News

Miami-The introduction of Systane Free Lubricant Eye Drops (Alcon Laboratories Inc.) has further diversified the company's product line to enable optimization of artificial tear treatment for the broad spectrum of patients suffering with dry eye, said Terrence P. O'Brien, MD.

San Francisco-Just as during LASIK procedures, cataract surgery can damage the corneal nerves and cause symptoms of dry eye.

Woburn, MA-The chicken-and-egg controversy has swirled for years about what causes what in dry eye syndrome, but the scales are tipping in favor of elevated tear film osmolarity as the cause of dry eye surface disease, based on the latest research.

New York-It's more an evolution than a revolution, but ophthalmologists' stance on dry eye is unquestionably changing. Definitions and treatments are being revised, and this process will continue as ongoing research yields new findings.

Cleveland-Artificial tears are an important complement totopical cyclosporine ophthalmic emulsion 0.05% (Restasis, Allergan)for dry eye therapy, said Steven E. Wilson, MD.

Our understanding of dry eye has evolved and improved dramatically, as well as our ability to diagnose and treat this multi-faceted disorder. Despite its prevalence, estimated at 11% to 22% of the general population,1 dry eye is not always easy to diagnose differentially from other ocular surface disorders. Without accurate diagnosis, patients may not receive the proper treatment and education they need.

Eugene, OR-The Tecnis Z9000 modified prolate IOL (AMO)improves functional vision by eliminating positive ocular sphericalaberration, which increases by 0.15% a year, according to MarkPacker, MD, FACS.

Satish Modi, MD, FRCS, reached a new peak this year. Theself-described "quintessential couch potato" traveled to Africa toclimb Mount Kilimanjaro. On Feb. 1, he stood at the summit, Uhuru(meaning "freedom") Peak.

Charleston, SC-IOL insertion is the standard of care afteruncomplicated cataract surgery for children beyond infancy, despitethe fact that these implantations are still considered off-labelprocedures. Lens implantation is also an acceptable alternative forinfants, especially those without complex microphthalmia.

Sacramento, CA-Obtaining reimbursement and resources forvision screening seems to be a thankless task with little return.However, there are strategies that can be used to give pediatricvision screening a fair share of the available health-care funds,according to James Bradford Ruben, MD.

Baltimore-Although vision screening is a state issue and notlegislated by the federal government, there are many ways thefederal government can influence medical care delivery forchildren.

Baltimore-A new class of compounds has been making headlineslately as a potential treatment of choroidal neovascularization(CNV) secondary to age-related macular degeneration. Genetictherapies can block messenger RNA (mRNA) coding for vascularendothelial growth factor (VEGF) and prevent VEGF synthesis.

Baltimore-Intravitreal injection of a small interfering RNAmolecule (Sirna-027, Sirna Therapeutics Inc.) appears to be safeand well tolerated by patients for treatment of choroidalneovascularization (CNV) secondary to age-related maculardegeneration (AMD), according to Edward J. Quinlan, MD, whoreported the preliminary data from the phase I clinical trial.

Dorado, Puerto Rico-Cataract surgeons should learn how toperform limbal peripheral arcuate astigmatic relaxing incisions(LRIs), a good approach for correcting pre-existing astigmatism inpatients undergoing cataract surgery or refractive lens exchange(RLE) at the time of surgery, according to Louis D. "Skip"Nichamin, MD.

Wavefront assessments showed mean HOAs had decreased significantlyby 44% from baseline, and there were mean decreases of 38% intrefoil.

Patients should be made aware of the possibility of nighttimeissues with lights and glare and halo problems.

Outside of the (clinical) trial setting, people behave differentlyand will not necessarily heed advice to obtain an annual exam.

I recently passed a residency milestone: my 100th cataract surgery.It turned out to be a tough case with a very dense cataract and theneed for iris hooks. But it went well, and it felt good.

Exton, PA-Othera Pharmaceuticals Inc. has announced theinitiation of a phase II clinical trial by the National EyeInstitute (NEI) of Othera's topical eye drop OT-551 in patientswith geographic atrophy (GA). The NEI will investigate OT-551'spotential to slow enlargement of the atrophic area in the maculaand prevent progression to the vision-threatening advanced stagesof age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Rochester, NY-The FDA has approved Bausch & Lomb's 100 Hzexcimer laser, the 217z100, for use as part of the Zyoptixpersonalized laser vision-correction system for refractive surgery.

Washington, DC-The FDA and Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. arewarning of the risk for visual loss associated with the use ofdenileukin diftitox injection (Ontak), a drug used in patients withpersistent or recurrent cutaneous T-cell lymphoma whose malignantcells express the CD25 component of the interleukin-2 receptor.

Irvine, CA-The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use(CHMP) has recommended that the European Commission approveGanfort, Allergan's bimatoprost (Lumigan)/timolol ophthalmicsolution combination product for glaucoma. The CHMP opinion servesas the basis for a European Commission approval, which is expectedto be finalized in the second quarter of 2006.

Atlanta-Alimera Sciences Inc. and pSivida Limited haveannounced that following a planned interim review, an independentData Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) has recommended thecontinuation of their phase III clinical trial of Medidur.

Palo Alto, CA-A prospective comparison study of the IntraLasefemtosecond laser (IntraLase Corp.) and the Hansatome keratome(Bausch & Lomb) in myopic LASIK with VISX CustomVue (AdvancedMedical Optics) showed that both devices produced excellent visualoutcomes. The eyes treated with the femtosecond laser showed moreimprovement in several outcome measures at early intervals in thestudy, but most of these differences had disappeared by 6 months,said Edward E. Manche, MD.

S?o Paulo, Brazil-A target IOP should be set for each patientas soon as the diagnosis of ocular hypertension or glaucoma ismade, and it should be continually re-evaluated to assess whetherexisting treatment is achieving its goal for stopping visual fieldprogression and protecting the optic nerve, said Curt Hartleben,MD, at the World Congress of Ophthalmology.

The late Charles L. Schepens, MD, was well-known byophthalmologists worldwide as the father of modern retinal surgeryafter having discovered a way to re-attach retinas and restorevision to nearly 90% of patients, and having invented the binocularindirect ophthalmoscope.

Dorado, Puerto Rico-Physicians delving into the refractivecataract surgery arena should be careful screening and selectingpatients to ensure the best results. In order to do this, surgeonsneed to survey patients about their needs and desires pertaining totheir vision, so that the appropriate IOL technology can be chosen,explained Louis D. "Skip" Nichamin, MD, who spoke during theCurrent Concepts in Ophthalmology meeting here.

A March survey showed that 62% of menopausal and perimenopausal women reported dry eye symptoms, yet 16% of women experiencing dry eye symptoms realized dry eye was a symptom of menopause. Of the women experiencing dry eye symptoms, less than 59% spoke to a doctor about it and about 58% used over-the-counter eye drops to treat the symptoms.

WaveFront Sciences presents the COAS-HD Model 2800 high-definitionprecision aberrometer. The Model 2800 (2800 is the number ofsamples in a 9.5-mm pupil) extends the capability ofwavefront-based ophthalmic metrology and provides the physicianwith an ultra-detailed map of the eye.

Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced management changes to itsOSI/Eyetech Pharmaceuticals business team. Paul G. Chaney, chiefoperating officer of OSI/Eyetech, has been promoted to the role ofexecutive vice president, OSI Pharmaceuticals, and president ofOSI/Eyetech.