News

The FDA Ophthalmic Devices advisory panel will meet this month to make recommendations and vote on the pre-market approval filed by VisionCare Ophthalmic Technologies Inc. for its implantable miniature telescope (IMT).

(OSI) Eyetech Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Pfizer Inc. have initiated a phase IV trial that will study whether use of pegaptanib sodium injection (Macugen) following neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) therapy provides a balance in long-term safety and efficacy. Called LEVEL (EvaLuation of Efficacy and safety in maintaining Visual acuity with sEquential treatment of neovascuLar AMD), the 54-week trial will comprise up to 1,000 patients at 100 sites across the country.

This year, the world's top ophthalmic meeting will be held at one of the world's top tourist destinations-Las Vegas.

The femtosecond pulses offer real, precise subsurface effects, with the least amount of energy required.

Fort Bragg, NC-U.S. Army Lt. Col. Scott D. Barnes, MD, is on a mission to protect and preserve the sight of troops serving on the front line.

The NEI has funded a number of applications . . . including plasticity and regeneration of retinal synapses, subconjunctival route to prolong corticosteroid repair, and effects of substratum topography on corneal epithelium.

The right thing to do is rarely the easiest option.

The surgeon does not have to keep refocusing because the system has a large depth of focus (about 25 mm).

The femtosecond pulses offer real, precise subsurface effects, with the least amount of energy required.

The FIT device requires a 4.5-mm incision for implantation, making it easier to implant than IMT, which needs a 10-to 12-mm incision.

The use of hormonal therapies may represent the next generation of medication for the tear film deficiencies of dry eye.

Washington-Advancements in eye research might be in jeopardy unless Congress works to boost the president's recommended National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding levels for fiscal year 2007.

Recently it was that time of the year for my medical school's graduation ceremony. Three hours and forty-five minutes of speeches and handing out diplomas, wearing warm academic regalia in an auditorium that could have used more air conditioning-I think you all have been there and know the drill. Deans, vice deans, assistant deans, and department chairmen are accorded the honor of sitting up on the stage, so we get a close-up view of the proceedings.

Bethesda, MD-Of the 14 million Americans that are visually impaired, more than 11 million have uncorrected visual impairment, such as nearsightedness, according to a study designed and supported by the National Eye Institute (NEI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (JAMA 2006;295:2158-2163).

Irvine, CA-The philanthropic arm of Allergan Inc., The Allergan Foundation, donated $2 million to the University of California-Irvine's (UC-Irvine) department of ophthalmology. The donation will further strengthen the department's research agenda and clinical care. The gift was "the largest donation ever to ophthalmology," according to a joint press release from the university and Allergan.

Des Plaines, IL-The Internal Revenue Service has authorized the Foundation for Keratoconus Care to commence operations.

The company appar-ently did not anticipate fully how patients might misuse the product and fail to comply with recommendations.

Labeling accuracy applies to lenses with powers less than 20 D, but clinical impact is unknown, researcher says.

For weeks, he was known publicly only as the "New Jersey ophthalmologist" who was anonymously credited with alerting the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about an apparent rise in the number of Fusarium keratitis cases he had seen.

South San Francisco, CA - Genentech Inc. announced on Friday, June 30, 2006 that the FDA has approved its ranibizumab 0.5 mg injection (Lucentis, Genentech Inc.) for the treatment of neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The FDA approved Lucentis after a 6-month priority review, the company said. Genentech will begin shipping product immediately. Ninety-five percent of patients treated with Lucentis maintained their vision in phase III clinical trials, according to the company. Vision improved by at least three lines (or 15 letters) on the study eye chart in up to 40% of these patients at 1 year. Lucentis was developed for intraocular use to treat the underlying cause of wet AMD by targeting the molecular pathway that controls angiogenesis. Lucentis is designed to bind and inhibit VEGF-A, a protein that is believed to play a critical role in angiogenesis.

South San Francisco, CA - Genentech Inc. announced on Friday, June 30, 2006 that the FDA has approved its ranibizumab 0.5 mg injection (Lucentis, Genentech Inc.) for the treatment of neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The FDA approved Lucentis after a 6-month priority review, the company said. Genentech will begin shipping product immediately. Ninety-five percent of patients treated with Lucentis maintained their vision in phase III clinical trials, according to the company. Vision improved by at least three lines (or 15 letters) on the study eye chart in up to 40% of these patients at 1 year. Lucentis was developed for intraocular use to treat the underlying cause of wet AMD by targeting the molecular pathway that controls angiogenesis. Lucentis is designed to bind and inhibit VEGF-A, a protein that is believed to play a critical role in angiogenesis.

Ophthalmology Resources launches enhanced Web site

La Jolla, CA-When diagnosing a cranial third-nerve palsy, there are a number of factors to consider that let the ophthalmologist decide whether a patient's third-nerve palsy is microvascular, or whether the cause is a more serious one. Leah Levi, MBBS, described the checklist that she uses to arrive at the diagnosis of microvascular third-nerve palsy.

S?o Paulo, Brazil-Establishing the correct diagnosis and modifying therapy appropriately based on response are fundamental elements in the successful management of bacterial keratitis, said Richard L. Abbott, MD, at the World Congress of Ophthalmology.

After extensive ophthalmological training in Vienna and Innsbruck, Carl Lisch (1907-1999), an Austrian ophthalmologist, became the chief of ophthalmology in W?rgl, a small town in the North Tyrolean region of Austria. He practiced in W?rgl from 1947 to 1980. During his lifetime he wrote approximately 120 papers focusing primarily on the phakomatoses and in particular neurofibromatosis.

San Francisco-Attention to safety, speed, staffing, standardization, simplicity, and suppleness is the key to efficiency and effectiveness in the operating room (OR), explained Bradford J. Shingleton, MD, at glaucoma subspecialty day during the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery annual meeting.

Ann Arbor, MI-Scientists at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center have developed a faster and more cost-effective method of genetic testing for autosomal recessive forms of retinitis pigmentosa (arRP). Using this microarray-based sequencing technology, researchers can look for disease-causing mutations on 11 genes at a time, according to Radha Ayyagari, PhD.

S?o Paulo, Brazil-While aqueous shunts have traditionally been reserved for use in refractory glaucomas having poor surgical prognoses, glaucoma surgery appears to be undergoing a paradigm shift in which shunts are taking on a larger role, said Steven J. Gedde, MD, at the World Ophthalmology Congress.