CHENNAI: The Medical Research Foundation of Sankara Nethralaya, a leading eye hospital in the city, received a Rotary Global International Grant of `30 lakh recently.
The grant’s objective is to ensure state-of-the-art care and treatment of corneal blindness due to ocular surface disorders. The funds would be used to procure equipment and supplies and promote awareness on prevention of the blinding and management of the conditions caused by the disorders.
Dr S S Badrinath, chairman emeritus, Sankara Nethralaya, the hospital’s cornea experts Dr Geetha Krishnan Iyer and Dr Prema Padmanabhan, and Rotarians Sathish, A K Nazar, Gary CK Huang and P T Prabhakar participated According to the Medical Research Foundation, ocular surface disorders affect the ocular surface including eyelids, conjunctiva and cornea.
There is a significant increase in computer vision syndrome - dry eye - that affects software professionals. Dry eye can be caused by a number of local and systemic conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, it said.
Life threatening conditions like Stevens Johnson Syndrome leads to significant discomfort and loss of vision that incapacitates an individual from performing normal daily activities. Domestic as well as industrial accidents as well as assaults form an important cause for chemical injuries in the eye that causes significant ocular surface damage and subsequent corneal blindness, the Foundation pointed out.
Most of the conditions are associated with limbal stem cell deficiency, which in turn leads to loss of normal corneal clarity. Tumors of the ocular surface form another important component of ocular surface disorders.
Conventional corneal transplant usually fails in the visual rehabilitation of the eyes due to associated problems. The conditions require a comprehensive management addressing each of the components of the ocular surface that are abnormal, medically or surgically.
Management involves providing symptomatic relief as well as visual rehabilitation. The Ocular Surface Clinic at Sankara Nethralaya offers comprehensive care to such patients with most of the facilities, the Foundation added.