Helen Danesh-Meyer | |
|---|---|
 Danesh-Meyer in 2023 | |
| Born | Helen Victoria Danesh-Meyer |
| Alma mater | University of Auckland |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Ophthalmology |
| Institutions | University of Auckland |
| Theses | |
Helen Victoria Danesh-Meyer CNZM is a New Zealand ophthalmology academic, and as of 2008 is a full professor at the University of Auckland. [1]
She is the first female professor of ophthalmology in New Zealand, [2] and the second female professor in any surgical speciality in New Zealand. [2]
After an undergraduate at the University of Otago followed by a 2004 MD titled 'The evaluation of diagnostic procedures, visual outcome and optic nerve morphology in giant cell arteritis' [3] and a 2013 PhD titled 'Evaluation of optic nerve morphology in non-glaucomatous optic neuropathies with quantitative optic nerve imaging modalities' at the University of Auckland, [4] Danesh-Meyer joined the staff at Auckland, rising to full professor. [1]
Much of Danesh-Meyer's profile is due to her work on glaucoma. [5] [6] [7]
In 2022, she co-founded the Vision Research Foundation and acts as its Scientific Director. The Vision Research Foundation focuses on supporting early and mid-career vision researchers in New Zealand [8]
Danesh-Meyer has been an authored or co-author of over 180 peer-reviewed publications. Her work has linked retinal nerve thinning to dementia and inflammation pathways relevant to eye diseases. [9]
In the 2023 New Year Honours, Danesh-Meyer was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM), for services to ophthalmology. [10]
Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that lead to damage of the optic nerve, which transmits visual information from the eye to the brain. Glaucoma may cause vision loss if left untreated. It has been called the "silent thief of sight" because the loss of vision usually occurs slowly over a long period of time. A major risk factor for glaucoma is increased pressure within the eye, known as intraocular pressure (IOP). It is associated with old age, a family history of glaucoma, and certain medical conditions or medications. The word glaucoma comes from the Ancient Greek word γλαυκός, meaning 'gleaming, blue-green, gray'.
In neuroanatomy, the optic nerve, also known as the second cranial nerve, cranial nerve II, or simply CN II, is a paired cranial nerve that transmits visual information from the retina to the brain. In humans, the optic nerve is derived from optic stalks during the seventh week of development and is composed of retinal ganglion cell axons and glial cells; it extends from the optic disc to the optic chiasma and continues as the optic tract to the lateral geniculate nucleus, pretectal nuclei, and superior colliculus.
Papilledema or papilloedema is optic disc swelling that is caused by increased intracranial pressure due to any cause. The swelling is usually bilateral and can occur over a period of hours to weeks. Unilateral presentation is extremely rare.
Amaurosis fugax is a painless temporary loss of vision in one or both eyes.
The visual field is "that portion of space in which objects are visible at the same moment during steady fixation of the gaze in one direction"; in ophthalmology and neurology the emphasis is mostly on the structure inside the visual field and it is then considered “the field of functional capacity obtained and recorded by means of perimetry”.
The optic disc or optic nerve head is the point of exit for ganglion cell axons leaving the eye. Because there are no rods or cones overlying the optic disc, it corresponds to a small blind spot in each eye.
Anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (AION) is a medical condition involving loss of vision caused by damage to the optic nerve as a result of insufficient blood supply (ischemia). This form of ischemic optic neuropathy is generally categorized as two types: arteritic AION, in which the loss of vision is the result of an inflammatory disease of arteries in the head called temporal arteritis, and non-arteritic AION, which is due to non-inflammatory disease of small blood vessels.
Posterior ischemic optic neuropathy (PION) is a medical condition characterized by damage to the retrobulbar portion of the optic nerve due to inadequate blood flow (ischemia) to the optic nerve. Despite the term posterior, this form of damage to the eye's optic nerve due to poor blood flow also includes cases where the cause of inadequate blood flow to the nerve is anterior, as the condition describes a particular mechanism of visual loss as much as the location of damage in the optic nerve. In contrast, anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (AION) is distinguished from PION by the fact that AION occurs spontaneously and on one side in affected individuals with predisposing anatomic or cardiovascular risk factors.
