The continuum of primary retinal telangiectasia.

Background: Primary retinal telangiectasia is characterized by abnormalities in the retinal vasculature. Any alteration of the normal retinal vasculature may result in variable degrees of retinal leakage, hemorrhages, and exudates. The retinal telangiectatic conditions of Coats' disease, Leber's miliary aneurysms, and idiopathic macular telangiectasia (IMT), although historically considered separate entities, may in fact be variants of the same pathophysiologic vascular process.

Iatrogenically induced Stevens-Johnson syndrome after a car accident.

Background: Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) is a hypersensitivity reaction that targets the skin and mucosal membranes. Ophthalmic manifestations may include conjunctival and corneal keratinization, shortening of the fornices, symblepharon, entropion, trichiasis, and adnexal cutaneous blisters. The syndrome is often misdiagnosed, and patients are treated incompletely with topical agents only leading to a worsening of the condition and graduated symptoms.

Neurosensory retinal detachment secondary to torpedo maculopathy.

Background: Torpedo maculopathy has been characterized as a congenital retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) nevus.

Case: A 38-year-old black woman presented with a chief complaint of intermittent floating spots in the right eye of 7 months' duration. Dilated fundoscopy found a "torpedo-shaped" lesion, with the tip of the lesion pointing toward the temporal macula.

Acute zonal occult outer retinopathy: a case report.

Background: Acute zonal occult outer retinopathy (AZOOR) is a disorder of unknown etiology with a predilection for young women. AZOOR is characterized by an acute loss of one or more zones of outer retinal function with a corresponding loss of visual field in one or both eyes. Patients present with photopsia, variable funduscopic changes, and abnormal electroretinogram (ERG) findings.

Ocular metastasis of cutaneous malignant melanoma.

Background: Metastatic melanoma to the eye and orbit are rare. Patients at greatest risk often have disseminated metastases in the setting of advanced disease. Because the prognosis for orbital metastatic disease is poor, emphasis must be placed on early detection and prevention.

Review and update: current treatment trends for patients with retinitis pigmentosa.

Background: Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a heterogeneous group of inherited retinal disorders characterized by progressive photoreceptor apoptosis. It is the leading cause of inherited retinal degeneration-associated blindness. RP has a unique set of clinical characteristics that make it a complex disease associated with distinct inheritance patterns.

Bilateral familial Duane's retraction syndrome.

Background: Duane's retraction syndrome (DRS) is a congenital oculomotor anomaly that is accompany by globe retraction with simultaneous narrowing of the palpebral fissure on attempted adduction. Hereditary factors have been postulated to be associated with the development of DRS since 1879. However, the modern literature fails to provide substantial scientific evidence to support this premise.

Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an acute, demyelinating polyneuropathy involving the spinal roots, peripheral nerves, and often the cranial nerves. Although its exact mechanism remains unclear, an autoimmune etiopathology is theorized. It is characterized by rapidly progressing, symmetrical muscular weakness starting in the legs and ascending to the trunk and arms.

Acute onset of halos and glare: bilateral corneal epithelial edema with cystic eruptions--atypical presentation of amiodarone keratopathy.

Background: Amiodarone (Cordarone; Wyeth, Ayerst, New York) is a potassium channel blocking antiarrythmal medication indicated for recurrent ventricular fibrillation and recurrent hemodynamically unstable ventricular tachycardia. Chemically, it is classified as an iodinated benzofuran derivate antiarrythmal drug not chemically related to any other available antiarrhythmic drug. Documented side effects of amiodarone include neurologic, gastrointestinal, dermatologic, cardiovascular, and ophthalmic.

Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy: a case report.

Background: Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) is a bilateral optic neuropathy of mitochondrial inheritance that produces significant painless, central vision loss and dyschromatopsia. LHON usually occurs in young males between the ages of 15 and 30 years and manifests an episode of subacute or acute vision loss in one eye, with the opposite eye becoming involved weeks to months later. Approximately 80% to 90% of all LHON patients are male.

Intravenous and indocyanine green angiography.

Background: Indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) is an adjunct procedure to intravenous sodium fluorescein angiography (IVFA) for evaluation of disorders of the retina. It has particular application when choroidal pathology is implicated or suspected. Indocyanine green (ICG) dye has been used in the medical field since 1956, when it was approved by the Federal Drug Administration for imaging cardiac and hepatic circulations.

The National Eye Institute of The National Institutes of Health: its history and impact on clinical eye care.

Background: Research supported by the National Eye Institute (NEI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has contributed to the visual well being of the world. Pertinent citations from the literature were compiled to produce a clinical database reviewing major studies of the NEI and their outcomes.

Methods: Using Internet search engines and library resources, clinical NEI studies were reviewed.

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension: pseudotumor cerebri.

Background: Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), as defined by the modified Dandy criteria, is a diagnosis of exclusion. It is important to rule out other sight- and life-threatening causes of optic disk edema. IIH primarily affects obese women of childbearing age.

Herpes zoster ophthalmicus.

Background: We examined the literature for the latest information on diagnosis and management of herpes zoster, and compiled a representative database.

Methods: Using search engines and library resources, we reviewed pathology, epidemiology, pathophysiology, differential diagnosis, and management.

Results: The varicella zoster virus is a member of the herpes virus family that produces an infection through direct contact with active skin lesions or airborne droplets.

Giant cell arteritis.

Giant cell arteritis has been considered an enigmatic disease. It is characterised by chronic granulomatous inflammation of the walls of large and medium-sized arteries. The process has a predilection for the extradural cranial arteries, which include the ophthalmic and the posterior ciliary arteries.