Patient outcomes following brachytherapy were excellent with a high percentage of patients retaining mobility vision. Development of complications was related to the tumour location and dose to non-tumour structures.

Acute methanol ingestion can cause characteristic ocular damage, together with widespread electrophysiological dysfunction. The data presented suggest that methanol affects the photoreceptors, Muller cells and the retrolaminar portion of the optic nerve.

The influence of the axial length (AL) of the eye on flash electroretinogram (ERG) responses has been well established in the literature, suggesting an association between ERG abnormalities with myopia (AL > 25 mm). The aim of our present study was to determine whether the AL of normal eyes can also influence the pattern electroretinogram (PERG) on normal subjects. Thirty-nine normal volunteers were subjected to PERG measurements following the standard set by the International Society for Clinical Electrophysiology of Vision (ISCEV). The AL of the eyeball was measured using a TOMEY ultrasonic A scanner. Each volunteer had a complete ophthalmic examination including visual acuity, refraction, intraocular pressure, visual field, colour vision, orthoptic assessment and retinal photographs and had a best corrected visual acuity of 6/9 or better. Only one eye from each of the 39 normal volunteers was included in the statistical analysis of the results. The normal volunteer group had a mean P50 amplitude of 3.8 +/- 1.1 SD microV. The range of AL was between 21.8 and 25.7 mm (mean = 23.8 +/- 1.0 SD mm). Overall findings obtained from this investigation indicate a significant correlation between the AL of normal eyes and the PERG P50 amplitude (Spearman rank correlation coefficient r = -0.413, p < 0.01). The correlation accounts for 17% of the variance observed in the 39 amplitude values. This confirms the current hypothesis that the PERG amplitude is inversely related to axial length and means that AL should be considered when interpreting PERG amplitudes.

Iron overload caused by blood transfusion-dependent anaemia usually results in lethal cardiac toxicity unless treated by iron-chelation therapy. Chelation therapy with desferrioxamine (DFO) is well established and widely used to remove excess iron. Unfortunately, visual disorders have been recorded after DFO infusion. In this investigation, a 61-year-old Caucasian female received DFO for her autoimmune haemolytic anaemia. Prior to starting with the DFO treatment, her baseline ophthalmic screening and electrooculogram (EOG) were completely normal. Two years later she noticed a grey scotoma in her right eye. Visual acuity in this eye was reduced from 6/5 to 6/9 and funduscopy revealed evidence of non-specific mottling of the retinal pigment epithelium of both retinae. The EOG was flat (106%) in the right eye and subnormal in the left (155%). The lower limit of our EOG Arden Ratio for normal subjects is 180%. After her DFO treatment was stopped, her right visual acuity returned to 6/5, her field tests showed progressive improvement bilaterally and the EOG went back to the normal range. While waiting for splenectomy, the patient was restarted on a lower dose of DFO and EOG measurements were carried out every two (or three) weeks to monitor for DFO toxicity. The EOG varied during this period indicating some deterioration of function in the retinal pigment epithelium. However, normalisation of the EOG values (right = 217%, left = 217%) occurred after splenectomy and cessation of DFO therapy. Her visual function was normal and her visual acuity 6/4 bilateral when she was discharged from our outpatient clinic. On reviewing her history it was apparent that the EOG was the most sensitive indicator of DFO toxicity.