News

Irvine, CA—The viscoelastic Vitrax (Advanced Medical Optics) is ideal for creating a wall or protective barrier for safety when removing dense nuclei during phacoemulsification, said Roger F. Steinert, MD, professor of ophthalmology and of bioengineering at the University of California, Irvine.

Norristown, PA—The Fugo Blade is proving itself to be a new technology that can be used in a range of applications to enable safer and more sophisticated surgery, according to its inventor, Richard J. Fugo, MD, PhD.

Twenty-five percent of the population in the United States is under the age of 14. What’s more, one-quarter of these children have some type of visual need.

Stanford, CA—Treatment of myopia and myopic astigmatism with LASIK using the CustomVue platform (CustomVue, VISX) proved to be safe and effective with either the IntraLase femtosecond laser (IntraLase Corp.) or the Hansatome microkeratome (Bausch & Lomb), according to Edward E. Manche, MD, director of cor-nea and refractive surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA.

Fort Lauderdale, FL—This year's meeting of the American College of Eye Surgeons (ACES) may be going to the dogs, but it is not because the association is joining for the second year with the Society for Excellence in Eyecare (SEE).

FDA Approves Macugen

The FDA approved pegaptanib sodium injection (Macugen, Eyetech Pharmaceuticals and Pfizer Ophthalmics) for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) on Dec. 17.

Coronado, CA—Transvitreal limited arteriovenous manipulation (LAM) without vitrectomy appears to be safe and effective for resolving hemorrhage and improving vision in carefully selected eyes with complicated branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO), said Rohit R. Lakhanpal, MD, at the annual meeting of the American Society of Retinal Specialists.

Paris-The Schwind microkeratome (Schwind Technologies) is a safe instrument and allows creation of flaps with predictable thickness, according to Ioannis Aslanides, MD, and Vinod Kumar, MD.

Waltham, MA-OXiGENE Inc. is launching a phase II clinical trial of its lead compound, Combretastatin A4 Prodrug (CA4P), in patients with myopic macular degeneration (MMD) under an investigational new drug application (NDA) submitted to the FDA.

Making Tracks

For many American children, especially boys, the toys most cherished on Christmas morning were model trains. For Robert Laird, MD, Portland, OR, the love continued to flourish right into adulthood. His fascination with whistles, smoking engines, and painstaking detail continues.

New Orleans-Lowering IOP in patients with ocular hypertension or early glaucoma does help delay or prevent further damage. However, does every 1 mm Hg of pressure reduction really affect patient outcomes?

Paris-The Schwind microkeratome (Schwind Technologies) is a safe instrument and allows creation of flaps with predictable thickness, according to Ioannis Aslanides, MD, and Vinod Kumar, MD.

Paris-The Amadeus II microkeratome (Advanced Medical Optics) builds on the advantages of its predecessor with new features that enhance safety, efficiency, and ease of use, said Eric D. Donnenfeld, MD, at the XXII Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons.Dr. Donnenfeld presented a study in which he evaluated the Amadeus II in a series of 100 eyes of 50 patients.

New Orleans-Six-month follow-up results from a randomized, prospective, contralateral eye comparison study confirm findings from earlier visits showing all-laser LASIK performed with the femtosecond laser microkeratome (IntraLase FS, IntraLase) yields superior vision outcomes compared with the same ablation procedure performed in eyes with a mechanical microkeratome-created flap, reported Daniel S. Durrie, MD, at the 2004 ISRS/AAO refractive surgery subspecialty day meeting.

Paris-The performance of the new Zyoptix XP microkeratome (Bausch & Lomb) is comparable to that of the Hansatome microkeratome (Bausch & Lomb), according to Wing Kwong Chan, MD.

New Orleans-Findings of a retrospective study of ocular sequelae in baby-boomers born prematurely and who developed retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) reinforces the concept that ROP is a lifetime disease requiring ongoing, careful surveillance, said William S. Tasman, MD, at the American Academy of Ophthalmology retina subspecialty day meeting.

Los Angeles-A clinical trial of a prototype intraocular retinal prosthesis continues to produce encouraging results during ongoing follow-up. Meanwhile, the development program is on schedule for a higher-density device that investigators hope will enable unaided mobility for totally blind individuals, according to Mark S. Humayun, MD, PhD.

Duluth, GA-Norwood Abbey Ltd. has launched a 3-month study of postoperative comfort, visual recovery, and wavefront-guided custom ablation with its Centurion SES Epikeratome with EpiEdge for Epi-LASIK for the treatment of myopia.

Waltham, MA-OXiGENE Inc. is launching a phase II clinical trial of its lead compound, Combretastatin A4 Prodrug (CA4P), in patients with myopic macular degeneration (MMD) under an investigational new drug application (NDA) submitted to the FDA.

Dublin, CA-Carl Zeiss Meditec Inc. completed the acquisition of Laser Diagnostic Technologies (LDT), maker of a complementary technology aimed at measuring optic changes that lead to glaucoma diagnosis.

New Orleans-Surface ablation is an important option for enhancement procedures in eyes with thin corneas or previous flap complications that are at risk for poor outcomes after LASIK treatment, said Raymond M. Stein, MD, at the International Society of Refractive Surgery subspecialty day at the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting.

Burlington, MA-A new approach to treating ocular ischemic syndrome-percutaneous carotid artery stenting-may be useful to treat previously inoperable lesions and provide subsequent visual and intracranial benefits, said Jeffrey L. Marx, MD.