News

The fixed combination of brimonidine tartrate 0.2% and timolol maleate 0.5% (Combigan, Allergan) is an effective and well-tolerated substitute treatment for patients whose IOP remains uncontrolled under prostaglandin analog monotherapy or any other fixed combination of hypotensive agents, according to a poster presentation made at the World Ophthalmology Congress.

Glaucoma screenings can help identify people who may have the disease to encourage them to receive care. Ophthalmologists must stress to participants the importance of seeking that care and adhering to any subsequently prescribed therapy. Vision loss from glaucoma occurs with the death of the retinal ganglia cells that travel from the optic nerve to the brain. Therefore, a current goal is to identify sick cells that try to "rescue" them by lowering IOP. For the future, however, the hope is to be able to regenerate cells that have been sickened by the disease.

Research supports that 24-hour IOP control is critical to minimizing glaucoma progression. Practitioners are encouraged to review the choices for primary and adjunctive medical therapy based on the ability to control pressures during both the day and nocturnal periods.

In a retrospective, longitudinal cohort analysis of 14,491 Medicare beneficiaries who underwent one of the three incisional glaucoma surgeries between 1994 and 2003, those who underwent glaucoma drainage implant surgery were more likely to have severe complications, low vision, and progression to blindness than those who had a trabeculectomy. The results run counter to an ongoing randomized controlled trial of the procedures.

As imaging continues to move in the direction of digital technology, one such vision platform (3-D HD, TrueVision) takes a stereoscopic view of a surgical microscope, converts it to a three-dimensional, high-definition digital image, and displays it on a projection screen. The technology, according to surgeons who have used it, affords a defined depth of field, offers the ability to play back and share images, and results in less neck and back strain.

Despite the efficacy of the prostaglandins as first-line agents for reducing IOP, many patients require one or more additional agents to reach treatment goals. A recent clinical trial compared two agents, brinzolamide (Azopt, Alcon Laboratories) and brimonidine (Alphagan P, Allergan), as adjunctive therapy and offers perspectives on the best choice for addition to a prostaglandin.

Use of an oscillation device (NeoSoniX handpiece, Alcon Laboratories) results in a shorter phacoemulsification time compared with the time in cases in which a conventional handpiece was used. This difference may result in less phaco energy use in the eye, less trauma during surgery, more rapid visual rehabilitation postoperatively, and perhaps less loss of endothelial cells.

A prospective evaluation of the first 50 cases of coaxial microincision cataract surgery performed with a vision enhancement system (Stellaris, Bausch & Lomb) shows that the platform facilitates adoption of this new surgical technique and allows surgery to be performed with higher levels of vacuum, less dependence on ultrasound, and excellent anterior chamber stability.

High- and low-frequency energy in porcine and human eyes displayed on an oscilloscope showed that the energy levels behave differently in the eye during phacoemulsification.

There may be a great unease among ophthalmologists when it comes to the current relationship between industry and professional meetings including conflict of interest among speakers at ophthalmology meetings, disclosures of such conflicts by speakers, and concern about the "integrity" of these meetings.

Anti-angiogenic therapy for aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) may be a feasible therapy for the children with this form of ROP, which develops in profoundly immature neonates. The BLOCK-ROP study, which will begin in the second quarter of 2008, will add to the limited knowledge of the safety and efficacy of an anti-vascular endothelial growth factor drug in treating posterior ROP.

A study in the August issue of the Journal of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus reports that daily treatment with a medication called pirenzepine can slow the rate of progressive myopia.

Researchers have identified a link between toll-like receptor 3, a protein that alerts the body's immune system to infections and, the dry form of age-related macular degeneration.

An innovative ophthalmic lens support system available for licensing has been developed to stabilize the lens before or during cataract surgery, preventing the movement of lens fragments into the back of the eye, according to a market watch report in The Wall Street Journal.

It has just been discovered by researchers at Brigham Young University and Weill Medical College of Cornell University that two processes in the retina, which in combination contribute to age-related macular degeneration, can be disrupted by antioxidants.

Genentech has formed a special committee of its board of directors to assess the proposal from Roche to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Genentech stock not owned by Roche at a price of $89 in cash per share.

The FDA announced in a prepared statement that it is revising the way it communicates to drug companies when a marketing application cannot be approved as submitted.

Meda has received FDA approval for azelastine eye drops in unit dose (Optivar Unit Dose), the company announced.

Novartis has completed the first of two steps of its $39 billion purchase of Alcon Laboratories from Nestlé, a deal that gives the Swiss pharmaceutical firm a 25% stake in Alcon, according to prepared statements issued by the companies.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) has accepted planned retirements of two of it senior staff leaders: H. Dunbar Hoskins Jr., MD, executive vice president and chief executive officer, and David J. Noonan, deputy executive vice president and chief operations officer, according to a prepared statement issued by the AAO.

Researchers at the University of Washington, Seattle, have developed a novel polymeric intraocular drug delivery system for efficient, cost-effective administration of antibiotics following cataract surgery. The group designed the device for markets in developing countries where limited access to medication and adherence issues increase the risk of postoperative infection.

Aspheric IOLs, in conjunction with certain corneal aberrations, may significantly expand depth of focus, enhancing apparent accommodation. It may possible to define the predictability of a multi-focal cornea in apparent accommodation.

The combination of ultraviolet radiation and riboflavin treatment to achieve collagen cross-linking may be beneficial in biomechanical stabilization of ectasia, according to an expert who says the combined procedure has reduced the need for penetrating keratoplasty in his practice by 70%.

Eschenbach's seminar "Low Vision Care . . . What's It All About?" is an introductory, hands-on workshop and lecture designed for everyone interested in the field of low vision.

Promoting lenses directly to consumers is just one channel of an innovative digital outreach program from Transitions Optical.

Phara Khauv, MD, one of only eight ophthalmologists in Cambodia, is at Indiana University (IU) School of Medicine preparing to become his nation's first pediatric eye surgeon.

A new pediatric patient can be more easily oriented into a practice with games, movies, and comfortable seating in the waiting room. Specialized equipment like fixation targets with small puppets placed on the end of the transmitter make the exam more like play time. Breaking the ice by talking to the child about his or her interests and joking will also help make a better experience for the child.

A new visual screening process (PediaVision) is available to pediatricians and can take less than 5 seconds to complete and can assist in the detection of refractive errors, media opacities, and other abnormalities.