News

San Diego-There is a great variety of instruments and displays commercially available to assess corneal topography. The array of instrumentation makes it increasingly difficult to interpret corneal topography maps correctly. During the Innovator's Session of the recent annual meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, Stephen D. Klyce, PhD, introduced a device-independent neural network-based tool that automatically interprets corneal topography maps.

Portland, OR-Seronegative spondyloarthropathies are the most likely group of diseases that ophthalmologists will encounter in their practices, yet many cases will be overlooked if doctors rely on classic textbook definitions of symptoms, according to James T. Rosenbaum, MD, professor of ophthalmology and medicine, Casey Eye Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland.

Gamagori, Japan-Nidek Co. marked a major milestone with the Aug. 6 shipment of its 1,000th EC-5000 CXII excimer laser system.It was destined for service in the Lin Yi Peoples Hospital in the Shan Tong Province in China.

Vancouver, British Columbia-A research chemist from QLT Inc. who helped develop the verteporfin for injection (Visudyne, QLT/Novartis Ophthalmics) treatment for age-related macular degeneration is among 13 chemists from four companies who have been named Heroes of Chemistry by the American Chemical Society.

Washington, DC-The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has approved a glaucoma screening for older adults as part of its 2005 Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS) measures.

Fort Lauderdale, FL-Intravenous squalamine lactate being developed by Geneara Corp. shows promise as a safe and effective treatment for choroidal neovascularization (CNV) associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according toresults of a phase I/II trial presented by Charles A. Garcia, MD, at the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.

Lightning Strike

A deafening roar filled the St. Pete Times Forum as a maniac crowdof more than 22,000 people roseto their feet. It was official-the Tampa Bay Lightning had won the 2004 Stanley Cup Championship. Known as "the cut man," Charles B. Slonim, MD, oculoplastic surgeon, stood proud knowing that he was able to assist the winning team medically and surgically.

Lightning Strike

A deafening roar filled the St. Pete Times Forum as a maniac crowdof more than 22,000 people roseto their feet. It was official-the Tampa Bay Lightning had won the 2004 Stanley Cup Championship. Known as "the cut man," Charles B. Slonim, MD, oculoplastic surgeon, stood proud knowing that he was able to assist the winning team medically and surgically.

San Diego-Implantable contact lenses (ICLs) are safe and effective for treating a wide range of myopia, -3 to -20 D, based on the 3-year results from the U.S. multicenter Myopic Implantable Contact Lens Clinical Investigation. Donald R. Sanders, MD, PhD, presented the results at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery annual meeting.

San Diego-Mechanically separated epithelial sheets following epi-LASIK appear to remain viable and retain their stratification 24 hours after the procedure, according to Vikentia J. Katsanevaki, MD, PhD, who spoke during the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery annual meeting.

San Diego-Wavefront-guided ablations for the treatment of mixed astigmatism and/or high myopia using the CustomVue system (VISX, Santa Clara, CA) are providing good preliminary results, considering the challenge of treating these eyes with difficult refractions.

San Diego-The Artisan/Verisyse phakic IOL (Ophtec USA, AMO) fared well in preliminary analysis of data from one U.S. investigational center. It appears to be a safeand effective implant for use in patients with high myopia, according to Kerry Assil, MD, who spoke during the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery annual meeting.

San Diego-Early experience in a study that compared standard LASIK with LADARVision CustomCornea (Alcon Laboratories) to treat myopia with minimal astigmatism showed superior visual results with the customized LASIK and PRK procedures. The customized procedure induced about 0.25 D of against-the-rule astigmatism that resolved by 3 months.

Irvine, CA-Sarcoidosis is a common cause of uveitis and one in which ophthalmologists can play a pivotal role by treating the disease and conferring with a patient's other physicians about its systemic manifestations, said Scott M. Whitcup, MD, assistant clinical professor of ophthalmology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles.

Don't miss "Ultimate Grand Rounds: Challenges in Cataract Surgery and Corneal Disease" (Sunday, Oct. 24, 10:40 a.m. to 12:10 p.m.), which is an exciting new session on cataract surgery and corneal disease. It will feature debates on case studies covering topics such as capsular tension rings, vitreous loss, multifocal IOLs, pterygium, herpes, dry eye, management of Fuchs' dystrophy, and cataract.

Fort Lauderdale, FL-Studies in a preclinical model of experimentally induced choroidal neovascularization (CNV) indicate that circulating bone marrow-derived cells contribute significantly to the vascular and inflammatory components of CNV. That finding has potential implications for understanding of the pathophysiology of CNV associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) as well as for suggesting new therapeutic targets, according to the researchers from the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami.

Fort Lauderdale, FL-Results of analyses of data collected in an ancillary study of the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) demonstrate that an elevated level of C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of systemic inflammation, is an independent risk factor for age-related macular degeneration (AMD). That finding provides further support for the concept that inflammation is involved in AMD pathogenesis, said Johanna M. Seddon, MD, principal investigator of the study, at the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.

Miami-Results from a preclinical tumor model indicate that anti-angiogenic therapy may offer a useful new approach for the treatment of retinoblastoma, said Timothy G. Murray, MD, at Angiogenesis 2004.