Ilya Petrou, MD

Hyperemia is one of the main reasons why patients with glaucoma do not adhere to or persist with their topical therapeutic regimen. Patients end up switching to another possibly more tolerable medication, and the changing of medications has significant financial implications. Latanoprost has the lowest incidence of hyperemia among the prostaglandin analogs. Patient adherence is crucial in a chronic progressive disease such as glaucoma, where non-adherence can lead to visual loss and decline in quality of life, creating societal health and economic burdens.

Brimonidine 0.2%/timolol 0.5% fixed-combination ophthalmic solution effectively lowers and controls IOP and is likely to be associated with increased patient adherence to therapy and decreased unwanted side effects such as ocular irritation, according to one ophthalmologist.

A non-contact applanation tonometer (Ocular Response Analyzer, Reichert) appears to be more effective than the Goldmann applanation tonometer (GAT) in assessing very low and negative IOP values using the non-contact applanation tonometer's corneal-compensated IOP (IOPcc) parameter. The GAT may be the long-accepted gold standard, but the more accurate assessment of IOP using the non-contact applanation tonometer challenges this gold standard and raises questions as to which of the two techniques is optimal in measuring IOP.

Oral fenretinide given once daily may slow the progression of geographic atrophy in patients with age-related macular degeneration, according to an interim analysis.

Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography is becoming an invaluable diagnostic tool and greatly helps ophthalmologists better manage their patients' conditions, according to one expert. This improved management of conditions, he said, can be realized not only in the medical arena but also in the surgical arena as well.

Employing a therapeutic approach consisting of pan-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) blockers such as ranibizumab (Lucentis, Genentech) and/or bevacizumab (Avastin, Genentech) as an induction therapy, followed by a selective VEGF blocker such as pegaptanib (Macugen, OSI/Eyetech) as a maintenance therapy, appears to be effective in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration, according to the interim results of the LEVEL study. This approach may be preferred for many patients from the standpoint of systemic safety.

The treatment of diabetic retinopathy seems to be managed well with the use of the diode laser. According to one expert, the micropulsed diode laser is particularly effective in treatment of this disease, offering patients a safe and painless treatment solution.

The novel technology found at the heart of an adaptive optics flood illumination fundus camera (AOFIFC, INOVEO)-an electromagnetic deformable mirror (Mirao 52-e, Imagine Eyes)-is designed to facilitate the acquisition of even higher resolution images than those captured by optical coherence tomography systems.

A novel gene therapy approach for the treatment of a type of inherited retinal disease appears to be safe and effective in initial trials. Results offer hope for the treatment of a gamut of eye diseases that once were thought to be untreatable, according to one researcher.

A new intravitreal insert (Iluvien, Alimera Sciences) currently in clinical trials manages a slow, long-term release of corticosteroid into the vitreous chamber. Preliminary results show the device to be very promising and possibly more favorable than other similar devices used for the treatment of diabetic macular edema.