Biomedical subjects

M Gallaway

Publications and source records attributed to M Gallaway.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1999

Frequency of convergence insufficiency among fifth and sixth graders. The Convergence Insufficiency and Reading Study (CIRS) group.

PURPOSE: To estimate the frequency of convergence insufficiency (CI) and its related clinical characteristics among 9- to 13-year-old children. METHODS: Fifth and sixth graders were screened in school settings at three different study sites. Eligible children with 20/30 or better visual acuity, minimal refractive error, no strabismus, and exophoria at near were evaluated according to a standardized protocol to determine the presence and severity of CI. These children were classified according to the presence and number of the following clinical signs: (1) exophoria at near > or =4delta than far, (2) insufficient fusional convergence, and (3) receded nearpoint of convergence. Also, children were classified as accommodative insufficient (AI) if they failed Hofstetter's minimum amplitude formula or had greater than a + 1.00 D lag on Monocular Estimate Method retinoscopy. RESULTS: Of 684 children screened, 468 (68%) were eligible for further evaluation. Of these, 453 had complete data on CI measurements and were classified as: no CI (nonexophoric at near or exophoric at near and < 4delta difference between near and far) (78.6%); low suspect CI (exophoric at near and one clinical sign: exophoria at near > or =4delta than far) (8.4%); high suspect CI (exophoric at near and two clinical signs) (8.8%); and definite CI (exophoric at near and three clinical signs) (4.2%). CI status varied according to ethnicity and study site (p < 0.0005), but not gender. The frequency of AI increased with the number of CI-related signs. For CI children with three signs, 78.9% were classified as also having AI. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that CI (defined as high suspect and definite) is frequent (13%) among fifth and sixth grade children. In addition, there is a high percentage of CI children with an associated AI.

Accommodation, Ocular↗

PubMed1997

The efficacy of vision therapy for convergence excess.

BACKGROUND: Convergence excess is a commonly encountered non-strabismic ocular motility disorder. There are, however, very few research data that evaluate the effect of vision therapy for this condition in a clinical population. METHODS: The records of 83 consecutive patients with convergence excess who were treated with vision therapy were reviewed to assess the impact of treatment on clinical findings and patient symptoms. RESULTS: Statistically and clinically significant changes in direct and indirect measures of negative fusional vergence were seen, with 84% of patients reporting a total elimination of initial symptoms. Larger increases in negative fusional vergence were found than those previously reported. This may be a result of the more extensive and better controlled in-office treatment used in this study. CONCLUSIONS: Vision therapy was successful in enhancing negative fusional vergence and eliminating symptoms in the vast majority of patients with convergence excess and should be considered an effective treatment for this condition.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1996

Prevalence of vision and ocular disease conditions in a clinical pediatric population.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to fill a significant void in the ophthalmic literature by performing a large scale, comprehensive, prospective study of the prevalence of vision disorders and ocular pathology in a clinical pediatric population using well-defined diagnostic criteria. METHODS: A prospective study was performed on 2,023 consecutive patients between the ages of 6 months and 18 years presenting for an initial comprehensive examination at the Eye Institute of The Pennsylvania College of Optometry. There were 373 subjects between 6 months and 5 years, 11 months of age, and 1,650 subjects between 6 years and 18 years of age. RESULTS: The most important finding from this study is that other than refractive anomalies, the most common conditions optometrists are likely to encounter in a pediatric population are binocular vision and accommodative disorders. The prevalence of accommodative and binocular (strabismic and non-strabismic) vision disorders is 9.7 times greater than the prevalence of ocular disease in children 6 months to 5 years of age, and 8.5 times greater than the prevalence of ocular disease in children 6 to 18 years of age. CONCLUSIONS: The data from this study has great significance for clinicians, optometric educational institutions, health care planners, and administrators. This data suggests that other than refractive anomalies, the most prevalent conditions in the clinical pediatric population are binocular and accommodative disorders. Clinicians should use a minimum data base that includes assessments of accommodation and binocular vision that will allow them to detect conditions with the highest prevalence.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1990

The effectiveness of Irlen filters for improving reading performance: a pilot study.

The objectives of this pilot study were to investigate the effectiveness of Irlen filters for improving comfort and reading performance and to determine whether traditional optometric intervention would be effective in relieving the symptoms commonly reported by people seeking help through the use of Irlen filters. Thirty subjects were included in the study: 12 males and 18 females. The ages of the subjects ranged from 9 to 51 (mean = 23.6). They were randomly placed in either an Irlen filter treatment group (n = 11), a vision therapy treatment group (n = 11), or a control group (n = 8). Pre- and posttesting on all subjects included a vision evaluation, reading and intelligence testing, the Irlen scotopic sensitivity screening test, and a symptom questionnaire. Results revealed that subjects in both treatment groups were more comfortable after treatment, although only the vision therapy group showed improvement in vision functioning. The subjects in the Irlen filter group did not show any significant gains in reading rate, word recognition in context, or comprehension.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1990

Assessment of accommodative facility using MEM retinoscopy.

