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PubMed1998

Causes of blindness in the adult population of the Republic of Ireland.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Blindness in the developed countries affects 3.5 million people. This study was conducted on the causes of blindness in the Republic of Ireland based on the register of the National Council for the Blind of Ireland. The aim was to determine the prevalence of potentially avoidable blindness and to identify its causes. METHOD: Criteria for registration as blind are in Ireland: best corrected visual acuity of 6/60 (0.1) or less in the better eye or a visual field restricted to 20 degrees or less. Data on 5002 adults 16 years an older registered as blind were analysed. The causes of blindness are classified in 17 diagnostic categories. RESULTS: The leading causes of blindness are macular degeneration and glaucoma, each accounting for 16% (812 and 795). Cataract accounted for 11% (561), a third of these had an associated cause of blindness and one tenth had a cognitive deficit. Diabetic retinopathy ranked as the 11th cause of blindness and accounted for 3% (147). More than half of the patients were 65 years and older. CONCLUSION: 25% of blindness was potentially avoidable. The treatable causes were glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy in the working population and glaucoma and cataract over 65 years of age. Glaucoma is the most important, which raises the question of a screening programme. The prevalence of blindness of 3% due to diabetic retinopathy is lower than in most other series.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Prevalence and causes of blindness in Australian aborigines.

A descriptive epidemiological survey of monocular and binocular blindness in Australian Aborigines was undertaken. A case-control study was also performed using age and sex matched sighted controls to allow investigation of personal and environmental factors which may contribute to blindness. The prevalence rate of binocular blindness in the Australian Aboriginal males and females was 11/1000; and the monocular blindness rates were 24/1000 for males and 18/1000 for females. The prevalence of blindness was strongly age-related; over the age of 60 years, 21.5% of males and 17.5% of females were binocularly blind, and 25.5% of males and 18.5% of females were monocularly blind. Half of the blindness was caused by cataracts, one-third by corneal disease, and one-twelfth by the loss of the globe. Trachoma and trauma were positively associated with blindness. Employment seemed to reduce the likelihood of blindness, with the exception of the Aboriginal males who had been employed as stockmen and who had a high rate of blindness. Less than 10% of blindness was attributable to degenerative or retinal disorders.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

[Eighteen years activity in prevention of blindness in the district of Shunyi, Beijing].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate how the urban tertiary hospital and medical research unit cooperate with rural basic medical unit in creating the model zone in prevention of blindness. METHODS: Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) and Shunyi District Bureau of Public Health exerted their advantages to persist and popularize the program for prevention of blindness. A collaborative program in prevention of blindness was conducted by PUMCH and Shunyi District Bureau of Public Health. The targeted subjects were the population in Shunyi District of Beijing. An epidemiological survey of eye diseases was performed in 1984. A program for prevention of blindness was established and conducted afterward. RESULTS: The status of blindness in Shunyi District was unveiled by the eye epidemiological survey of eye diseases in 1984. Three-level primary eye care network and referring and treatment system for cataract blindness was established since 1987. The survey showed that the priority in prevent of blindness is surgical treatment of cataract in the area. The evaluation of the program in prevention and treatment for blindness in 1996 showed that the prevalence of blindness was decreased even it is increasing in both the total population and aged people. CONCLUSION: The cooperation in urban tertiary hospital, medical research unit and basic health care unit, and combination in research and medical practice in prevention of blindness can promote development in the prevention of blindness and possible reverse the tendency of blindness increase.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

[Temporal trends in the etiology of blindness].

