Systemic Treatment of Ocular Inflammatory Disease (OID) C. Stephen Foster, M.D., F.A.C.S., F.A.C.R Most eye diseases which are treatable are treated with eye drops. In fact, the number of instances in which patients attending a general ophthalmologist’s office might be prescribed a systemic medication (i.e., one which is taken, for example, by mouth) is vanishingly … Continue reading Systemic Treatment of Ocular Inflammatory Disease (OID)
Chemotherapy: Risks and Outcomes C. Stephen Foster, M.D., F.A.C.S., F.A.C.R. Inflammatory eye disease has blinded countless numbers of individuals during both ancient and modern times. And while most of such instances have occurred on the basis of infectious inflammation, not a trivial number of instances has occurred on the basis of autoimmune inflammation. A revolution … Continue reading Chemotherapy: Risks and Outcomes
Cost of Care of Patients with Uveitis C. Stephen Foster, M.D. Increasingly restrictive “gate keeping” policies of health maintenance organizations, insurance companies, and other medical insurance plans have created increasing pressure on ophthalmologists to be parsimonious in their use of medical services in both the diagnostic and therapeutic care of patients with a variety of … Continue reading Cost of Care of Patients with Uveitis
Cataract C. Stephen Foster, M.D. CATARACT: a scum or a film or a growth on the eye: right? Wrong! A cataract is none of these. The word cataract simply means the development of an opacity in the crystalline lens inside the eye. We all have such a lens sitting just behind the pupil. And this … Continue reading Cataract!
Connection Between Arthritis and Ocular Disease C. Stephen Foster, M.D. 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 of these … Continue reading Did you know the Connection Between Arthritis and Ocular Disease?
Glaucoma C. Stephen Foster, M.D. What is it? Some misconceptions exist regarding glaucoma. One thing that most of the public does understand, however, is that glaucoma is serious and is potentially blinding. Many people, however, harbor the misconception that glaucoma produces pain. Indeed, there is one form of glaucoma that can produce an acute onset … Continue reading Glaucoma
Great progress has been made during the latter half of this century in the care of patients with iridocyclitis associated with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), formerly juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA). The most major advance was the development of corticosteroids for systemic and ophthalmic use just after the mid-way point of this century, and the second … Continue reading Treatment Algorithm for Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis-Associated Iridocyclitis- Stephen Foster, M.D.
An eye infection that can cause permanent blindness has been linked to the Zika virus, adding to the potential dangers for people traveling to Brazil and the Caribbean, ophthalmologists warn. The first case of Zika-induced uveitis — an eye infection that can cause glaucoma, cataracts and loss of vision — was reported in the New … Continue reading Uveitis Specialist Dr. Foster featured in the Boston Herald regarding 1st case of Zika-related Uveitis
Ask most people what they know about cataracts and you’ll probably hear a combination of the terms “eye problem” and “older people”—and not much else. That’s not too surprising. Roughly half of all Americans who reach age 80 will have to contend with cataracts, according the National Institutes of Health. But it’s possible to have … Continue reading Dr. Foster featured in Prevention regarding Cataracts
If you’ve ever noticed small, dust-like specks or squiggly lines floating around in your field of vision, you have eye floaters. Tons of people have them, and they’re completely normal. Most of the time, while they can be annoying, they’re also nothing to worry about. “Floaters are a normal phenomenon in the eye that happens … Continue reading Dr. Anesi talks floaters in Self Magazine
