Visual acuity and refraction by age for children of three different ethnic groups in Paraguay.

Purpose: To characterize refractive errors in Paraguayan children aged 5-16 years and investigate effect of age, gender, and ethnicity.

Methods: The study was conducted at 3 schools that catered to Mennonite, indigenous, and mixed race children. Children were examined for presenting visual acuity, autorefraction with and without cycloplegia, and retinoscopy.

Charlie Brown, amblyopia, and me: A (not so short) personal history of the past forty years of diagnosing and treating amblyopia.

Introduction: During the past forty-plus years there have been many advances in our understanding of amblyopia. It has been my privilege to be able to have a close relationship with many of the people that made these contributions. It is the purpose of this paper to trace these changes as they developed from 1965 to the present.

Recruitment and manpower in pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus.

Purpose: Many have observed what appears to be declining interest on the part of ophthalmology graduates in pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus (PO&S) as a career. Four questions might address this concern: (1) Has there been a decline in the number of fellowship positions filled in the period 2000 to 2005? (2) Why do graduates choose other career paths? (3) Assuming there has been a decrease in interest in PO&S, does it reflect dissatisfaction on the part of pediatric ophthalmologists in their field? (4) What can be done to enhance the appeal of the subspecialty?

Methods: Data from the San Francisco Matching Programs covering the years 2000 through 2005 included the numbers of ophthalmology graduates, their subspecialty choices, the number of applicants to PO&S and other subspecialty fellowships, and the number of fellowship positions offered. Supplemental surveys assessed positions filled outside the match and international fellows.

Sweep visual evoked potential testing as a predictor of recognition acuity in albinism.

Objective: To determine if sweep visual evoked potential (VEP) acuity is predictive of recognition acuity in children with albinism.

Methods: A retrospective review was performed in children with albinism who underwent sweep VEP testing from 1992 to 2003. All patients had a complete ophthalmologic examination with either binocular or monocular sweep VEP testing and at least 5 years of follow-up.

Successful treatment of anisometropic amblyopia with spectacles alone.

Background: The efficacy of treating anisometropic amblyopia with occlusion therapy is well known. However, this form of treatment can be associated with risks. Spectacle correction alone may be a successful and underutilized form of treatment.

Spondylometaphyseal dysplasia with cone-rod dystrophy.

The co-occurrence of ophthalmologic abnormality and intrinsic skeletal dysplasia is uncommon. We describe eight instances of a unique form of spondylometaphyseal dysplasia (SMD) associated with cone-rod dystrophy (although documentation is insufficient to be certain of that diagnosis in some). This is a new, syndromic form of SMD for which there is evidence for autosomal recessive transmission.