INTRODUCTION: Blindness prevention is a primary goal in ophthalmology. The long term success (in some respect) is reflected by the development of causes of blindness (e.g. in the interspeciality problem area of diabetic blindness). In an attempt to study long term developments in blindness epidemiology the German Committee for the Prevention of Blindness initiated the present study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present investigation reviewed (nearly) all German population based studies on the epidemiology of causes of blindness. Thus 35 studies covering more than 100 years have been included. Timely trends have been investigated by comparing relative frequencies of the prevalence of causes of blindness. RESULTS: Blindness prevalence increased in Germany during the historical observation time (present prevalence 138/100.000). The relative frequency of macular degeneration (presently the most frequent cause of blindness with approx. 15-20% share), diabetic retinopathy (present share approx. 5-7%) and high myopia (present share approx. 12-17%) have increased. The relative frequency of glaucoma (present share approx. 15%), tapetoretinal degenerations (present share approx. 5-10%) and retinal detachment (present share approx. 5-10%) have been more or less stable in the historical perspective. Cataract (present share approx. 5-10%), optic atrophy (present share approx. 5-10%), trauma (present share approx. < 5%), uveitis (present share approx. < 5%) and infections (presently only single cases) have diminished. DISCUSSION: Blindness prevalence has slightly increased in Germany over the last 100 years. Infections, traumas and uveitis have virtually disappeared as a cause of blindness. Macular degeneration, glaucoma and high myopia, on the other hand are increasingly responsible for blindness in Germany. CONCLUSION: From a preventive medicine standpoint the latter mentioned diseases should have priority in ophthalmologic research.

Blindness↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Behavioral evidence of filling-in at the blind spot of the monkey.

In human subjects, the blind spot is perceptually filled-in by color and brightness from the surrounding visual field. The present behavioral study examined the occurrence of color filling-in at the blind spot in monkeys. First, the location of the blind spot was determined using a monocular saccade task. The blind spots were located on the horizontal meridian at approximately 15-17 deg from the fixation point in the temporal visual field. Then, filling-in at the blind spot was tested by determining if the monkey could discriminate between an annulus presented on the blind spot and a homogeneous disk in the normal visual field. In this task, the monkey was required to make a saccade to a homogeneous disk of the same color and size as an annulus presented simultaneously in the opposite field. Both stimuli were large enough to cover the blind spot and the inner circle of the annulus was confined inside the blind spot. All four monkeys tested performed this task correctly in over 80% of the trials. However, when one eye was covered and the annulus was presented on the blind spot of the uncovered eye, performance deteriorated significantly. To confirm that these results reflected filling-in, one monkey was trained to maintain fixation when two identical homogeneous disks appeared in opposite visual fields. When only one eye was uncovered, and the annulus was presented on the blind spot of the uncovered eye, the monkey maintained fixation in most of the trials. These results show that monkeys were unable to distinguish an annulus from a homogeneous disk when the annulus was presented on the blind spot. This indicates that color filling-in occurs at the blind spot in monkeys and opens possibility to physiological experiments to study the neural mechanisms of filling-in.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Event-related potentials during auditory language processing in congenitally blind and sighted people.

While behavioral studies have documented delayed language acquisition in blind children, other studies have revealed better speech discrimination abilities for blind than sighted adults. Several brain imaging studies have provided evidence for cortical reorganization due to visual deprivation but the cerebral organization of language in blind humans is not known yet. We hypothesized that the increasing specialization of language systems normally observed during development may not take place to the same degree in blind individuals since posterior visual areas do not receive their adequate input. On the other hand, we hypothesized that blind people, due to their greater reliance upon the auditory language signal, may process speech faster than sighted people. To test these assumptions, event-related potentials were recorded while 11 congenitally blind and 11 sighted adults matched in age, gender, handedness and education were engaged in a language task. Participants listened to sentences in order to decide after each sentence if it was meaningful or not. Incongruous sentence-final words elicited an N400 effect in both groups. The N400 effect had a left-lateralized fronto-central scalp distribution in the sighted but a symmetric and broad topography in the blind. Furthermore, the N400 effect started earlier in the blind than in the sighted. Closed class compared to open class sentence middle words elicited a more pronounced late negativity in the blind than in the sighted. These results suggest that blind people process auditory language stimuli faster than sighted people and that some language functions may be reorganized in the blind.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Racial differences in the cause-specific prevalence of blindness in east Baltimore.