Dominant optic atrophy (DOA), or autosomal dominant optic atrophy (ADOA), (Kjer's type) is an autosomally inherited disease that affects the optic nerves, causing reduced visual acuity and blindness beginning in childhood. However, the disease can seem to re-present a second time with further vision loss due to the early onset of presbyopia symptoms (i.e., difficulty in viewing objects up close). DOA is characterized as affecting neurons called retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). This condition is due to mitochondrial dysfunction mediating the death of optic nerve fibers. The RGCs axons form the optic nerve. Therefore, the disease can be considered of the central nervous system. Dominant optic atrophy was first described clinically by Batten in 1896 and named Kjer’s optic neuropathy in 1959 after Danish ophthalmologist Poul Kjer, who studied 19 families with the disease. Although dominant optic atrophy is the most common autosomally inherited optic neuropathy (i.e., disease of the optic nerves), it is often misdiagnosed.
The retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) or nerve fiber layer, stratum opticum, is part of the anatomy of the eye.
Optic neuropathy is damage to the optic nerve from any cause. The optic nerve is a bundle of millions of fibers in the retina that sends visual signals to the brain.
Ocular ischemic syndrome is the constellation of ocular signs and symptoms secondary to severe, chronic arterial hypoperfusion to the eye. Amaurosis fugax is a form of acute vision loss caused by reduced blood flow to the eye; it may be a warning sign of an impending stroke, as both stroke and retinal artery occlusion can be caused by thromboembolism due to atherosclerosis elsewhere in the body. Consequently, those with transient blurring of vision are advised to urgently seek medical attention for a thorough evaluation of the carotid artery. Anterior segment ischemic syndrome is a similar ischemic condition of anterior segment usually seen in post-surgical cases. Retinal artery occlusion leads to rapid death of retinal cells, thereby resulting in severe loss of vision.
Optic disc drusen (ODD) are globules of mucoproteins and mucopolysaccharides that progressively calcify in the optic disc. They are thought to be the remnants of the axonal transport system of degenerated retinal ganglion cells. ODD have also been referred to as congenitally elevated or anomalous discs, pseudopapilledema, pseudoneuritis, buried disc drusen, and disc hyaline bodies.
Sohan Singh Hayreh was an ophthalmologist, clinical scientist, and professor emeritus of ophthalmology at the University of Iowa. As one of the pioneers in the field of fluorescein angiography, he was generally acknowledged to be a leading authority in vascular diseases of the eye and the optic nerve. For over 60 years, Hayreh was actively involved in basic, experimental, and clinical research in ophthalmology, publishing over 400 original peer-reviewed articles in various international ophthalmic journals, six classical monographs and books in his field of research, and more than 50 chapters in ophthalmic books. He made many seminal observations dealing with the ocular circulation in health and disease, the optic disc and the optic nerve, retinal and choroidal vascular disorders, glaucomatous optic neuropathy, fundus changes in malignant arterial hypertension, ocular neovascularization, rheumatologic disorders of the eye, and nocturnal arterial hypotension. He was an elected fellow of the National Academy of Medical Sciences.
Josef Flammer is a Swiss ophthalmologist and long-time director of the Eye Clinic at Basel University Hospital. Flammer is a glaucoma specialist who developed a new pathogenetic concept of glaucomatous damage according to which unstable blood supply leads to oxidative stress, which in turn plays a major role in apoptosis of cells in the optic nerve and retina in glaucoma patients.
Humphrey field analyser (HFA) is a tool for measuring the human visual field that is commonly used by optometrists, orthoptists and ophthalmologists, particularly for detecting monocular visual field.
Alon Harris is an American clinical scientist, professor of ophthalmology and Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Human Health, educator, inventor and researcher in the field of ocular blood flow and its relationship to diseases of the eye. Harris served as the principal or co-principal investigator on more than 60 research grants, published more than 392 peer-reviewed articles, and wrote 23 books and 70 book chapters. As of 2021, he holds two patents. Harris sits on the board of directors and the Scientific Advisory Board of The Glaucoma Foundation and is the Vice Chair of International Research and Academic Affairs, co-director of the Center for Ophthalmic Artificial Intelligence and Human Health at Mount Sinai Hospital, and Director of the Ophthalmic Vascular Diagnostic and Research Program at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Alfredo Arrigo Sadun is an American ophthalmologist, academic, author and researcher. He holds the Flora L. Thornton Endowed Chair at Doheny Eye Centers-UCLA and is Vice-Chair of Ophthalmology at UCLA.
Megalopapilla is a non-progressive human eye condition in which the optic nerve head has an enlarged diameter, exceeding 2.1 mm with no other morphological abnormalities.
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