News

In a comparison study of adjunctive medication for glaucoma therapy, the addition of brimonidine tartrate, a selective alpha-adrenergic agonist, to a prostaglandin analog achieved greater pressure-lowering than either of two carbonic anhydrase inhibitors.

Analysis programs for longitudinal assessment of glaucoma are advancing. A new optical coherence tomography software analysis program provides overlays of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness plots as well as regression

Two models of a 24-karat gold implant are being evaluated in a prospective, randomized study enrolling patients with refractory glaucoma.

Prostaglandin analogues preserved with benzalkonium chloride (BAK) can cause more extensive loss of goblet cells and a breakdown of cell-cell adhesions, which could increase the risk of ocular surface disease, according to findings from a pair of studies conducted in rabbits.

The safety of endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation for the treatment of glaucoma is being investigated prospectively in a multicenter study.

A trabecular micro-bypass stent is being evaluated for the treatment of refractory open-angle glaucoma in a prospective, multicenter study.

Micropulse laser trabeculoplasty (MLT) using a specific diode laser seems to be a safe and effective approach to performing trabeculoplasty.

A proprietary retina tomograph (Heidelberg Retina Tomograph 3, Heidelberg Engineering) can help ophthalmologists differentiate patients at risk of progression to glaucoma from those patients who are not, based on structural and functional findings in the optic nerve and visual fields.

A proprietary miniature glaucoma device implanted under a partial-thickness scleral flap is safe and predictable compared with trabeculectomy.

Canaloplasty is being evaluated in a prospective study that enrolled 94 patients who were candidates for glaucoma surgery. The procedure was performed successfully in 74 patients (79%). Mean follow-up for the group is about 12 months, and more than half of the patients have been followed to 18 months. The results show well-controlled IOP and minimal complications.

Selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) is comparable with argon laser trabeculoplasty (ALT) in its ability to lower IOP in patients with open-angle glaucoma, according to 5-year results of a randomized, controlled trial from the University of Ottawa reported at the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting.

The medical profession was slow to adopt the concept of the risk factor, which was born from the marriage of statistics and probability theory. Gradually, however, it has become central to medicine and science and will assume even more importance in coming years.

A $10 million research grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is designed to help a consortium of researchers identify better ways to treat trachoma in developing nations.

Genentech has agreed to allow its wholesale distributors to ship its bevacizumab (Avastin) to compounding pharmacies or other locations of a physician's choice.

A 6-month reprieve on a proposed 10.1% fee cut for ophthalmologists and other physicians who treat Medicare patients will cause "great uncertainty" for patients and physicians, according to the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.

Ophthalmologists in more than 34 countries around the globe are busy planning events for World Glaucoma Day on March 6 to alert people to the devastating effects of glaucoma and the importance of having their eyes examined.

Sub-Bowman's keratomileusis (SBK), a procedure that combines the advantages of LASIK and PRK, could be the next phase in the evolution of refractive surgery.

A woman aged 47 years underwent radial keratotomy 22 years ago. Her uncorrected vision was good for 5 years until she started experiencing progressive hyperopic astigmatism leading to extreme fluctuation and loss of correctable vision. She underwent a procedure combining corneal ring segments (Intacs, Addition Technology Inc.) with interrupted suture closing of her RK incisions.

A study comparing the 30-kHz femtosecond laser (IntraLase, Advanced Medical Optics) and the mechanical microkeratome (Zyoptix XP, Bausch & Lomb) showed both created thinner-than-intended flaps, but with similar variance and independent of preoperative SE, keratometry, or pachymetry, reports one physician.

The early results after use of pre-cut tissue for Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) indicate that there is rapid restoration of good vision with no difference in complications compared with tissue that is cut by the surgeon. The tissue dislocation rate is low (1%), as is the loss of donor endothelial cells.

Femtosecond lasers and mechanical microkeratomes both have advantages and limitations. These features provided subject matter for a point-counterpoint discussion on choosing technology for LASIK flap creation.

Whether a cornea-or lens-based method is preferred for presbyopic surgery is a subject of ongoing debate in ophthalmology. Proponents of each discuss progress to date with the two approaches and look to the future for further advances.

An ongoing multinational study is evaluating LASIK for myopia and myopic astigmatism performed with a new-generation excimer laser (Schwind Amaris, Schwind eye-tech-solutions) using its aspheric, aberration-free ablation profile.

Femtosecond lenticule extraction (FLEx) is an all-laser procedure for the treatment of myopia performed using a femtosecond laser system (VisuMax, Carl Zeiss Meditec) to cut a flap and intrastromal lenticule. Results from 6 months of follow-up in 45 eyes suggest that it is a safe and effective refractive surgery modality.

A new laser application (IntraLase-Enabled Keratoplasty [IEK], IntraLase Corp.) used with a femtosecond laser (IntraLase, IntraLase Corp.) to cut donor and host incisions is considered a significant advance in transplantation surgery. Initial experience using the laser to cut zig-zag incisions indicates the procedure has several advantages and is associated with favorable refractive and visual outcomes

Advanced surface ablation and sub-Bowman's keratomileusis (SBK) were compared in a randomized, prospective study enrolling 200 patients who underwent bilateral surgery using the same procedure in both eyes. At 1 year, predictability, visual acuity, quality of vision, and safety outcomes were excellent. SBK had significantly faster visual recovery.

Innovations in diagnostic technology have implications for improving the screening and follow-up of refractive surgery patients. An ophthalmologist reviews equipment and features that are newly available and others that are on the near horizon.

Sub-Bowman's keratomileusis (SBK) aims to combine the advantages of LASIK with the biomechanical stability of surface ablation. Results of a prospective study comparing SBK with advanced surface ablation in fellow eyes suggest it may be fulfilling its goals.