BACKGROUND: Bilateral blindness unrelated to simple refractive error is twice as prevalent among blacks as among whites, although the difference narrows among the elderly. The reasons for this race- and age-related pattern are uncertain. METHODS AND RESULTS: A randomly selected, stratified, multistage cluster sample of 2395 blacks and 2913 whites 40 years of age and older in East Baltimore underwent detailed ophthalmic examinations by a single team. We identified 64 subjects who were blind in both eyes. The leading causes of blindness were unoperated senile cataract (accounting for blindness in 27 of the total of 128 eyes), primary open-angle glaucoma (17 eyes), and age-related macular degeneration (16 eyes). Together, these three disorders accounted for 47 percent of all blindness in this sample. Unoperated cataract accounted for 27 percent of all blindness among blacks, among whom it was four times more common than among whites; whites were almost 50 percent more likely than blacks to have undergone cataract extraction before the age of 80 (P less than 0.002). Primary open-angle glaucoma accounted for 19 percent of all blindness among blacks; it was six times as frequent among blacks as among whites and began 10 years earlier, on average. By contrast, age-related macular degeneration resulting in blindness was limited to whites, among whom it was the leading cause of blindness (prevalence, 2.7 per 1000; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.2 to 5.4); it affected 3 percent of all white subjects 80 years of age or older. CONCLUSIONS: The pattern of blindness in urban Baltimore appears to be different among blacks and whites. Whites are far more likely to have age-related macular degeneration, and blacks to have primary open-angle glaucoma. The high rate of unoperated cataracts among younger blacks and among elderly subjects of both races suggests that health services are underused. Half of all blindness in this urban population is probably preventable or reversible.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Gender and blindness: a meta-analysis of population-based prevalence surveys.

BACKGROUND: Many individual surveys of blindness have reported slightly higher rates of blindness for women. In order to gain a continent-by-continent and global sense of the burden of blindness by sex we conducted a meta-analysis of published, population-based surveys of blindness. METHOD: Published reports were collected using a predetermined search protocol involving commercial electronic databases, hand-searching of references and direct contact with researchers. Studies were included that were population-based, included clinical examination and had a minimum sample size of 1000. The studies were critically appraised to determine methodological rigour. Data were analysed using the Cochrane Collaboration Review Manager. RESULTS: The overall odds ratio (age-adjusted) of blind women to men is 1.43 (95% CI 1.33-1.53), ranging from 1.39 (95% CI 1.20-1.61) in Africa, 1.41 (95% CI 1.29-1.54) in Asia, and 1.63 (95% CI 1.30-2.05) in industrialised countries. There was good homogeneity of findings from Africa, Asia, and the industrialised countries. Globally, women bear excess blindness compared to men. In these surveys, overall, women account for 64.5% of all blind people. The excess of blindness in women was marked among the elderly and not due only to differential life expectancy. CONCLUSION: The excess burden of blindness among women is likely due to a number of factors, which are different in industrialised countries compared to developing countries. Particular attention to gender differences in blindness is needed in the creation of targets for blindness reduction and in the development of interventions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Trends in registered blindness and its causes over 19 years in Western Australia.

PURPOSE: To estimate the population-based incidence rates of blindness registration and their trends over time in Western Australia. METHODS: A retrospective review was performed on all cases of bilateral blindness registered with the Association for the Blind of Western Australia between 1984 and 2002. The causes and mean age at blindness registration were ascertained and incidence rates of blindness due to various causes were calculated. RESULTS: A total of 3852 blind certificates were examined. From 1984 to 1994, the annual incidence of registered bilateral blindness decreased significantly at an average rate of 9.4% per year (p < 0.0001), but then rose at a mean rate of 4.1% per year (p < 0.0001). ARMD blindness similarly fell by 8.9% per year (p < 0.0001), but then rose after 1994 by 4.5% per year (p < 0.0001). The incidence due to glaucoma decreased at an average rate of 10.3% per year (p < 0.0001) until 1994 and then rose at 7.4% per year at borderline significance (p = 0.025). CONCLUSIONS: There has been a nonlinear decrease in the incidence of registered blindness, in particular glaucoma-related blindness, in Western Australia. Rates of total registered blindness and that due to ARMD fell from 1984 to 1994, but have risen since.

