Week in review: Puppy eyes, laser burn, SMILE!

A weekly roundup of ophthalmic news from around the web.

It took 6,000 dogs to determine why Siberian Huskies have blue eyes—and that’s not the only interesting thing about this study. Get this: A dog DNA startup called Embark asked the owners of 6,070 genetically tested dogs to send in photos and complete online surveys about their pets’ phenotypes. The largest canine genome-wide association study to date, published in PLoS, reveals that blue eyes stem from a genetic duplication on canine chromosome 18, near the eye development gene ALX4. Dogs carrying a single dup are most likely to have blue eyes. But the variant also appeared in some brown-eyed pups, hinting that additional factors are at play. More dogs are needed to dig to the bottom of this story. EurekAlert!

Laser pointers are not toys. Laser pointers are not toys. Laser pointers are not … In a case report with a familiar feel, an 11-year old boy was referred for an eye exam after experiencing vision loss over the course of 1 year. Doctors initially suspected inherited retinal dystrophy but after a barrage of tests suggested otherwise, the boy admitted that the vision changes began after a friend shined a laser pointer in his eye. Ophthalmology Retina

There’s a new culprit in the pathogenesis of congenital bilateral cataracts and severe vision loss: the gene for dynamin-binding protein, DNMBP. Scientists homed in on the gene while searching for genetic factors that set apart 12 individuals from 3 unrelated consanguineous families of Pakistani descent. The individuals all had infantile cataracts and partial to severe vision loss that failed to improve after cataract surgery—and, as the analysis revealed, mutations in DNMBP on chromosome 10. The study appeared in the American Journal of Human Genetics. Baylor College of Medicine

Corneal refractive surgeons in the U.S. now have a new tool for treating astigmatism. The FDA expanded the indication for ZEISS’ ReLEx Small Incision Lenticule Extraction Precise, or SMILE, to include myopia with astigmatism. The procedure uses the VisuMax femtosecond laser to create a lenticule inside the cornea and access incision in a single step without the need for a second laser. ZEISS

A 59-year-old woman experienced “tadpole”-shaped spots in her vision after a chiropractic adjustment. According to a study in the American Journal of Ophthalmology Case Reports, the woman had received a high-velocity cervical spine manipulation to help with her headaches and noticed the vision changes while driving home. Clinicians at the Kellogg Eye Center evaluated the woman and observed preretinal hemorrhages and posterior vitreous detachment in 1 eye that improved on their own within 2 weeks. University of Michigan