From the introduction: “The purpose of the present book is to bring together in a coherent manner new knowledge gained from research over the past 50 years on the physiology of intraocular pressure, ocular blood flow and the relation of these fundamental parameters to early diagnosis and therapy of vascular diseases of the eye and brain. It will be evident to the reader that the presentation is influenced significantly by the author’s own research. My justification is that by good fortune I have spent many years with superb collaboration helping solve outstanding problems of ocular physiology. This knowledge has increased understanding of the parameters underlying the onset of ischemia and the loss of autoregulation associated with common ocular disease and thereby led to new methods of diagnosis and therapy.”
Ischemia and Loss of Vascular Autoregulation in Ocular and Cerebral Diseases: A New Perspective presents evidence that ischemia and loss of autoregulation of blood flow are associated with the onset of the major ocular and cerebral diseases including macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, low and normal tension open angle glaucoma, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease. Recognition of these vascular changes underline the critical need for clinicians to monitor blood flow and autoregulation to improve early diagnosis and to optimize therapies of ocular and cerebral vascular diseases. The text brings to clinicians in Ophthalmology, Neurology, Medicine, Optometry and Geriatrics decisive guidance on the practical aspects for early diagnosis and treatment of ocular and cerebral diseases.
The author brings together in a concise form the progress made over the span of his career and provides new perspectives and understanding of the fluid circulations of the eye and the brain. In addition, he explains the new analytical technologies that made the new concepts possible. The physiological and functional importance of blood flow autoregulation in the eye and in the brain in minimizing the progression of pathology, including the ischemia resulting from stenosis of the internal carotid artery and stroke, are also presented .
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dr. Langham was born in London, England. In 1947, he joined the Ophthalmological Research Unit, newly formed by the Medical Research Council of the United Kingdom under the direction of Sir Stewart Duke-Elder. In 1956, the author enjoyed a research fellowship at Harvard University. After returning to England for a time, he accepted a position of Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Director of Research at the Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute of the Johns Hopkins Hospital and Medical school in 1959. There he initiated a program in which all residents spent time engaged inresearch. This productive interaction between the disciplines led to many important clinical diagnostic and therapeutic advances.