Blindness↗
PubMed1981

The blind and social deprivation.

This contribution discusses a sociological investigation- till now the most extensive one of this kind in the Fed. Rep. of Germany- conducted by the author, with the aim of collecting information about the social deprivation of the blind by means of a survey of this group of disabled in the Fed. Rep. of Germany. In this respect three spheres were taken into consideration: (1) Different aspects of the social relations among the blind: statements regarding frequency, intensity and mode of contacts have shown that the blind often have contact among themselves, though they mainly have contacts to the non-disabled, primarily as a consequence of their being involved in a seeing environment. (2) Different aspects of the social relations between the blind and the seeing: statements to the different characteristics of deprivation make evident that the blind, with regard to the sociological aspect, have an outsider position. The discussion, among other things on the topics "possibilities of communication and interpretation" as well as "mobility" and "social acknowledgement", has shown that the blind persons violate certain rules prevelant among the seeing namely the usual standards of communication and interaction. (3) Further aspects for the interpretation of the social situation of the blind: statements to blindness and other kinds of disabilities make obvious the revaluation of the blind's outsider situation by comparing blindness with other kinds of disabilities. The social deprivation of the blind thus assumes a relative character. Finally, the results of the investigation are theoretically classified by means of a behavioristically influenced role analysis.

Blindness↗
PubMed2006

Causes of blindness among hospital outpatients in Ecuador.

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of published information on the causes of blindness in Ecuador and the Latin American region in general. This study is designed to enumerate the proportions of ocular conditions contributing to blindness in an outpatient population of an ophthalmology hospital in the coastal region of Ecuador. METHODS: All cases presenting to an ophthalmology outpatient clinic over a 3-week period during September 2004 were reviewed (n = 802). Visual acuity was measured using a Snellen acuity chart and those who met the criteria for blindness were included in the study (n = 118). Blindness was defined under the World Health Organization protocol as visual acuity of <3/60. Both unilateral and bilateral blindness were included in the study. The diagnosis of ocular pathology contributing to blindness was recorded. RESULTS: Among those considered to have unilateral blindness (n = 88), cataract was the most common cause (43%). This was followed by corneal pathologies (17%) and glaucoma (15%). Among those considered to have bilateral blindness (n = 30), refraction was the most common cause (37%), followed by cataract (23%) and glaucoma (17%). CONCLUSION: The major causes of blindness found in this study reflected those in estimated data for the region. More studies are needed to improve the quality and quantity of epidemiological data on blindness in Ecuador and Latin America. Many obstacles to successful implementation of prevention of blindness programmes in South America still need to be overcome.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Adaptive changes in early and late blind: a FMRI study of verb generation to heard nouns.

