Highlights from the 2019 Annual Meeting and Alumni Reunion
Harvard Ophthalmology hosted its Annual Meeting and Alumni Reunion on June 7-8. The CME-accredited event featured faculty and alumni lectures, award presentations, a poster contest, and networking opportunities. Both Victor Perez, MD, and Margarita Calonge, MD, were former fellows of C. Stephen Foster, MD, FACS, FACR and were invited to for the same purpose. They […]
Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Current Status and Treatment
Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Current Status and Treatment Peter Y. Chang, MD Age-Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD) is the leading cause of irreversible vision loss over the age of 50. It affects about 15 million men and women in the United States with about 200,000 new cases diagnosed each year. About 1.7 million U.S. citizens have the […]
AIDS and the Eye
AIDS and the Eye C. Stephen Foster, MD, FACS, FACR The ocular manifestations of AIDS revolve primarily around infectious and malignant disease. Prior to the advent of multi-drug “cocktail” therapy for HIV infection, opportunistic infectious disease of the eye was extremely common, and, in fact was a sentinel “marker” for a marked reduction in CD4 […]
Association of Ocular Inflammatory Disease with Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Association of Ocular Inflammatory Disease with Inflammatory Bowel Disease C. Stephen Foster, M.D., F.A.C.S, F.A.C.R. Even more surprising than the association between arthritis and eye inflammation, at least to some people, is the association between bowel inflammation and eye inflammation. But history tells us that such an association exists. This may be true not only […]
Birdshot Retinochoroidopathy
Birdshot Retinochoroidopathy C. Stephen Foster, M.D., F.A.C.S, F.A.C.R. What is Birdshot Retinochoroidopathy? Birdshot retinochoroidopathy, commonly referred to simply as “birdshot”, is a rare form of posterior uveitis which mainly affects the retina and choroid. The disease occurs in women more often than men, typically Caucasian, and most often between the ages of 30 and 60. […]
Cataract Surgery and Uveitis
Cataract Surgery and Uveitis C. Stephen Foster, M.D., F.A.C.S, F.A.C.R. Cataract develops in patients with uveitis because of the uveitis itself and also because of the steroids which is the cornerstone of treating uveitis. Cataract developing in an eye with a history of chronic or recurrent uveitis has historically been called cataracta complicata, and, indeed, […]
Cataract Surgery in Ocular Cicatricial Pemphigoid
Cataract Surgery in Ocular Cicatricial Pemphigoid C. Stephen Foster, M.D., F.A.C.S, F.A.C.R. We reported the results of our experience with cataract surgery in 20 patients (26 eyes) with biopsy-proven cicatricial pemphigoid. All patients were on systemic immunosuppression at the time of surgery (dapsone, azathioprine, cyclophsophamide, or combinations) and were treated with peri-operative oral corticosteroids. Patients […]
Connection Between Arthritis and Ocular Disease
Connection Between Arthritis and Ocular Disease C. Stephen Foster, M.D., F.A.C.S, F.A.C.R. The eye is made up primarily of collagen, as are ligaments, tendons, and tissue within joint spaces. It is, perhaps, primarily because of this similarity in composition that the eye is often affected by many of the same diseases which affect joints. Some […]
Connection Between Skin Disorders and Ocular Disease
Connection Between Skin Disorders and Ocular Disease C. Stephen Foster, M.D., F.A.C.S, F.A.C.R. Most individuals do not realize the extraordinary connection between skin and eye, much less the fact that many skin diseases have concomitant ocular manifestations. These may range from the relatively trivial, nuisance consequences of acne rosacea, with its associated chronic eye lid […]
Corneal Transplantation and Immunologic Tolerance
Corneal Transplantation and Immunologic Tolerance C. Stephen Foster, M.D., F.A.C.S., F.A.C.R. Corneal transplants, more often than not, are “tolerated (i.e., not rejected), unlike solid organ transplants such as heart, lung, kidney and skin. For 40 years it was imagined that this phenomenon occurred because of the lack of blood vessels and lymphatics in the cornea, […]