News

Glaucoma has an adherence problem. Drugs that are highly efficacious are far less than optimally effective because patients fail to take eye drops properly or don’t take them all. Novel drug-delivery technologies could improve adherence and outcomes.

Animal models are vital to glaucoma research. The problem is that no single animal model fully recapitulates the natural history of human glaucoma. A model that mimicked the progression and time line of human glaucoma would do little to speed drug discovery.

Minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) is the latest development in the treatment of glaucoma. With two MIGS devices already approved in the United States, there are a variety of novel devices that have the potential to transform the treatment of glaucoma.

Changes in both technology and the healthcare policy are presenting new challenges for glaucoma specialists. As the demand for eye care surges, ophthalmologists are struggling to keep up–despite the availability of better tools for diagnosis and treatment.

Eye surgeons should use intracameral antibiotics only in select situations; they should avoid aminoglycosides, and they should not use vancomycin as prophylaxis. Michael Jumper, MD, offered this perspective as part of an overview of antibiotics used in intraocular surgery during the Glaucoma Symposium at the 2017 Glaucoma 360 meeting.

All corticosteroids matter when it comes to the risk of an intraocular pressure (IOP) response, and that is an important point for ophthalmologists to remember because opportunities for corticosteroid exposure are growing.

Although the aim of glaucoma management is to maintain visual function, the role of the ophthalmologist does not end once a patient has lost useful vision. Robert L. Stamper, MD, discussed care for patients with end-stage glaucoma.

Adrienne Graves, PhD, and Andrew Iwach, MD, welcome attendees to Glaucoma 360 with their focus set on next year's conference, February 9, 2018 in San Francisco.

No matter how you celebrated the 4th, you can have your own “freedom day” in your practice starting today! What this means is you have the freedom to be your best, every single day of the year.

Fifty years after the idea for phacoemulsification came to Charles Kelman, MD, few would have predicted that surgical platforms would evolve to where they are today.

Phaco turns 50

As the ophthalmic community celebrates 50 years of phacoemulsification (phaco) innovation, surgeons and industry alike mark its progress since the inspiration for the procedure came to Charles Kelman, MD, after a visit to the dentist.

Many maintain that rising early, getting to work, accomplishing a lot during the day, and getting to bed at a reasonable hour is the route to success in life. But a body of evidence suggests that human behavioral tendencies to do too much, in some cases, can reduce the likelihood of a good result. At the same time, laziness can produce outcomes that are either negative or positive.

At its 2017 general business meeting in May, the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) welcomed a new president, Claude F. Burgoyne, MD, FARVO. Dr. Burgoyne, a glaucoma clinician and surgeon, is senior scientist, Van Buskirk Chair for Ophthalmic Research, and director of the Optic Nerve Head Research Laboratory at Devers Eye Institute, Portland, OR. He also serves as clinical professor of ophthalmology at Oregon Health and Sciences University, Eugene.

A new silicone phacoemulsification sleeve (Ridged Sleeve, ASICO) designed with a variety of novel features is enabling safe and efficient microcoaxial cataract surgery, said Takayuki Akahoshi, MD.

Preloaded IOL systems can save almost 30 seconds of operating time in cataract surgery, according to Damien Goldberg, MD, who participated in a trial with a preloaded delivery system (AcrySof IQ IOL Model AU00TO with UltraSert, Alcon Laboratories).

As the most common procedure performed by the ophthalmic surgeon, in 2014, 4.3 million cataract operations took place in the European Union Member States. It is estimated that more than 23 million procedures will be performed worldwide in 2016.