Literacy for blind people requires learning Braille. Along with others, we have shown that reading Braille activates visual cortex. This includes striate cortex (V1), i.e., banks of calcarine sulcus, and several higher visual areas in lingual, fusiform, cuneus, lateral occipital, inferior temporal, and middle temporal gyri. The spatial extent and magnitude of magnetic resonance (MR) signals in visual cortex is greatest for those who became blind early in life. Individuals who lost sight as adults, and subsequently learned Braille, still exhibited activity in some of the same visual cortex regions, especially V1. These findings suggest these visual cortex regions become adapted to processing tactile information and that this cross-modal neural change might support Braille literacy. Here we tested the alternative hypothesis that these regions directly respond to linguistic aspects of a task. Accordingly, language task performance by blind persons should activate the same visual cortex regions regardless of input modality. Specifically, visual cortex activity in blind people ought to arise during a language task involving heard words. Eight early blind, six late blind, and eight sighted subjects were studied using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during covert generation of verbs to heard nouns. The control task was passive listening to indecipherable sounds (reverse words) matched to the nouns in sound intensity, duration, and spectral content. Functional responses were analyzed at the level of individual subjects using methods based on the general linear model and at the group level, using voxel based ANOVA and t-test analyses. Blind and sighted subjects showed comparable activation of language areas in left inferior frontal, dorsolateral prefrontal, and left posterior superior temporal gyri. The main distinction was bilateral, left dominant activation of the same visual cortex regions previously noted with Braille reading in all blind subjects. The spatial extent and magnitude of responses was greatest on the left in early blind individuals. Responses in the late blind group mostly were confined to V1 and nearby portions of the lingual and fusiform gyri. These results confirm the presence of adaptations in visual cortex of blind people but argue against the notion that this activity during Braille reading represents somatosensory (haptic) processing. Rather, we suggest that these responses can be most parsimoniously explained in terms of linguistic operations. It remains possible that these responses represent adaptations which initially are for processing either sound or touch, but which are later generalized to the other modality during acquisition of Braille reading skills.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1975

Effects of pinealectomy, anosmia and blinding on serum and pituitary prolactin in intact and castrated male rats.

Serum prolactin was measured in lightly etherized rats between 4 and 5 a.m. and between 11 a.m. and 12 noon at various times after operation in intact rats and rats that had been operated on. Serum prolactin was elevated in the late nocturnal samples from intact rats and this elevation was prevented by pinealectomy. With time following the operation, daytime serum prolactin was also lowered in pinealectomized animals. In animals rendered anosmic by olfactory bulb removal, serum prolactin was also lowered. Superimposed pinealectomy only lowered late nocturnal serum prolactin in anosmic rats. Blinding the rats by ocular enucleation lowered nocturnal serum prolactin initially and dampened the daily rhythm in prolactin, but superimposed pinealectomy had no effect on the blinded animals. The combined sensory deprivation produced by both blinding and olfactory bulb removal resulted in low prolactin titers regardless of whether blood samples were taken during the day or late at night and, as in the case of blinded animals, there was no effect of pinealectomy. Superior cervical ganglionectomy also lowered serum prolactin. Serum prolactin declined following castration in intact animals and this decline was accentuated by pinealectomy. Either blinding or anosmia also lowered serum prolactin in the castrated animals but, as in intact animals, pinealectomy had little effect on the sensory-deprived rats. A further lowering of prolactin occurred in castrated animals which were both blinded and anosmic; in these animals, pinealectomy again had no additional effect. Measurement of the pituitary prolactin content in the castrated animals at sacrifice revealed a significant lowering of values in blinded animals, with restoration of the values to control levels by pinealectomy. Anosmia also lowered the pituitary prolactin content but this was not reversed by pinealectomy. The lowest pituitary prolactin was found in blinded, anosmic animals and these changes were not reversed by pinealectomy. The weight of the pineal gland increased significantly in anosmic, blinded, or blinded and anosmic rats. It is concluded that pineal secretions in the male rat elevate serum prolactin, particularly late at night, and that loss of input from olfactory and to a lesser extent from visual pathways results in a decrease in the titer of the hormone. This decrease is especially apparent in blinded, anosmic rats.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

The pineal gland of the blind-anosmic female rat: its influence on medial basal hypothalamic lrh, pif and/or prf activity in vivo.

