News

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-Phakic IOLs implanted into the anterior chamber must be positioned correctly in order not to affect the cornea, iris, and the crystalline lens negatively.

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.

Ann Arbor, MI-When considering horizontal diplopia, two important factors are the pattern of the diplopia and the location. Wayne T. Cornblath, MD, described the clinical plan he follows when patients present with horizontal diplopia.

Lausanne, Switzerland-The presentation of temporal arteritis can vary, so ophthalmologists sometimes fail to diagnose this vision-threatening disease in a timely fashion.

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.

There are five entry categories for the video competition: educational, innovative, scientific, special cases, and new contributors.

There are five entry categories for the video competition: educational, innovative, scientific, special cases, and new contributors.

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.

TTT is a technique in which heat is delivered to the choroid and retinal pigment epithelium through the pupil using a modified diode laser.

Photodynamic therapy with verteporfin is the most promising of the FDA-approved therapies for exudative CNV.

San Diego-Undersurface ablation of the flap appears to be an underpracticed-but-useful procedure for enhancement in patients who underwent LASIK to treat myopia or astigmatism; it does not induce keratectasia compared with the standard enhancement technique, said Miguel J. Maldonado, MD, PhD.

Baltimore-Preparation is essential to successful cataract surgery for patients with uveitis, according to James P. Dunn Jr., MD.

San Diego-Regression after refractive surgery may be reduced by using ultraviolet A (UVA) cross-linking techniques to stabilize the cornea. The preliminary results of UVA cross-linking after refractive procedures demonstrated that regression stopped in the near term and appeared to be without adverse effects.

Pre-formed gel masks are applied to patients requesting injectable cosmetic therapies.

Las Vegas-Ophthalmologists who dispense eyewear are gearing up for the biggest program in the history of the American Association of Dispensing Ophthalmologists' meetings.

San Diego-The Artisan Phakic IOL (Ophtec BV, Groningen, The Netherlands) provides overall high satisfaction for patients with moderate to high myopia. Night vision problems from higher-order aberrations, decentration of the lens, and pupil size versus the optic disparity of the IOL should be investigated further, according to Randy Nuijts, MD.

San Diego-The I-CARE anterior chamber foldable phakic IOL (CORNEAL, Paris, France) seems to provide excellent anatomic and visual results 2 years after implantation.

San Diego-Phakic anterior chamber IOLs affect the biometric measurement of axial length, which results in clinically significant errors in IOL power calculations in patients who need to undergo cataract surgery. Gerald Zaidman, MD, described such a patient and offered suggestions for managing this complicated problem here at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.

Minneapolis-Differentiating ischemic optic neuropathy from optic neuritis can be problematic. The type of visual field defect, the presence or absence of pain, radiologic differences distinguishing between the two, and the degree of visual recovery, among others, may be helpful clues, Howard D. Pomeranz, MD, PhD, suggested.

San Francisco-There are distinct forms of amblyopia characterized by varying patterns of visual deficits. Both blurred imagery and the loss of binocular function can cause amblyopia and determine the pattern of visual deficit, said Suzanne P. McKee, PhD, who reported on the results of an NEI-sponsored study analyzing a comprehensive set of visual function data collected in a large group of patients with amblyopia.

Jackson, MS-In eyes without capsular support, placement of a transscleral sutured, foldable IOL through a clear corneal incision is a reasonable option, said Hussein Wafapoor, MD.

San Francisco-Pfizer Ophthalmics has given EyeCare America a $1.5 million unrestricted grant to promote the program's efforts to raise awareness of glaucoma risk factors and provide free eye examinations to uninsured people.