Research advancement in pathophysiology of video display terminals syndrome

The complains experienced by computer users include eyestrain, dry eyes, irritation, redness, blurred vision, and double vision, collectively referred to as video display terminals (VDT) syndrome. The other symptoms include headache, the pain in the shoulders, neck, or back. There may be three potential pathophysiological causes for the explaining of this syndrome: refractive and accommodative mechanisms (differences in wavefront aberrations and accommodative spasms), ocular surface mechanisms (tear film abnormalities) and extraocular mechanisms (ergonomics). Some treatment methods have been developed based on the pathophysiology of VDT syndrome, such as microenvironment glasses (MEGS), tear substitute, and anti-reflection films (AR-films). The recent research in the pathophysiology and the treatment breakthroughs of VDT syndrome are reviewed.