News

New Jersey has enacted legislation that requires insurance companies and health plans to provide coverage for the early refill of prescription eye drops at 70% of the predicted days of use.

Update on uveitis

Some older and newer treatments being studied for treating uveitis include iontophoresis, contact lenses, and nanoparticles.

Stephen J. Ryan, MD, a member of the Allergan Board of Directors, died on April 29, 2013 after a short illness.

A new PDUFA goal date has been established with the FDA for Iluvien fluocinolone acetonide implant (Alimera Sciences Inc.), and a PAS has been submitted to NICE in the United Kingdom.

New data show that a retinal prosthesis system is capable of providing face detection functionality to blind individuals, said Paulo E. Stanga, MD.

A new compound shows potential as a novel targeted therapy for retinoblastoma. While studies are still in the preliminary stages, the compound known as sd-rxRNA was able to penetrate all cell layers of the retina and was taken up by tumor cells within 24 hours of intravitreal administration, said Michael Byrne, PhD.

Symptomatic floaters can be safely and effectively treated with vitrectomy using 25-gauge instruments, and without inducing posterior vitreous detachment or removing the anterior vitreous, said Christianne A. Wa, a third-year medical student at USC School of Medicine, Los Angeles.

An estimated 25 million people in the United States have diabetes and face a higher risk for ophthalmic complications, including glaucoma, cataracts, and diabetic retinopathy. However, more than one-third of all persons in the United States with diabetes did not undergo an eye exam in the past year, said Fang Ko, MD.

One of the most unique aspects of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) meeting that ophthalmic clinicians won't find at any other meeting-including the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) and American Society of Refractive and Cataract Surgery (ASCRS) meetings-is the poster sessions.