25-day-old female rats were left intact, or rendered either blind-anosmic or blind-anosmic-pinealectomized. Five weeks later, blind-anosmic animals were found to possess significantly depressed body, anterior pituitary, uterine and ovarian weights. The pituitary levels of LH were elevated while pituitary prolactin was depressed in the dual sensory-deprived rats. Blind-anosmic animals also had significantly depressed plasma levels of LH and elevated plasma levels of prolactin. The effects of blinding and anosmia were effectively reversed by pinealectomy. Ovariectomized, estrogen and progesterone-treated (OVX, EP-treated) rats that received an intracarotid injection of a medial basal hypothalamic (MBH) extract from intact or from blind-anosmic-pinealectomized female rats exhibited a marked rise in plasma LH to a peak at 10 min after injection. This peak was followed by a steady decline in plasma LH concentration. Animals injected with MBH extract from blind-anosmic rats also demonstrated a rise in plasma LH with the levels remaining more or less constant for the 10 and 20-min samples. Rather than declining, the plasma LH levels in 3 out of 4 rats exhibited a further increase until the 40-min sample. The injection of either cortical extract or saline had no effect on plasma LH levels. OVX, EP-treated rats receiving either MBH extracts from intact or blind-anosmic rats or cortical extract exhibited a depression in plasma prolactin titers 5 min following injection. This response was followed by a slight increase in plasma prolactin at 10 and 20 min with a subsequent decrease. Each of the OVX, EP-treated recipients injected with MBH extract from blind-anosmic-pinealectomized rats responded with an obvious increase in plasma prolactin levels within 5 min after injection, followed by a decrease. It was concluded that the MBH of the blind-anosmic rat was high in LRH activity while PIF appeared to predominate over PRF activity. On the other hand, in the MBH of the blind-anosmic-pinealectomized rat, LRH activity was lower while PRF appeared to predominate over PIF activity.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Glycoprotein degradation in the blind loop syndrome: identification of glycosidases in jejunal contents.

Contents obtained from jejunum of normal controls, self-emptying and self-filling blind loop rats were analyzed for the presence of glycoprotein-degrading glycosidases. The blind loop syndrome was documented by the increased fat excretion and slower growth rate of self-filling blind loop rats 6 wk after surgery. With p-nitrophenylglycosides as substrate, the specific activity of alpha-N-acetylgalactosaminidase, a potential blood group A destroying glycosidase, was 0.90+/-0.40 mU/mg of protein. This level was 23-fold higher than the specific activity of normal controls. In partially purified self-filling blind loop contents, the activity of alpha-N-acetylgalactosaminidase was 9- to 70-fold higher than activities of self-emptying and normal controls. Antibiotic treatment with chloromycetin and polymyxin decreased 24-fold the glycosidase levels in self-filling blind loops. In experiments with natural substrate, the blood group A titer of a20,000g supernate from normal jejunal homogenates decreased 128-fold after 24-h incubation with blind loop contents. Normal contents failed to diminish the blood group reactivity of the natural substrate. Furthermore, blind loop contents markedly decreased the blood group A titer of isolated brush borders. Incubation between blind loop bacteria and mucosal homogenates or isolated brush borders labeled with d-[U-(14)C]glucosamine revealed increased production of labeled ether extractable organic acids. Likewise, intraperitoneal injection of d-[U-(14)C]glucosamine into self-filling blind loop rats resulted in incorporation of the label into luminal short chain fatty acids. These results suggest that glycosidases may provide a mechanism by which blind loop bacteria obtain sugars from intestinal glycoproteins. The released sugars are used and converted by bacteria into energy and organic acids. This use of the host's glycoproteins would allow blind loop bacteria to grow and survive within the lumen independent of exogenous sources.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Altered myoelectric activity in the experimental blind loop syndrome.

