Pigment Dispersion Syndrome – Symptoms, Treatment
“Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.” This is an old cliché’ saying that whatever we see, depends on how we judge it. Our eyes are the window of how we perceived the world and how we deal with it. It is not just simple interpretation but giving of meaning for the world. Our eyes play a vital role in our human functioning. It is one of the important senses that a person should have. Without our sense of seeing, we are nothing. We cannot appreciate our surrounding and we cannot see the wonders of the world. When our eyes is affected, whether it’s a disease or simple dust that enters our eyes; we must be keen and alert for it. There are many diseases that could affect our eyes. For this session we should discuss Pigment Dispersion Syndrome.
What is Pigment Dispersion Syndrome?
Pigment dispersion syndrome (PDS) is an eye disorder in which the granulated pigment that is responsible for your eye’s colour shed’s off at the back of the iris and collected in the aqueous humor which is the fluids of the eye. It increases the pigment’s amount that circulates to the adjacent parts of the eye. When the small granulated pigment blocks on the drainage system of the eye they increases eye pressure causing now eye problems. When the eye fluid cannot flow well, intraocular pressure increases and cause damages to the optic nerve fibers.
Risk Factors
This condition is considering some risk factors that might contribute in the development of this disease. These are:
- Men in their 20s to 40s are commonly affected
- Caucasians usually acquire this condition
- Near-sighted is commonly affected with this condition (myopia)
Symptoms of Pigment Dispersion Syndrome
The signs and symptoms of this condition are not commonly seen with our naked eye. But sometimes this condition could be asymptomatic. Routine eye-check is done to know the symptoms of this condition. Listed below are the signs and symptoms experienced by the affected person:
- Pain felt in the eye
- Halo visions or blank spots
- Blurred vision
- In worst cases, blindness is within reach
Diagnosis
In diagnosing this condition, the ophthalmologist and optometrist will hit a light and observe brown granulated bands that are the same of a melted chocolate in the different areas of the eye. A gonioscopy test is done to clearly look at the angle of the eye’s drainage and observe what areas are clog by the fluids. Other procedure done to diagnose is the tell-tale signs of pigment floating in the eyes or the tiny sections of pigments missing in the iris.
Treatment and Surgeries
Actually there is no known treatment for this condition. However, proper management for treatment should be well- planned and organize by the significant others of the patient. Listed here are the management for this condition:
- Eye drops is used for pigmentary glaucoma
- Advising affected person not to engage in extreme sports
- Have regular check-up with your eye physicians
- Beta blockers is prescribe to relieve increase intraocular pressure
- Surgeries are done to improve the drainage of the eye’s fluid. These are:
- YAG laser procedure- done to break the clogs and lower down the intraocular pressure
- Laser iridotomy– done to improve the flow of the aqueous humor to the drainage angle
- Aqueous shunt surgery- use a small plastic tube or valve connection. An artificial drainage is shunted and a small device is planted in the eye to view if the fluid is directly absorbed into the blood vessel.
- Trabeculectomy – a small flap is done in the sclera. A bleb is made under the conjunctiva and the fluid can easily drain in the flap that was made.
- Peripheral iridectomy- there were a small piece of the iris is taken out and the aqueous humor have easy access to the drainage angle.
- Laser trabeculoplasty- used to treat open-angle glaucoma. There are two types included:
- Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty
- Argon Laser Trabeculoplasty
Complications
Pigment Dispersion Syndrome usually not a fatal to health but when the pressure continuous to increases, a complication of another condition develops. This condition is called pigmentary glaucoma. It starts to block the trabecular meshwork and the aqueous humor cannot drain well which increases the eye’s pressure. When optic nerves are damage, it gradually affects our vision and can lead to loss of vision in the long run and the vision loss is painless but irrevocable.
Issues and Concerns
PDS is a rare condition. The causes of this condition are still not known. A link has been studied which connects to genetic predisposition. An anomaly is considered to study like when the eye’s iris and the lens fiber are rubbing together. There has been a study conducted linking playing basketball; jogging and exercising can increase the incident of PDS.
Using of mitotic drugs is lessened since it can cause blurring of vision. But a combination of treatment regimen is the best to do.
