News

Through improved communication and coordination with patients and other health care professionals as well as advocacy for increased or maintained funding for prevention of vision-related problems, ophthalmologists can help decrease costs associated with eye disorders and vision loss, according to a report commissioned by Prevent Blindness America.

Human ocular tissue has a critical role in helping researchers understand and find new treatments for diseases that include glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, and cataract.

Data analyses found a strong association in women between estrogen metabolism pathway single-nucleotide polymorphisms and high-pressure, open-angle glaucoma.

In the first clinical trial of ALG-1001 in wet AMD, there was an apparent clinical benefit to patients, as evidenced by improvements from baseline visual acuity and macular anatomy.

The lesson of flight 214 for us in medicine is that we should be creating teams of people (physicians, nurses, anesthesiologists, technicians, etc.) who know each other, can anticipate what is coming next, and communicate well.

A new fixed-dose combination medication (Simbrinza, Alcon Laboratories) for the reduction of elevated IOP combines brinzolamide 1%, a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor, and brimonidine tartrate 0.2%, an alpha 2 adrenergic receptor agonist, in one multidose bottle. The drug is also the only available, fixed-dose combination therapy for glaucoma without a beta blocker in the United States, according to the manufacturer.

Since its founding by world-renown glaucoma specialist Robert Ritch, MD, in 1984, The Glaucoma Foundation has been funding groundbreaking glaucoma research, primarily in the areas of neuroprotection and genetics. Now, the foundation has sharpened its focus to finding a cure for exfoliation syndrome, the leading identifiable cause of open-angle glaucoma worldwide and the most important cause of complications during routine cataract surgery.

InSite Vision Inc. has received a Notice of Allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its next-generation, enhanced drug-delivery system (DuraSite 2) that provides a broad platform for developing topically delivered ocular drugs.

TearLab is partnering with the Sjögren’s Foundation to promote “Dry Eye Disease Awareness Month” this year. Throughout July, TearLab will raise awareness through professional communications and in-clinic materials delivered directly to customers.

Indications for riboflavin ultraviolet crosslinking have been expanding. As such, the technology may be useful for more than just treating keratoconus-by filling a gap in which other surface therapies sometimes cannot be effective.

Retina Implant AG, a developer of subretinal implants for patients blinded by retinitis pigmentosa (RP), has received the CE Mark for its wireless subretinal implant technology (Alpha IMS).

The discovery of a new layer in the cornea has many surgical and clinical implications. This layer can support the endothelium in the procedure of endothelial keratoplasty, making the handling of Descemet’s membrane transplant safer and technically simpler, according to its discoverer Harminder S. Dua, MD, PhD.

Results of a retrospective analysis of eyes undergoing cataract surgery with intraoperative guidance of IOL power selection using wavefront aberrometry (ORA System, WaveTec Vision) show it has value for improving refractive predictability, especially in long and short eyes.

How low is too low?

Postoperative hypotony is a problem not often seen by ophthalmologists, but when it occurs, elucidating its exact cause and treating it properly is imperative.

In a comparison study of elliptical and round femtosecond laser flaps created during myopic LASIK, both flap configurations provided excellent early results and patient satisfaction was very high.

Prevent Blindness America (PBA) officially has launched its “3rd Annual Most Beautiful Eyes Contest.” The contest allows children across the United States the chance to win a $10,000 educational scholarship.

iCo Therapeutics Inc. announced it has completed enrollment of its phase II iDEAL Study, which will evaluate the efficacy and safety after repeated injections of iCo-007 in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME).