Vascular risk factors in glaucoma: the results of a national survey

Background The role of vascular risk factors in glaucoma is still being debated. To assess the importance of vascular risk factors in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), data from the medical history of 2,879 POAG patients and 973 age-matched controls were collected and analyzed. Methods Design: observational survey. Setting: 35 Italian academic centers. Study population: POAG patients and age-matched controls. In order to reduce bias consecutive patients were included. Observation procedures: data concerning vascular risk factors were collected for all patients with a detailed questionnaire. A complete ophthalmological examination with assessment of intraocular pressure (IOP), visual field, optic disc, and systemic blood pressure was performed. Main outcome measures: the ESH-ESC (European Society of Hypertension-European Society of Cardiology) guidelines were used to calculate the level of cardiovascular risk. Crude and adjusted estimates of the odds ratios (OR) were calculated for all cardiovascular risk factors in POAG and controls. Results The study included 2,879 POAG patients and 973 controls. POAG cases had a significantly higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure (p=0.001) and systolic perfusion pressure (p=0.02) as compared with controls. Also mean IOP was significantly higher in the POAG group (p=0.01), while diastolic perfusion pressure was not significantly different in the two groups. Myopia was more prevalent in the POAG group (23 vs 18%, p=0.005) as well as a positive family history for glaucoma (26 vs 12%, p= 0.004). POAG patients tended to have a higher cardiovascular risk than controls: 63% of glaucoma cases vs 55% of controls (OR: 1.38, p=0.005) had a “high” or “very high” cardiovascular risk. Conclusions The level of cardiovascular risk was significantly higher in glaucoma patients than in controls

The electroretinogram:a useful tool for evaluating age-related macular disease?

With an ageing population, the number of age-related macular disease (ARMD) cases will inevitably rise. This gives greater impetus for the need to identify the disease earlier and assess treatments to slow disease progression. Differing electroretinogram (ERG) modalities have been reviewed in relation to the objective assessment of retinal function in ARMD and for monitoring the effectiveness of clinical interventions. Conflicting results have been found with regard to the efficacy of ERG findings in the investigation of ARMD in previous years. The newer multifocal ERG paradigm provides spatial topographical information about retinal function in ARMD. It has shown promising results in monitoring effectiveness of clinical interventions and studies are continuing in this area. Better knowledge of retinal function in ARMD may lead to enhanced treatments at each phase of the disease

Designing Designers: Designing Hospitality- Visions, scenarios, systems, services, spaces and products

una riflessione sul design dell'ospitalità come ambito significativo di ricerca attraverso la presentazione di temi, casi studio e testimonianze di progettisti internazionali, ma, anche attraverso il contributo di rilevanti esperienze didattiche e di ricerca svolte da diverse istituzioni formative internazionali

Designing Designers: Unbranded design for new user expectations

Given to the prominence of branding and the multidude of their well-known names, italian manufacturers appear to give little or no attention to the question of unbranded design. However, as regards education and research intodesign- the subject of the yearly Designing Designers event, several recent and still ongoing initiatives relating to the matter are emerging.The learning experience testifies to the interest displayed in this theme and emphasizes the importance of drawing the attention of young designers towards unbranded design as they near the conclusion of their educational journey, in terms of a general observation of the role of design in the contemporary societ

Designing Designers: Design Evolution by east and west. New ambients, new products, new designers

In 2005 Designing Designers international convention has focused on the very important theme of how design is applied and which role it plays for the growth of enterprises, the housing and commercial activities in the evolving economy and market of the Asian cities and countries. That is to say a complex theme which more and more considers the role of design as a crucial factor for the continuos development of these countries

Product Design for Sustainability – Guidelines for the Life Cycle Design of Office Furniture

Competitiveness of the office furniture industry on the global market is strongly affected by an ever-increasing focus on environmental performance of products. Hence, verifiable information of the environmental compliance of products throughout their whole life cycle is demanded from stakeholders of the furniture industry, which needs to be based on scientific proposition. This paper investigates how to support companies in designing environmentally sustainable office furniture, considering all phases of the life cycle. It deals with the identification of the environmental profile and main environmental impact potential of the office furniture product group aiming to develop an instrument which orients towards sustainable design. A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been conducted to evaluate the environmental profile of five different office furniture product categories. Data drawn from publicly available Environmental Product Declarations have been evaluated with the software programme SimaPro. Furthermore, a system to prioritise Life Cycle Design (LCD) strategies for environmental sustainability has been adopted and a workshop for generating ideas for an LCD tool related to the design of office furniture has been carried out. An important factor is that the majority of environmental burdens is significantly linked to the pre-production stage which implies that environmental impacts related to the furniture derive mostly from raw materials extraction and its processing. The final outcome of the research is a handbook and a tool with product type specific guidelines which assists in the product design process and addresses companies, i.e. engineers and designers