Subjective testing of accommodative facility can be difficult with young or nonverbal children, and children with learning problems. A new technique to objectively assess accommodative facility using monocular estimation method (MEM) retinoscopy is described. The objective technique was compared to a subjective assessment of accommodative facility, and the techniques were in agreement 86% of the time. Possible clinical usefulness of the objective procedure is discussed.

Accommodation, Ocular↗

PubMed1990

Vision characteristics of individuals identified as Irlen Filter candidates.

Individuals with "scotopic sensitivity syndrome" have been reported to have visual symptoms including eye strain, headaches, blurred vision, double vision and words moving on the page. This study was designed to investigate Irlen's claims that these symptoms are unrelated to vision anomalies. She suggests that the use of Irlen tinted lenses/filters relieves these symptoms and results in improved reading performance. Thirty nine subjects (age 10-49) were recruited by advertising for a study of Irlen Filters/Lenses. Before the Irlen screening all subjects received an optometric examination. The results of this study demonstrate that 95 percent of the subjects identified as candidates for Irlen Filters did have significant and readily identifiable vision anomalies. Fifty seven percent of the subjects had received vision care within the past year, yet testing revealed that 90 percent of these subjects had significant vision problems that had not been corrected.

Accommodation, Ocular↗

PubMed1989

Surgical success rates in infantile esotropia.

An extensive literature search covering the last 35 years was undertaken to retrieve all English language articles reporting results of surgical management of infantile esotropia. Only 27 of the 48 studies retrieved met the minimum criteria which we established for inclusion in our analysis. The success rate for achieving some level of binocular vision was 22% in 1286 patients, while the overall cosmetic success rate was 63% in 2113 patients. Newer surgical procedures appear to be more effective in achieving cosmetic success. Although controversy still exists about the optimal time for surgery, the most reasonable approach appears to be the concept of performing surgery as soon as an accurate determination can be made of the deviation and associated characteristics, and only after attention has been directed to any accommodative component and treatment of amblyopia. Although approximately 60% of patients referred for surgery can be expected to achieve cosmetic improvement after the first operation, the need for multiple surgery is common. There is a trend toward recurrence of the strabismus, and the need for short interval, long-term optometric follow-up is essential.

Esotropia↗

PubMed1989

Management of intermittent exotropia using a combination of vision therapy and surgery.

Vision therapy has been shown to provide higher success rates than surgery in the treatment of intermittent exotropia, but vision therapy is not successful in all cases. A case of intermittent exotropia is presented that illustrates the use of vision therapy in combination with surgery. Issues that should be considered when selecting this treatment option are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed1987

Biofeedback training of visual acuity and myopia: a pilot study.

Biofeedback training of accommodation was performed with nine subjects using the Accommotrac Vision Trainer to attempt to improve visual acuity (VA) and reduce myopia. A single-subject research design was used. Improvements in VA were seen with some subjects, but it is not clear whether the improvements were due to the biofeedback training alone, or to a learning effect observed during repeated measurements of VA. There was no change in refractive error. Implications for future research are discussed.

Accommodation, Ocular↗

PubMed1986

Heterotopia of the macula (ectopic macula): an unusual presentation.

Heterotopia of the macula is a condition in which the macula is displaced markedly from its normal position. Only 40 cases have been reported in the literature. Of those cases more than 90% have occurred in patients presenting with an apparent exotropia (macula displaced temporally), a large positive angle lambda, and an actual esotropia. We report a unique case of heterotopia of the macula in which the patient presented with an apparent esotropia and a large negative angle lambda. This is the only reported case of ectopic macula in which the macula has been dragged nasally toward the disc in association with a suspected retinopathy of prematurity. There have been three other cases of heterotopia of the macula in which the macula was displaced nasally, but these were associated with chorioretinitis.

Amblyopia↗

PubMed1986

Divergence insufficiency: characteristics, diagnosis, and treatment.

Although the entity of divergence insufficiency was described as early as 1886 by Duane, it has received relatively little attention in the literature. Patients presenting with a greater eso deviation at distance than at near, a concomitant deviation, and diplopia pose a challenging and critical diagnostic and therapeutic puzzle for the clinician. Divergence insufficiency, a benign condition, must be differentiated from divergence paralysis and sixth nerve palsy, two conditions that present with somewhat similar findings yet have underlying etiologies of a serious nature. This paper reviews the literature and clarifies the etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of divergence insufficiency and related conditions.

Convergence, Ocular↗

PubMed1986

The effect of protective sports eyewear on peripheral visual field and a peripheral visual performance task.

Seven different types of protective sports eyewear were tested to determine whether peripheral awareness as measured with a visual performance task were affected. Goldmann perimetry and the Wayne Saccadic Fixator with Stik-Up attachments were utilized in a repeated measures research design. The sports glasses did restrict visual field, but no one pair of glasses were least restrictive. The restrictions did not translate into significant differences on the performance task. Peripheral visual factors should be taken into account when prescribing protective sports eyewear. The importance of proper eye protection in sports is also discussed.

Adult↗