News

San Francisco-Ophthalmologists should always strive to emphasize the success of treatment when discussing glaucoma with their patients, said Reay H. Brown, MD, at glaucoma subspecialty day during the American Society of Cataract and Refractive annual meeting.

Fort Lauderdale, FL-The Trabectome procedure (NeoMedix Corp.) with its low complication rate and high success rate suggests that it might be a promising primary surgical intervention for improved surgical management of patients with open-angle glaucoma (OAG), according to Sameh Mosaed, MD, at the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology here.

Fort Lauderdale, FL-Multifocal visual evoked potentials (mfVEP) and standard automated perimetry (SAP) perform in a similar manner in eyes with high-risk ocular hypertension or early glaucoma, according to a comparison study. However, agreement between the two techniques reached only 80%, suggesting that they detect different defects in some cases, said Brad Fortune, OD, PhD, associate scientist, Discoveries in Sight, Devers Eye Institute, Portland, OR.

Physicians have to convince patients of the long-term consequences of failing to take glaucoma medication by educating them about the disease and the risk of blindness.

Botulinum toxin type A effect is usually seen 2 to 3 days following injection, with maximal effect at approximately 2 weeks. Touch-ups are not recommended until 2 weeks have passed.

Fort Myers, FL-Retina Health Center is pleased to announce the addition of Hussein Wafapoor, MD, to the staff of its Fort Myers and Naples, FL, offices. Dr. Wafapoor brings extensive experience in the treatment of retinal disorders, particularly diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration.

A CME Breakfast Symposium

A CME Breakfast Symposium

A CME Evening Symposium and Reception

A CME Evening Symposium and Reception

An evening CME Symposium and Reception

Intracameral triamcinolone may eliminate need for postop drops, pilot study finds

Azelastine is formulated to have a very long half life and a very high affinity for the H1 receptor it affects.

As a pediatric ophthalmologist, Mark Silverberg, MD, relies on special tactics and tools to make his young patients feel at ease. Dr. Silverberg is pleased to have a new book to share with kids and their families that tells the story of eye surgery from a child's perspective, in simple terms with illustrative photographs.

Salt Lake City-Population studies in Utah and Iceland have identified a gene variant that is associated with an increased risk of a precursor of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), researchers report.

The theoretical benefits of laser iridotomy are that it can relieve reverse pupillary block, alter iris configuration, reduce pigment release, and improve long-term IOP control.

Pinellas Park, FL-Transitions Optical Inc. continues to spread the word about the importance of protecting eyes from ultraviolet (UV) radiation with an expanded consumer initiative geared toward the rising Hispanic-origin population in the United States.

More than 550 exhibitors from around the world will display thousands of eye-care products and services.

Cataract surgery in the presence of pseudoexfoliation of the lens (PXE) presents surgeons with many challenges. In addition to a higher incidence of glaucoma, these patients have loss of zonular integrity, occasionally associated with lens subluxation and pupils that dilate poorly.

Fort Lauderdale, FL-Both a corticosteroid (loteprednol etabonate ophthalmic suspension, Lotemax, Bausch & Lomb) and an oil-in-water emulsion (Soothe Emollient Eye Drops, Alimera Sciences) effectively minimized or eliminated lid wiper epitheliopathy findings and symptoms during an initial treatment period of 5 to 10 weeks. The oil-in-water emulsion regimen without corticosteroids controlled lid wiper epitheliopathy findings and symptoms in an extended 1-year study.

Boston-With the advances in anti-allergy medications that have taken place in the recent past, nedocromil sodium ophthalmic solution 2% (Alocril Ophthalmic Solution, Allergan) fills a niche for those patients who do not find relief with the newest combination antihistamine/mast cell stabilizers, Mich?l Raizman, MD, told Ophthalmology Times.

Chicago-High allergen counts this season combined with increased parental awareness about the potential functional impact of allergic conjunctivitis are leading to an increase in the number of pediatric patients being seen for control of ocular allergy.

Changes increase ocular discomfort in patients treated with systemic antihistamines.

San Francisco-Discontinuing the use of cyclosporine ophthalmic emulsion 0.05% (Restasis, Allergan), the only FDA-approved drug to treat dry eye, may result in recurrence of the signs and symptoms of keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS), and reinstitution of the drug is needed to reverse those signs and symptoms, John Sheppard, MD, reported at the annual meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.

Commonly used systemic antihistamines taken for seasonal allergies can cause ocular surface drying that in turn aggravates ocular allergy symptoms. Antihistamine drops specifically formulated for ocular allergies, in contrast, do not appear to decrease tear volume or tear flow or cause ocular surface damage, according to several investigators who have studied ocular drying. However, in a separate mouse study, topical ocular allergy medications themselves may have different effects on tear volume or tear flow.

San Francisco-The effects of Systane lubricant eye drops (Alcon Laboratories) persist for about 3.5 weeks after the treatment is stopped, according to James McCulley, MD. At that time, the signs and symptoms of dry eye increase significantly compared with the baseline values when the patients were still being treated with the eye drops.

San Francisco-Flaxseed oil seems to be as effective as doxycycline in preventing the development of dry eye after LASIK. Colin C.K. Chan, MD, speculated that the reason may be due to its anti-inflammatory and lipid-modifying properties. He presented his ideas at the annual meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.

Houston-While dry eye disease has been known to cause ocular surface damage, researchers did not understand how this happened until recently. For a long time, ocular surface damage was attributed to the drying effect of the disease, but the use of artificial tears did not improve the situation. Researchers now know that inflammation is a key component of dry eye disease leading to ocular surface problems, reported Stephen C. Pflugfelder, MD.

The campaign is designed to reach out to women in particular, because they make up the greatest segment of those affected by dry eye syndrome.