TFOS European Ambassador meeting: Unmet needs and future scientific and clinical solutions for ocular surface diseases.

The mission of the Tear Film & Ocular Surface Society (TFOS) is to advance the research, literacy, and educational aspects of the scientific field of the tear film and ocular surface. Fundamental to fulfilling this mission is the TFOS Global Ambassador program. TFOS Ambassadors are dynamic and proactive experts, who help promote TFOS initiatives, such as presenting the conclusions and recommendations of the recent TFOS DEWS II™, throughout the world. They also identify unmet needs, and propose future clinical and scientific solutions, for management of ocular surface diseases in their countries. This meeting report addresses such needs and solutions for 25 European countries, as detailed in the TFOS European Ambassador meeting in Rome, Italy, in September 2019.

Fixation pattern in healthy subjects during microperimetry with the scanning laser ophthalmoscope.

BACKGROUND: Visual field (VF) examinations provide important information about diagnosis and follow-up in many ocular and visual pathway disorders. Previous studies have shown that fixation stability can be measured very exactly around the center of the fixation point with SLO. The importance of measuring fixation during microperimetry in the absence of field defects is to learn more about the normal fixation pattern. This is of interest since changes in fixation pattern due to pathology can occur prior to detectable changes in the macula or visual pathway. MATERIAL/METHODS: Thirty-one adult subjects with healthy eyes were recruited from the staff of the Section of Ophthalmology and Vision, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet. The fixation pattern in one randomly selected eye from each subject was investigated with the SLO using the fixation control function in the microperimetry technique. RESULTS: The results showed that the fixation pattern had a mean center of gravity located at a mean absolute distance of 0.27 degrees from the fixation point (FP) and a directional predominance of the fixation pattern was found in that the fixations were more frequently distributed vertically than horizontally. CONCLUSIONS: The computerized fixation control when performing microperimetry with the SLO provides information about the fixation pattern which cannot be obtained with standard clinical perimetry techniques.

Photo-induced foveal injury after viewing a solar eclipse.

PURPOSE: To study the injury to and possible recovery of the visual function and foveal morphology in patients with photo-induced foveal injury due to watching the solar eclipse of August 11th, 1999 in Stockholm, Sweden. METHODS: Fifteen patients, all of whom viewed the solar eclipse, were followed for 1 year, during which their visual symptoms were recorded and visual acuity (VA) was tested, and ophthalmoscopy and scanning laser ophthalmoscopy were performed. RESULTS: Photo-induced foveal injury gave rise to subjective visual disturbances, reduced VA and morphological changes in the fovea. Central scotomas could still be seen in all patients 1 year after the foveal injury. CONCLUSION: Photo-induced foveal injury gave rise to subjective visual disturbances, reduced VA and morphological changes in the fovea. Scanning laser ophthalmoscopy offers the possibility of detailed examination of small retinal lesions, which can sometimes be difficult to localize with ophthalmoscopy.