Glaucoma - the second leading cause of blindness

Why join Support Groups?

Alpha-C Support Group February Sharing Session

Alpha-C Sharing Session - 3 February 2007

.

For this Sharing Session we will run from the Internet a 15min video on “Discussion on Glaucoma” by Leila Rafla-Demetrious, MD, Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at Cornell University, NY

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The video summarizes the results of Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS) and the Early Manifest Glaucoma Trial (EMGT) and explains how these studies impact the management of glaucoma..

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As a follow up from the video we will discuss and share how these studies and practices relate to our own personal experiences

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References:

Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS)

http://www.nei.nih.gov/neitrials/viewStudyWeb.aspx?id=24

Early Manifest Glaucoma Trial (EMGT)

http://www.agingeye.net/glaucoma/emgt.pdf

Alpha-C Support Group - Our Objectives

Alpha-C Support Group

A sub-group of GSS GLAUCOMA Patient Support Group

The ALPHA Cell Group (Alpha-C for short) is the first of a series of "cell" groups that may be formed out of the main Glaucoma Support Group chaired by Anny Leow.

Our Objectives

• We aim to discuss and formulate effective ways of coping with and managing this disease.


• The group will focus on understanding the disease, adjustment needs and stress management issues.


• We belief that a sound knowledge of glaucoma and its treatment is important to our personal well being.


• We recognise that peer support from people in similar situations is crucial to everyone coping with GLAUCOMA.