Nutrient malabsorption and diarrhea are characteristic of the blind loop syndrome. Alterations in motility have been implicated as a cause of bacterial overgrowth, but the possibility that altered motility may result from alterations in the flora has not been explored. The purpose of this study was to characterize the myoelectric activity of the small intestine in the blind loop rat model. Eight groups of rats were studied: rats with self-filling blind loops, which develop bacterial overgrowth; rats with self-emptying blind loops, which are surgical controls that do not develop overgrowth; unoperated litter mates; rats with self-filling blind loops and unoperated controls treated with chloramphenicol, 200 mg/d i.p.; rats with surgically removed self-filling blind loops; operated control rats; and gnotobiotic rats with self-filling blind loops. In the untreated rats with self-filling blind loops, there was altered myoelectric activity characterized by an increased percentage of slow waves occupied by action potentials and by organized activity similar to the migrating action potential complex. Migrating action potential complex activity and percentage of slow waves occupied by action potentials were significantly decreased with chloramphenicol therapy; that decrease correlated with a decrease in aerobes and anaerobes. Migrating action potential complex activity was abolished in rats with surgically removed self-filling blind loops; they also showed a significant decrease in percentage of slow waves occupied by action potentials. Gnotobiotic rats with self-filling blind loops showed no alteration in myoelectric activity. These data indicate: (a) bacterial overgrowth is associated with a significant increase in percentage of slow waves occupied by action potentials and migrating action potential complex activity; (b) chloramphenicol significantly reduced both percentage of slow waves occupied by action potentials and migrating action potential complex activity; and (c) surgical removal of the loop reduced the alterations in motor function. This study suggests that the altered myoelectric activity in this model of bacterial overgrowth was due, in part, to the abnormal bacterial flora and supports the concept that alterations in motility may contribute to the diarrhea that is characteristic of the blind loop syndrome.

Action Potentials↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Causes of blindness in Southwestern Nigeria: a general hospital clinic study.

PURPOSE: This hospital-based study was carried out to assess the common causes of blindness in Ibadan, the largest city in the southwestern part of Nigeria, and to strengthen the primary eye care approach to control and reduction of cases of blindness in the community. METHODS: Following Hospital Ethical Board approval and informed consent of participants, a prospective study was performed in which 1,544 consecutive patients with bilateral or unilateral blindness seen between January and December 2003 at the Ring Road State Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria, were evaluated for causes of blindness. Visual acuity was measured with an illuminated Snellen chart placed 6 meters away from the participants. This was followed by pen torch examination and dilated funduscopy with a direct ophthalmoscope. Friedman field analyzer was used to measure visual field. Patients with corrected visual acuity of less than 3/60 in the better eye or with visual field of less than 10 degrees from fixation were considered blind according to the World Health Organization criteria. RESULTS: The 1,544 patients had a mean age of 53.5 years (range, 4 to 96 years); 858 (56%) were male and 686 (44%) were female. Blindness was bilateral in 471 (30%) patients and unilateral in 1,073 (70%). When those persons with unilateral and bilateral blindness were grouped together, individuals within the 60 to 79 years age bracket were 667 (44%) and constituted the largest group of all blind persons. The leading causes of bilateral blindness were cataract, 171 (36%); glaucoma, 138 (29%); and optic atrophy, 21 (4%). The most common causes of unilateral blindness were cataract, 446 (41%); glaucoma, 213 (20%); and those referable to trauma, 116 (11%). CONCLUSIONS: Cataract and glaucoma are the main causes of bilateral and uniocular blindness in the study area.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Blindness in painters].

UNLABELLED: The purpose of this study was the inventory of historical painters who were blind, and the analysis of their attitude in the face of the blindness. METHODS: The population study was extracted from the dictionary of painters by Benezit. The method of the study was ophthalmological, to assess precisely the type and the etiology of the blindness; and psychological and artistic to study the reactions of the painters. RESULTS: Blindness was found among 85 painters. They were 5 cases of transitory blindness; 20 cases of unilateral blindness; and 60 cases of bilateral definitive blindness. The psychological attitudes of the painters were either negative, with depression, and even suicide (5 cases); or positive, with perseverance to paint till to blindness, teaching of the painting after blindness. CONCLUSIONS: The small number of painters with a blindness caused by a precise etiology was disappointing, but the variety of the reactions gave a good account of the attitude of the painters who became blind.

Blindness↗