Creation of the American Board of Ophthalmology: The Role of the American Ophthalmological Society.

The American Ophthalmological Society (AOS) is 1 of the 3 founding organizations of the American Board of Ophthalmology (ABO), in addition to the Section on Ophthalmology of the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology. The early history of the AOS and its role in the founding of the ABO are addressed in this article.

The continued movement for open access to peer-reviewed literature.

Purpose: To provide a current overview of the movement for open access to the peer review literature.

Design: Perspective.

Methods: Literature review of recent advances in the open access movement with a personal viewpoint of the nuances of the movement.

A retrospective cohort study of clinical outcomes for intravitreal crystalline retained lens fragments after age-related cataract surgery: a comparison of same-day versus delayed vitrectomy.

Background: This analysis compared outcomes for same-day (under a no-move, no-wait policy) versus delayed vitrectomy for intravitreal crystalline retained lens fragments after surgery for age-related cataract.

Methods: This was a retrospective, nonrandomized treatment comparison cohort study with a consecutive series of 35 eyes (23 same-day, 12 delayed) receiving both cataract surgery and vitrectomy at the Mayo Clinic Florida between 1999 and 2010. Outcome measures included visual acuity (VA), glaucoma progression, visual utility, and complications.

Incidence, recurrence, and outcomes of herpes simplex virus eye disease in Olmsted County, Minnesota, 1976-2007: the effect of oral antiviral prophylaxis.

Objectives: To provide an estimate of the incidence of herpes simplex virus (HSV) eye disease in a community-based cohort, and to investigate the effect of prophylactic oral antiviral therapy on HSV recurrences and outcomes.

Methods: All Olmsted County, Minnesota, residents diagnosed with ocular HSV from 1976 through 2007 were retrospectively reviewed. The frequency of recurrences and adverse outcomes, such as vision loss or need for surgery, were compared between untreated patients and those treated prophylactically with oral antiviral medication.

Varicella zoster virus vaccines: effective, but concerns linger.

Both varicella and herpes zoster (HZ) can cause severe disease in certain age groups. The cell-mediated immune (CMI) response to the varicella zoster virus (VZV) is critical in preventing a recurrence of VZV. The varicella vaccine has markedly decreased the morbidity and mortality associated with varicella, but concerns linger about the cost and frequency of vaccine administration and the long-term effects on both adult varicella and HZ epidemiology in the individual and in the population.

Revealing the faults in medical journals.

Medical journals hold an exalted position in medicine, but have many shortcomings. This perspective reviews some of the shortcomings of medical journals which are primarily related to inexperience, bias, and commercialism. The issues discussed include the uncertain mission of the traditional medical journal in the modern digital age, the inherent inexperience of voluntary editorial boards, the weaknesses and capricious nature of decisions made by the peer-review process, the uneven value of most journal articles, the bias in what gets submitted and published in journals, the misunderstanding about the criteria for authorship, the misunderstanding of the need for ethical review board approval of studies, the misunderstanding of the need for informed consent for research from patients and ethical review boards, the various sources of assistance to editors and authors in dealing with the many ethical issues arising in the publication process, the commercialization and manipulation of medical journals by industry, the prevalent and complex financial entanglements of authors with industry, and the imperfect impact factor, which has the potential to be abused.