News

Terms such as quality, style, and value may not be typically associated with the specialty eyewear industry. Certain brands are crossing the divide and making an appearance in corporate and industrial settings to provide protection and aesthetics in one package.

Advanced optical coherence tomography (OCT) devices used in routine screening of refractive surgery candidates can enable clinicians to obtain better results or determine if there is a reason the surgery should not take place. Advanced OCT imaging can reveal anatomic features missed by other screening instruments.

Newly unemployed Americans and their families who have lost their health insurance coverage and who are taking Pfizer branded medicines, including latanoprost ophthalmic solution (Xalatan), may be eligible for free medicine under a new patient assistance program launched by the manufacturer.

The French-American Chamber of Commerce (FACC) of Dallas/Fort Worth presented John Carrier, president of Essilor of America Inc., with the Alain Bellet Award.

The emerging trend toward the purchase of eyeglasses online is a threat for dispensaries. Even if the trend were to take hold, not everyone will choose to purchase eyeglasses online. Plan how your practice will react.

The custom topographic neutralizing technique seems to be a promising alternative for treating patients with aberrated corneas after refractive procedures. The procedure is performed using a proprietary topographically guided excimer laser (Allegretto Wave Eye-Q, Alcon Laboratories [formerly WaveLight]) and corneal topographer (Allegro Topolyzer, Alcon Laboratories [formerly WaveLight]).

A new optical coherence tomography (OCT) software application (Cirrus [high-definition] HD-OCT, Carl Zeiss Meditec) has been cleared by the FDA for commercial distribution.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) and the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) have issued a joint statement regarding results of a new study. The new research reinforces an advisory issued in 2006 that cautioned patients taking tamsulosin (Flomax, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc.) to treat prostate enlargement and urinary problems should inform their ophthalmologist about use of this alpha-blocker before undergoing eye surgery.

Children with intermittent exotropia, especially boys, appear more likely to develop mental illness by young adulthood than children without strabismus, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of Ophthalmology

EyeCare of America, a program of the Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, will be offering "Don't Lose Sight of Your Independence," a national health campaign intended to remind the senior community of the value of eyesight.

Health insurance payers are rating their providers by the efficiency of the care delivered, and are beginning to steer patients to the most cost-effective care providers. However, cost-effectiveness does not always equate to high quality, and there are a number of potential problems inherent in the insurance companies' methodologies that make this a disturbing trend for physicians.

Azithromycin ophthalmic solution 1% (AzaSite, Inspire Pharmaceuticals), a broad-spectrum antibiotic that has the propensity to penetrate into the ocular tissues, rapidly improves anterior blepharitis faster than any other treatments for blepharitis, according to one ophthalmologist.

The electronic database of a large health-maintenance organization was used to identify patients who had a positive temporal artery biopsy indicating a diagnosis of giant cell arteritis (GCA). The calculated incidence of GCA was significantly less than previously reported and is thought to reflect, in part, differences in population demographics between studies.

This article summarizes the recent elucidations on the immunopathogenic process that leads to giant cell arteritis (GCA) and reviews both the well-known and newly recognized clinical subtypes and manifestations of the disease. The role of various noninvasive imaging techniques that are increasingly used to corroborate a clinical diagnosis of GCA as well as traditional and new treatment strategies are discussed.

A retrospective study analyzed outcomes in 18 patients who were treated for idiopathic or post-cataract surgery cystoid macular edema with nepafenac 0.1% (Nevanac, Alcon Laboratories) alone or combined with a corticosteroid. Statistically significant improvements were achieved in mean visual acuity and foveal thickness in both groups.

Difluprednate ophthalmic emulsion 0.05% (Durezol, Sirion Therapeutics) was at least as effective as prednisolone acetate suspension 1% (Pred Forte, Allergan), dosed twice as often, in the treatment of endogenous anterior uveitis. Equivalent effectiveness with less-frequent dosing could improve patient compliance, according to one ophthalmologist.

A prospective, randomized, investigator-masked study was conducted to compare twice-daily and four-times-daily dosing of a corticosteroid after cataract surgery. All patients also received bromfenac 0.09% (Xibrom, Ista Pharmaceuticals). No significant differences in macular thickening or anterior chamber cell and flare were observed between groups.

An active comparator, parallel group study comparing levofloxacin 1.5% and moxifloxacin 0.5% in patients undergoing cataract surgery showed significantly greater aqueous penetration of levofloxacin, measured as area under the curve over a 6-hour interval. Levofloxacin also had a significantly higher Cmax and significantly higher maximum concentration at the end of the dose interval. These findings indicate a possible role for levofloxacin in the prophylaxis of endophthalmitis at the time of cataract surgery.

Besifloxacin (Optura, Bausch & Lomb) was found to be more effective than gatifloxacin and moxifloxacin in reducing the number of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus organisms in the cornea when applied topically 10 to 18 hours after infection.

A study evaluating eradication of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) by fluoroquinolones shows that the commercially available preparation of gatifloxacin 0.3% (Zymar, Allergan) has superior bactericidal activity compared with the commercially available preparation of moxifloxacin 0.5% (Vigamox, Alcon). Gatifloxacin was more active than moxifloxacin alone, and its activity was enhanced by the presence of the preservative benzalkonium chloride.

It turns out that, thanks to an extremely insightful article brought to my attention by a loyal Ophthalmology Times reader, we ophthalmologists can enjoy good wine and save money during this outing.

Loteprednol etabonate 0.5%/tobramycin 0.3% ([LE/T]; Zylet, Bausch & Lomb) was found to be superior to dexamethasone 0.1%/tobramycin 0.3% ([DM/T]; Tobradex, Alcon Laboratories) in a comparison study that tested ocular comfort and tolerability in healthy volunteers. LE/T also has shown to be less likely to cause increases in IOP levels compared with DM/T. LE/T may provide some small advantages, possibly resulting from formulation differences and/or the steroid used, the researchers concluded.

Essilor of America Inc. has announced a 3-year extension of Essilor International?s partnership with the Special Olympics Lions Club International Opening Eyes program.

Gary Conrad, PhD, has received a 4-year grant renewal of $1.48 million from the National Eye Institute for the National Institutes of Health (NEI/NIH) to study the cornea. Dr. Conrad is a university distinguished professor at Kansas State University's Division of Biology.

To answer the question of whether quality - specifically, uncorrected vision, astigmatism, visual rehabilitation, and safety - is sacrificed when M-SICS is performed instead of phaco, Sanduk Ruit, MD, Geoffrey Tabin, MD, David F. Chang, MD, and colleagues conducted the first prospective, randomized trial of phaco versus M-SICS in a charity camp population.

Phase II of a clinical study examining a formulation of cyclosporine (Cyclokat, Novagali Pharma) has been completed, and results demonstrate statistically significant improvement with signs and symptoms in patients suffering from moderate-to-severe dry eye syndrome.

The newest version of proprietary software (Guided Progression Analysis, Carl Zeiss Meditec) to measure the functional progression of glaucoma combines event and trend analyses and enables faster, more quantitative evaluation of change in visual field than that permitted by older methods, according to one ophthalmologist. Use of the software requires a particular, newer perimeter (Humphrey Field Analyzer II-i, Carl Zeiss Meditec), and clinical correlation is advised.

Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) represents an improvement in imaging compared with time-domain OCT and, therefore, the potential for improved patient care. Proprietary technology (3D OCT 1000, Topcon Medical Systems) is easy to use and has versatile software, according to one ophthalmologist. The choice of any SD-OCT unit, however, must be based on an analysis of an individual practice's needs.