News

San Francisco is nearly synonymous with a high cost of living. The advent and financial success of the early years of the Internet revolution still lures high-income folks to the city by the bay. Property values and household income are among the top in the nation, which enables a profitable restaurant and entertainment scene.

From babies to toddlers to pre-teens, there are many important considerations to implement when you are dispensing to kids. These considerations range from toddler eyes that are sensitive to ultraviolet rays to protective eyewear for your budding athlete.

An in vitro kill kinetics study evaluated eradication of 18 human ocular Staphylococcus isolates by commercial formulations of gatifloxacin 0.3% (Zymar, Allergan) and moxifloxacin 0.5% (Vigamox, Alcon Laboratories). Gatifloxacin demonstrated superior activity, which may be attributed to the presence of benzalkonium chloride 0.005% in its formulation.

Now is the time to focus on the lessons that can be learned in the current economic situation. Take a close look at your staffing levels, practices within your office, and the effect of days spent out of clinic by physicians, among other things, to try to identify ways to weather bad economic times better in the future.

The apprenticeship model suffers from inherent limitations that have called into question not only the safety but the quality, appropriateness, and effectiveness of the training model for residents. External stakeholders in the educational process, including the public, the payers, and the government, have called for reform in the graduate medical education process and for transformation from the apprenticeship model to a competency-based model of education.

Diabetic macular edema responds to treatment with ranibizumab (Lucentis, Genentech), according to results of the RESOLVE study. The patient responses to the drug in the changes in the visual acuity and central macular thickness were significantly better in the groups treated with two concentrations of ranibizumab compared with the sham-treated group.

The FDA will resume scientific review of the STAAR Surgical Co. premarket approval (PMA) application for its toric implantable contact lens ([TICL]; Visian Toric Implantable Collamer Lens) for patients with myopia and astigmatism after removing the "integrity hold" restrictions it put in place in 2007, according to the company.

Descemet's stripping endothelial Keratoplasty (DSEK) was shown to be a safe and effective treatment for corneal endothelial diseases, according to a 2009 review by the cornea panel of the American Academy of Ophthalmology's (AAO) Ophthalmic Technology Assessment Committee, led by W. Barry Lee, MD.

Abbott announced a definitive agreement to acquire Visiogen Inc. for $400 million, providing the company with a next-generation accommodating IOL technology to address presbyopia for patients with cataracts.

Aton Pharma has launched new education, distribution, sampling, and reimbursement programs for its preservative-free formulation of timolol maleate (Timoptic in Ocudose), which according to the company is the only preservative-free medication for glaucoma available in the United States.

STAAR Surgical Co. President and Chief Executive Officer Barry G. Caldwell said he is “encouraged and pleased” with feedback the company has received from the Japanese government regarding the possibility of marketing its implantable contact lens ([ICL] Visian Implantable Collamer Lens) products there.

ISTA Pharmaceuticals plans to ask the FDA to approve a change to the label of its bromfenac 0.09% ophthalmic solution after obtaining positive preliminary phase III results in a confirmatory clinical study of once-daily bromfenac (Xibrom QD) for the treatment of inflammation and pain after cataract surgery.

To mark the global observance of AMD [age-related macular degeneration] Week, Lighthouse International and AMD Alliance International (AMDAI) will host an exhibit of the works of London-based portrait artist Adam Hahn, whose paintings illustrate how patients with AMD see the world.

An investigational compound for the treatment of dry eye disease consisting of a proprietary formulation of sodium hyaluronate ophthalmic solution 0.18% (Vismed, Lantibio Inc.) was shown to be safe and effective in a multicenter phase III trial conducted in the United States. A new drug application has been filed for the solution, which is already marketed in parts of Europe and Asia as a viscoelastic lubricant eye drop.