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Greater dietary nitrate intake correlated with a lower risk for development of primary open-angle glaucoma in adults in one large prospective study.A total of 1,483 patients (1,000 women and 483 men) aged 40 years and older with definite or probable primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) were identified from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study to evaluate the therapeutic effects of nitric oxide in relation to outflow facility and retinal blood flow autoregulation. Both study pools incorporated a validated semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire (SFFQ) that was administered every 2 to 4 years over 25 years. The SFFQs delineated dietary intake of exogenous sources of nitrate, particularly green leafy vegetables. The researchers found that patients who consumed approximately 240 mg per day of dietary nitrate had 21% lower risk for development of POAG compared with those who consumed 80 mg daily. The risk was reduced even further, 44%, for development of POAG with early paracentral visual field loss.

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WAIKOLOA, Hawaii — About 95% of ophthalmologists are sued for malpractice over a 35-year career, and pediatric ophthalmologists make the highest indemnity payments, a speaker told colleagues here.“Malpractice lawsuits are very common but quite variable depending on what specialty you are in,” Judy E. Kim, MD, said at Retina 2016. “It’s not a matter of if you get sued. It may be a matter of when you’re going to get sued.”

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WAIKOLOA, Hawaii — At Retina 2016, Kent Small, MD, shares data on his process in discovering mutations that cause North Carolina macular dystrophy, a lifelong pursuit of his that is published as the lead article in the January 2016 issue of Ophthalmology.

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