News

The president of my university, William Brody, MD, PhD, says we take too long to train the current generation of physicians and biomedical scientists. I agree.

Las Vegas-A study evaluating IOP measurement performed with Goldmann applanation tonometry (GAT), the digital handheld Tono-Pen XL applanation tonometer (Medtronic Ophthalmics), the Pascal Dynamic Contour Tonometer (PDCT, SMT Swiss Microtechnology AG), and the Ocular Response Analyzer (ORA, Reichert Inc.) indicates that the results obtained with all of those devices may be affected by central corneal thickness (CCT). IOP measurements using the PDCT and ORA, however, appear to be influenced the least, reported Maged Nessim, MD, and coauthors here at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Accurate diagnosis of ocular surface disease (OSD) is essential in patients with glaucoma who complain of burning, itching, foreign body sensation, or a dry, gritty sensation often in concert with paradoxical tearing.

Ocular surface disease (OSD) in patients with glaucoma is surprisingly common, yet it remains an under-recognized condition by eye-care specialists. Among patients with severe OSD, approximately two-thirds concurrently are afflicted with glaucoma (range, 42.9% to 88.4%).1 OSD encompasses a myriad of ocular conditions, including keratoconjunctivitis sicca.

Editor's Note: During the time I was a resident at Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital (1969-1972), I had the good fortune to work with Byron Capleese Smith, MD. Those who knew him will never forget him, and those who were not able to know him will gain a small glimpse of his persona and his contributions, as written by Christopher Teng, MD. -Norman Medow, MD

New Haven, CT-Glaucoma specialist James C. Tsai, MD, MBA, has been named chairman of the Yale School of Medicine's Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science.

San Diego-TargeGen has begun a phase I trial of a topical drug to treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Roanoke, VA-OcuCure Therapeutics Inc. has received $1.5 million in seed financing to develop a topical eye drop for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and dry AMD prophylaxis.

Redwood City, CA-The first of 15 patients has received CGC-11047, a novel poly-amine analog that targets choroidal neovascularization associated with age-related macular degeneration.

Las Vegas-Primary acquired melanosis (PAM) of the conjunctiva is an uncommon but important disease. Although some studies have suggested that it occurs in as much as one-third of the population, most cases do not need treatment. The disease is potentially malignant, however, and arguments can be made for early treatment if risk factors are present, said Jerry A. Shields, MD, in his delivery of the Lorenz E. Zimmerman Lecture here at a combined meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Association of Ocular Pathologists.

Las Vegas-A new, validated glaucoma risk estimator developed using data from two large, prospective clinical trials provides a foundation for guiding a reasonable approach to the management of patients with ocular hypertension, said Mich?l A. Kass, MD, in his delivery of the 27th Robert N. Shaffer Lecture at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Vancouver, British Columbia-QLT Inc. has entered into a 2-year research collaboration and option agreement with investigators at The Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, to study and develop potential treatments for dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Exton, PA-Othera Pharmaceuticals Inc. has begun enrollment for a phase II clinical trial of its topical eye drop OT-551 in patients with bilateral geographic atrophy (GA), an advanced form of dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Irvine, CA-ISTA Pharmaceuticals Inc. has submitted an investigational new drug application with the FDA for its eye-drop formulation of bepotastine to treat allergic conjunctivitis.

Rochester, NY-Bausch & Lomb has purchased the over-the-counter (OTC) allergy franchise of Alimera Sciences Inc., a privately held company based in Atlanta.

Washington, DC-The FDA has issued an approvable letter for brimonidine tartrate/timolol maleate ophthalmic solution (Combigan, Allergan Inc.), outlining the remaining conditions that the company must meet to obtain final marketing approval from the agency.

Santa Ana, CA-Advanced Medical Optics Inc. (AMO) will acquire IntraLase Corp. for approximately $808 million in cash, adding IntraLase’s femtosecond laser technology for LASIK to its portfolio of refractive technologies.

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Physicians can earn an extra 1.5% bonus on their Medicare cases beginning July 1 if they agree to report their compliance with various procedures.

The chances are significantly-perhaps surprisingly-better than even that the typical eye-care practice will fall victim to internal theft. That being the case, practice managers need to know how to identify internal theft and how to prevent it from happening in their practices.

Las Vegas-Patients with subfoveal cho-roidal neovascularization (CNV) who received monthly injections of ranibizumab (Lucentis, Genentech) for 3 months and quarterly thereafter fared better than those patients receiving sham treatment in the PIER study. Vision in patients receiving the quarterly injections in this trial was not as good as that in patients who received monthly doses of ranibizumab for the duration of the MARINA and ANCHOR studies, however, reported Peter K. Kaiser, MD.

Las Vegas-The long-term results of the multicenter Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) indicated that the beneficial effect of treatment with antioxidants and zinc with copper persisted 10 years after the AREDS 1 trial ended in patients who were at higher risk of progression to advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD), Emily Y. Chew, MD, reported during the retina subspecialty day at the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting.

Jacksonville, FL-The 5S Classification System, developed by Arun C. Gulani, MD, is an approach to classifying various corneal refractive surgery complications. Clinicians can use it to describe the cornea based on appearance rather than by previously used technologies, said Dr. Gulani, founding director of Gulani Vision Institute, Jacksonville, FL.

London-Conductive keratoplasty (CK, Refractec), an effective treatment for the correction of hyperopia or presbyopia, might be a useful procedure for cataract patients with residual astigmatism, according to Tejas D. Shah, MD, who spoke at the XXIV Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons.

Muscat, Sultanate of Oman-The Carriazo-Pendular microkeratome (Schwind eye-tech-solutions) has been shown to be safe and to produce flaps of predictable thickness with two different cutting head sizes and two different suction ring sizes in a large, multicenter European study.

Tampere, Finland-The M2 microkeratome (Moria) received high marks from researchers who used the instrument to create thin flaps during LASIK.

The regression equation: flap thickness = 0.26 (preop corneal thickness) – 0.19 (age) – 11.30 (blade type; 0 = new, 1 = used) + 0.76 (average K) – 22.05.

London-In a comparison of visual outcomes with the femtosecond laser and mechanical microkeratomes following LASIK, both were very effective at targeting emmetropia. Eyes treated with the femtosecond laser, however, had faster visual recovery and better uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) results at 3 months despite experiencing more transient symptoms immediately after surgery, reported Capt. Steve Schallhorn, MD, here at the XXIV Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons.