News

Yokneam, Isr?l-Lumenis Ltd. announced it has received exclusive worldwide licensing rights for SRT, a new laser therapy for selectively treating retinal diseases. These rights include licenses issued to Lumenis by Medizinisches Laserzentrum Lubeck GmbH, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Professor Reginald Birngruber.

Rockville, MD-The future of clinical ophthalmology may be uncertain due to a decrease in the number of human donor eyes provided by U.S. eye banks, according to the results of a recent survey.

St. Petersburg, FL-Lenstec Inc. opened a new Barcelona sales office to help the company meet growing European demand for its lens implants and devices used in cataract and refractive surgery. With a sales and marketing office in Yorkshire, England, this move expands Lenstec's European operations.

Irvine, CA-Visiogen Inc.'s dual-optic accommodating IOL (Synchrony) has received CE Mark designation.

Irvine, CA-ISTA Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced it has filed a New Drug Application (NDA) with the FDA for its investigational ophthalmic product (T-Pred) containing tobramycin and prednisolone acetate in a fixed combination. The company hopes the drug receives approval as a treatment for inflammatory ocular conditions for which a corticosteroid is indicated and where bacterial ocular infections or a risk of bacterial infections exists.

With the passing of Govindappa Venkataswamy, MD, 87, founder and chairman of the Aravind Eye Care System in Madurai, India, on July 7, the worldwide ophthalmology community lost a visionary and inspirational leader.

Fort Lauderdale, FL-The proportion of African-Americans in the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) whose disease has progressed toward either advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD) or along the clinical AMD severity scale is less than that of non-African-Americans in the study, said Emily Y. Chew, MD.

Halifax, Nova Scotia-The detection of change is an important finding for both the diagnosis of glaucoma and monitoring its progression. In fact, from the perspective of the instrument or the technique, these two things are completely interchangeable, according to Balwantray C. Chauhan, PhD, professor and research director, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

"We have embarked on an attempt to learn all we can about tropical organic agriculture, about what makes up diverse shade cover, and about the intricacies of the coffee market, so that we can build a model farm with all the ancillary aspects that will provide a healthy environment for workers and their families, both on our own farm and in the larger community."

Fort Lauderdale, FL-Key findings in the optic disc and retina may make it possible for clinicians using optical coherence tomography (OCT) to distinguish between early glaucoma and optic neuropathy in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease.

July 8, 2006. My wife and I had been in the city of Madurai in southern India for just a few days when we read the news in the morning paper-Dr. Govindappa Venkataswamy (Dr. V), founder of the world-renowned Aravind Eye Hospital, had passed away.

Online registration is open until Oct. 25 for the 2006 American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) joint meeting with the Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO) in Las Vegas from Nov. 10 to 14. Here are some can't-miss highlights to help you plan your schedule.

Chicago-The expense of latanoprost (Xalatan, Pfizer Ophthalmics) treatment may be driven down with the use of a relatively new device that assists patients in proper administration of the eye drops, according to a research team led by Sriram Sonty, MD, FACS, clinical associate professor, University of Illinois, Chicago Eye Center.

Charleston, SC-By implementing a different treatment regimen in each eye of patients with glaucoma, Alfred M. Solish, MD, found that not only does bimatoprost (Lumigan, Allergan) appear more effective than travoprost (Travatan, Alcon Laboratories) for reducing IOP, but also when given a choice of treatment, patients tend to prefer bimatoprost for that reason. Dr. Solish presented the results of that analysis in a poster at the American Glaucoma Society annual meeting.

Fort Lauderdale, FL-Brimonidine tartrate ophthalmic solution 0.15% (Alphagan P, Allergan) is an effective adjunctive therapy in patients with glaucoma using latanoprost (Xalatan, Pfizer Ophthalmics) who require additional IOP lowering, according to research reported at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology annual meeting.

Fort Lauderdale, FL-A modified glaucoma valve made of a porous polymer material reduced outflow resistance in tests conducted in an animal model. The reduced resistance should in turn result in improved control of IOP over conventional implants, explained R. Rand Allingham, MD, at the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.

Fort Lauderdale, FL-Significant differences in optic disc topography exist between ethnic groups, according to the results of a study analyzing parameters measured with confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (CSLO) among subjects with European, subcontinent Indian, and African-American ancestries.

Fort Lauderdale, FL-Surgeons performing endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation (ECP) to treat glaucoma should take careful note of probe position in order to optimize the treatment, said Malik Kahook, MD, at the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.

Fort Lauderdale, FL-A study that compared the toxicity of two antiglaucoma drugs, travoprost 0.004% (Travatan, Alcon Laboratories) without the preservative benzalkonium chloride with that of latanoprost 0.005% (Xalatan, Pfizer) with 0.02% benzalkonium chloride, found that the absence of the preserving agent was associated with significantly less toxicity in immortalized human corneal epithelial cells, reported Richard W. Yee, MD, at the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.

London, Ontario-During at least the first 12 months after treatment initiation, selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) and latanoprost 0.005% (Xalatan, Pfizer) are associated with equivalent efficacy and safety profiles when used as primary therapy for newly diagnosed open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension, according to the results of a prospective, multicenter, parallel comparison, clinical trial conducted by researchers at Ivey Eye Institute, University of Western Ontario, London.

Charleston, SC-The brimonidine 0.2%/ timolol 0.5% fixed combination (Combigan, Allergan) administered twice daily is as effective as the concurrent use of brimonidine and timolol and is significantly more effective than monotherapy with either brimonidine three times daily or timolol twice daily, according to E. Randy Craven, MD, who presented his results at the American Glaucoma Society meeting here. The fixed combination is also superior to brimonidine monotherapy in long-term safety and the development of fewer ocular allergies, Dr. Craven said.

San Francisco-Selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) is a major advance in the management of glaucoma because it safely and effectively lowers IOP without damaging or disrupting the trabecular beams.

New York-The Ex-PRESS glaucoma implant (Optonol) is a device that may be coming into its own, at least for some selected patients undergoing glaucoma surgery, Robert D. Fechtner, MD, reported at the Glaucoma 2006 meeting here.

New York-A gold micro-shunt (GMS, SOLX) implant holds promise for reducing complications of trabeculectomy by lowering IOP, said Celso Tello, MD.

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.