News

Baltimore?The prevalence of cataract is high among the Hispanic population of Mexican descent living in the United States?2.8%, according to a recent report from the Proyecto VER (Vision and Eye Research) survey of Hispanic individuals living in southern Arizona. A number of barriers, including lack of medical insurance and difficulty speaking English, impede these individuals in obtaining cataract surgery, according to Aimee Teo Broman, MA.

Norristown, PA?The FDA has cleared the Fugo Blade for peripheral iridotomy (PI) creation for angle-closure glaucoma and with IOLs, including AC IOLs and phakic IOLs.

Fort Collins, CO?PR Pharmaceuticals (PRP) will work with OSI Pharmaceuticals to develop a sustained-release formulation of pegaptanib sodium injection (Macugen) using its proprietary ProPhase encapsulation technology.

Menlo Park, CA?Three venture capital firms have promised $2.4 million in seed funding to start ForSight Labs, a new incubator of firms to launch ophthalmic medical device technologies. Representatives of Morgenthaler Ventures, Split Rock Partners, and Versant Ventures will also take seats on the ForSight Labs board of directors.

While pharmaceutical companies increasingly target consumers, doctors remain the focal point.

Baltimore?The Medicare reimbursement system may seem like a bowl of alphabet soup, but physicians can't afford to ignore what lies behind the acronyms because of the enormous impact on their practice bottom lines, said Michael X. Repka, MD, secretary for federal affairs for the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO).

San Francisco?David E.I. Pyott wants to conquer glaucoma. He hopes that one day the cure is found.

Maui, HI?HyperCruise using the Cruise Control device (STAAR Surgical) enables high-vacuum, low-energy phacoemulsification with stable fluid dynamics for cataract removal that is safe, efficient, and results in excellent patient outcomes, reported Elizabeth A. Davis, MD, at Hawaiian Eye 2006.

Baltimore?A trial program that provided support and advice to older nursing home residents with poor vision improved their access to cataract surgery substantially. But the debilitated condition of many of those residents led to hesitation about surgery not only from physicians looking after the older people but also from their guardians, according to ophthalmologists at the Johns Hopkins University's Wilmer Eye Institute, Baltimore.

Chicago?Cataract and glaucoma can occur in eyes with phakic IOLs, but the risk of those complications can often be minimized by careful surgical technique and IOL sizing, said Antonio Marinho, MD, PhD, at the refractive surgery subspecialty day meeting sponsored by the International Society of Refractive Surgery of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Daniel Jewelewicz, MD, believes that ophthalmologists tend to be creative people. Since childhood, he has been drawing and painting with watercolors. Now, Dr. Jewelewicz shares his love of art with his community to raise funds for the Glaucoma Research Foundation (GRF) through an annual exhibit in Delray Beach, FL, called "Visions."

Chicago—A birthweight of less than or equal to 1,250 g was a dependable criterion for screening of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in a small, single-center retrospective study. Using this standard also reduced the number of screenings performed and consequently lowered the cost of screening, said Shailesh K. Gupta, MD, assistant professor of ophthalmology, University of Florida College of Medicine, Jacksonville.

Chicago—Screening to detect preclinical vision loss in children is important and should ideally be done in the offices of pediatricians or family practitioners. In addition, it is now time to add objective testing to pediatric practices, according to Robert W. Arnold, MD, who spoke at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Chicago—An inverse correlation between age and recurrence of amblyopia following cessation of occlusion therapy was found in a large retrospective chart review, reported Rahul Bhola, MD, fellow, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City.

It might be wise to counsel patients regarding the possible but likely low risk of NAION, especially for individuals with a higher risk for NAION.

Chicago—The pegaptanib sodium (Macugen, OSI/Eyetech Pharmaceuticals) exploratory phase II data indicate that the drug seems to be successful for treating diabetic macular edema (DME), according to Steven D. Schwartz, MD. He reported the findings of the Macugen Diabetic Retinopathy Study Group during the retina subspecialty day at the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting.

Baltimore—Given that many people fail to receive preventive screening for diabetic retinopathy or regular follow-up once diagnosed, telemedicine screening warrants a role in the effort to manage this disease better, according to Alan R. Malouf, MD, FACS. Dr. Malouf spoke at the Current Concepts in Ophthalmology meeting here, sponsored by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Ophthalmology Times.

Chicago—Empiric intravitreal therapy remains the mainstay for initial management of most cases of endophthalmitis while the roles of pars plana vitrectomy and treatment with systemic antibiotics are more variable, said Dennis P. Han, MD, at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Chicago—Diagnostic techniques such as ocular fluid sampling, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and genetic linkage analysis should be considered when a clinical examination fails to yield a definitive diagnosis of the etiology of primary inflammatory uveitis.

The anterior chamber width is one of the most important parameters when selecting patients for implantation of the anterior chamber phakic IOL.

American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) President Harry A. Zink, MD, is a lot like most academy members. Dr. Zink is a comprehensive ophthalmologist who is in private practice in the Midwest with three partners. More than 88% of ophthalmologists are in private practice and 70% practice comprehensive ophthalmology a majority of the time. And, as secretary for member services from 1998 to 2004, he also knows a lot about you, having reviewed many surveys exploring members' major concerns and opinions.

I have long thought of this connection as a continuum—from helping one patient individually to helping society as a whole.

Chicago—The foldable version of the iris claw fixated myopic phakic IOL (Artiflex II/Veriflex, Ophtec/AMO) affords faster recovery of excellent uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) compared with the polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) model (Artisan/Verisyse, Ophtec, AMO), but otherwise has the same favorable efficacy and safety profile associated with its widely used predecessor, according to results of a prospective, intrapatient comparison study reported by Jose L. Guell, MD, PhD, at the subspecialty day meeting sponsored by the International Society of Refractive Surgery of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Chicago—Topographic- and wavefront-guided approaches to re-treatment of complex cases have advantages and disadvantages, but may be best viewed as complementary rather than competing techniques for managing the rare but suffering patients with poor quality of vision after excimer laser refractive surgery, said Terrence P. O'Brien, MD. He was speaking at the refractive surgery subspecialty day meeting sponsored by the International Society of Refractive Surgery of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Lisbon, Portugal—The AcrySof angle-supported phakic IOL (Alcon Laboratories) seems to be safe and effective based on the preliminary clinical outcomes of the U.S. clinical trial that were reported at the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons annual meeting. The IOL provides significant improvements in correcting stable, high myopia, according to Ronald Krueger, MD.

Depending on what tools and historic data are available, there are a number of methods to choose from in order to compensate for corneal power errors in these cases.

Chicago—IntraLASIK as a one-step procedure using the femtosecond laser microkeratome (IntraLase) for flap creation shows promise as a safe and effective approach for correcting ametropia after penetrating keratoplasty (PK), although the best refractive results may be achieved in eyes with only mild to moderate astigmatism, said Irina S. Barequet, MD, at the refractive surgery subspecialty day meeting sponsored by the International Society of Refractive Surgery of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Los Angeles—A low-tech digital camera can offer a low-budget alternative for high-quality anterior segment photography, said Jonathan M. Davidorf, MD.