Dr. Ambika Selvakumar

Senior Consultant and the Head of the Neuro-ophthalmology Services, Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai

1 article

Dr. Ambika Selvakumar is a senior consultant and the head of the Neuro-ophthalmology services, Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai, India. She has done MBBS from prestigious Stanley medical college, Chennai. Postgraduation in ophthalmology and fellowship in Neuro-ophthalmology from Medical research foundation Chennai. She has done observership in Neuro-ophthalmology under legends like Dr. Andrew Lee atthe University of Iowa, Dr. James Goodwin at the University of Illinois, Dr. Averatna Noronha at the University of Chicago and Dr. Joel Glaser at the Bascom palmer eye institution, Miami U.S. and now is into the field of neuro-ophthalmology with a work experience of 20 years. She authored the Atlas of Neuro-ophthalmology, which was the first Indian Atlas in this specialty, was published in 2002 and the Atlas in Neuroimaging in 2015. She has written many chapters in ophthalmology and neurology textbooks and has many publications in reputed journals in neuro-ophthalmology, ophthalmology, and neurology. She is a recipient of many awards in national ophthalmology and neurology conferences. She has been an invited speaker in many international and national ophthalmology, neurology and neurosurgery conferences. She is an executive board member of the Indian Neuro-ophthalmology society and reviewer on board of Indian journal of ophthalmology.

  1. Articles 1 Apr 2021 17 min read

    Understanding Optic Disc Pallor- Shades of White

    Introduction The optic nerve consists of approximately 1.2 million axons that arise from the retinal ganglion cells and acquire myelin sheath proximal to lamina cribrosa. These axons do not have the capacity to regenerate. The normal optic disc is pink in color due to the fact that light entering the optic disc is conducted along the transparent nerve fibers and they diffuse among columns of glial tissue and capillaries. When axons are damaged in optic atrophy, light is reflected from opaque glial cells and does not pass through the capillaries. In addition, the reduced capillary vascularity and loss of tissue causes visibility of opaque scleral lamina cause the disc to appear pale. Optic atrophy is the sequelae of progressive optic nerve disease that causes irreversible damage of ganglion cells and the retinogeniculate pathway. This degeneration along with gross reduction in capillaries results in loss of optic pathway conduction and pallor. Exploring the etiology of optic atrophy may

    Dr. Ambika Selvakumar