News

New Orleans—"What is quality of human vision? And what should we be looking for when we assess it?" asked Jack T. Holladay, MD, MSEE, FACS, who delivered the Barraquer Lecture at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

In the midst of all the uncertainty about his health, Dr. Ogawa was thrilled when the cabin was completed in May 2003.

None of the patients treated with prophylactic ganciclovir had a recurrence.

Baltimore—Substantial improvement in visual acuity occurred in the amblyopic eyes of children in both treatment arms of a study comparing atropine and occlusive patching, said Michael X. Repka, MD.

Los Angeles—Implantation of micro-thin prescription inserts (Intacs, Addition Technology, Sunnyvale, CA) using the IntraLase femtosecond laser (IntraLase Corp., Irvine, CA) to create the channels seems to be a less traumatic and a more accurate means of placing the prescription inserts in the eye, compared with the mechanical procedure for implanting them in a group of patients with keratoconus who were contact lens intolerant, reported Yaron Rabinowitz, MD.

Columbus, OH—In children with juvenile myopia, younger age at onset appears to be associated with an increased risk for rapid progression of refractive error, said Karla Zadnik, OD, PhD.

New Orleans—Intravitreal triamcinolone (IVTA), a useful treatment for macular edema and neovascularization, has been associated with a high incidence of elevated IOP as early as 1 week after injection. Patients receiving IVTA should be monitored closely, according to Michele C. Lim, MD, who spoke during the American Academy of Ophthalmology's glaucoma subspecialty day meeting.

New Orleans—Optic disc hemorrhage, a rare event in non-glaucomatous eyes, is a strong predictor of glaucoma as well as glaucoma progression. Clinicians might consider re-evaluating the patient's target IOP after this finding, said Jost B. Jonas, MD, at the American Academy of Ophthalmology's glaucoma subspecialty day meeting.

The greatest preoperative risk factor for CME is diabetes—the risk of developing post-cataract extraction CME has been reported to be as high as 60% in diabetics.

North Arlington, NJ—Loteprednol etabonate 0.2% ophthalmic suspension (Alrex, Bausch & Lomb) provides safe and rapid relief from the entire gamut of symptoms of allergic conjunctivitis, according to John Favetta, MD.

Wantagh, NY-Because of its ability to halt the allergic cascade, its long duration of action, and rapid relief of itching, nedocromil sodium ophthalmic solution 2% (Alocril, Allergan) is an excellent choice for the treatment of chronic allergic conjunctivitis, according to Jodi Luchs, MD, a private practitioner at South Shore Eye Care, Wantagh, NY.

Chicago—Ketotifen fumarate 0.025% ophthalmic solution (Zaditor, Novartis) offers rapid-onset, long-lasting relief of allergy-associated itching along with excellent local tolerability and a long-standing record of safety. Those features combined make it an outstanding therapeutic choice for all patients with allergic conjunctivitis and a particularly attractive option for the pediatric population, said Kimberlee M. Curnyn, MD.

Carlsbad, CA—The mast cell stabilizer pemirolast potassium ophthalmic solution 0.1% (Alamast, Santen Inc.) can be an effective immediate and long-term treatment for ocular surface allergies because of its inhibitory properties as well as its safety profile, suggested Bill G. Bell, MD, an ophthalmologist in private practice in Carlsbad, CA.

Manhasset, NY—In a head-to-head clinical study, olopatadine (Patanol, Alcon Laboratories) demonstrated statistically significant superiority over epinastine (Elestat, Allergan) for relief of itching, redness, and chemosis associated with allergic conjunctivitis, according to Peter D'Arienzo, MD.

Every patient should undergo at least screening confrontation visual field testing.

Dublin, Ireland—An Irish biotechnology company is hoping recombinant microplasmin will simplify vitrectomy in patients with vitreoretinal disorders.

Buford, GA—Patients are being enrolled into a clinical trial to evaluate the safety and feasibility of the TheraSight Ocular Brachytherapy System for treatment of subfoveal choroidal neovascularization associated with wet age-related macular degeneration.

La Jolla, CA—Pfizer Inc. has acquired Angiosyn Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing an angiostatic agent for ophthalmic diseases, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Surgeons who have resorted to using off-label dyes to stain the anterior lens capsule during cataract surgery have a new ophthalmic solution designed to facilitate removal of very mature cataracts.

Sometimes we have to look carefully at the results we are getting in our own patients.

All three of us now have personalized nomograms and strongly prefer to use customized ablation whenever possible.

New Orleans—Adding a third or fourth medication to a glaucoma patient's therapeutic regimen has many drawbacks but a few potentially positive aspects as well and should be considered on an individual patient basis, said Shan C. Lin, MD, assistant professor of clinical ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, and San Francisco General Hospital.

Philadelphia—The astigmatism induced by conductive keratoplasty (CK) can be minimized by obtaining better centration of the corneal template mark around the pupil.

Actual physician clinic with multiple dispensing locations

If you want to rev up your revenues, pay attention to the post-cataract eyewear sales opportunities in your optical dispensary.

New York—One ophthalmologist and 10 other eye-care professionals are helping to guide the scope and content of the International Vision Expo East meeting and trade show on March 10 to 13 in New York City.

Rochester, NY—An enhanced fitting guide approved recently for Bausch & Lomb's orthokeratology treatment (Vision Shaping Treatment) helps to fit patients with a custom lens that eliminates patients' need for daytime eyeglasses, contact lenses, or surgery.

The recently approved fixed combination of loteprednol etabonate 0.5%/tobramycin 0.3% (Zylet, Bausch & Lomb) is the first combination corticosteroid/ anti-infective ophthalmic product to be introduced to the market in more than 15 years.

All three of us now have personalized nomograms and strongly prefer to use customized ablation whenever possible.

Optometrists are no longer permitted to perform laser eye surgery at facilities run by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). That directive came about Dec. 17 following a campaign undertaken by various associations and individual physicians who saw such surgeries as threats to patient safety.