News

New York-Treatment is now available for Fabry's disease, a lysosomal storage disorder with ophthalmologic findings. In April, the FDA granted Orphan Drug designation for agalsidase beta (Fabrazyme, Genzyme General), an enzyme replacement therapy, for the treatment of this progressive and potentially fatal disease.

Cataract surgery in the presence of pseudoexfoliation (PXF) of the lens presents surgeons with unusual challenges. In addition to a higher incidence of glaucoma, these patients have loss of zonular integrity occasionally associated with lens subluxation and pupils that dilate poorly. Although the use of phacoemulsification in experienced hands has resulted in a low incidence of intraoperative and postoperative complications such as zonular dialysis, capsule tears, vitreous loss, and IOL decentration,1 special care should still be exercised when performing cataract surgery in these patients. Improvements in phacoemulsification technology, technique, and capsular supporting rings should ultimately enable these patients to undergo

Birmingham, AL-Glaucoma can arise as a complication of uveitis or as a result of steroids used to treat the inflammatory disorder, said Christopher A. Girkin, MD, associate professor of ophthalmology and director of the glaucoma service, University of Alabama, Birmingham. He reviewed information on the epidemiology, mechanisms, and management of inflammatory and steroid-induced glaucoma.

Northridge, CA-Researchers with multidisciplinary expertise are collaborating to develop a miniature, implantable sensor that could continuously monitor IOP, said Leon G. Partamian, MD.

Chicago-In the late 1980s, ophthalmologists were challenged by Eddy and Billings to prove that IOP was an essential element in the management of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). Recent results from a number of National Eye Institute (NEI)-sponsored randomized controlled trials confirm that IOP reduction is effective in slowing both disease development and its progression. The results of those studies, however, have raised new issues in glaucoma management.

Frankfurt, Germany-Refractive lens exchange with diffractive, bifocal IOL implantation can offer a good option for improving distance vision and restoring near visual acuity in some presbyopic-age patients, said Thomas Kohnen, MD.

Portland, OR-Now, more than ever, people with presbyopia are seeking to put aside their glasses to wear contact lenses. Aging baby boomers prefer to see and be seen without glasses. Career-oriented, they are involved in activities that require good vision not only at near and at distance, but also in the intermediate range.

North Dartmouth, MA-In today's competitive environment, optical dispensaries are under ever-increasing pressure to fill patients' prescriptions not only accurately, but quickly and cost-effectively. It may be time to think about taking the optical end of your practice to the next level, by adding a finishing laboratory, or possibly, even taking a larger jump and setting up a complete surfacing laboratory.

Humanitarian and philanthropist V.K. Raju, MD, repeats daily to his troops, "Together, we can do more."

Irvine, CA-ISTA Pharmaceuticals is seeking FDA approval to use hyaluronidase (Vitrase) as a spreading agent to facilitate the dispersion and absorption of other drugs.

Dallas-Refocus Group Inc. has received approval to market its PresVIEW scleral incision system in the European Union.

Memphis, TN-EagleVision will manufacture and sell the human and animal glaucoma valves developed by Hood Laboratories.

Washington, DC-The Medicare Coverage Advisory Committee has voted overwhelmingly in favor of making ocular photodynamic therapy (PDT) with verteporfin (Visudyne, Novartis) available as a valid and important treatment for treating AMD in select patients with subfoveal choroidal neovascularization (CNV) with occult but no classic CNV.

Boca Raton, FL-The FDA is granting expedited review status to pre-market approval (PMA) applications it has accepted for the Artisan/Verisyse phakic IOL for the correction of myopia and the endocapsular tension ring.

Atlanta-CIBA Vision Corp. will begin marketing its Centurion SES EpiEdge epikeratome for the Epi-LASIK refractive procedure this fall now that it has obtained U.S. regulatory approval.

Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic-The MemoryLens (CIBA Vision), a pre-rolled IOL, provides patients with very good postoperative outcomes and a low rate of posterior capsule opacification (PCO).

London-Exposure of the retina to excessive blue light is hazardous to the pigment epithelial cells and may underlie the increase in the prevalence of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in individuals in the eighth and ninth decades of life.

Hull, England-One researcher hopes to identify presbyopic eyes likely to benefit from an accommodating IOL and target the postoperative refraction in order to optimize the benefit.

Windsor, England-Piggybacking with the low-power meniscus MA60MA IOL (AcrySof, Alcon) is a useful technique for safely and accurately correcting post-cataract surgery ametropia, according to the results of a case series presented by Richard B. Packard, MD.

The Clariflex and Sensar AR40e IOLs (AMO) are physician-friendly implants that provide patients with unsurpassed optical performance because of their proprietary OptiEdge (AMO) design, agree cataract surgeons who favor the OptiEdge IOLs.

Stanford, CA-The phase III trial of the iris-claw phakic IOL (Artisan, Ophtec) for the treatment of hyperopia is now 2 years post- launch, and the short- and long-term results from the interim analyses are very encouraging, said Edward E. Manche, MD.

Madison, WI-The Implantable Contact Lens (ICL, STAAR Surgical) in eyes with moderate to high myopia produced at least comparable outcomes if not better than those achieved after LASIK, said John A. Vukich, MD.

Visual performance after cataract surgery is superior in eyes with the aspheric IOL implanted compared with other commonly used foldable implants, according to the results of a blinded, prospective, randomized study presented by Robert M. Kershner, MD, FACS.

Exciting progress continues to be made in IOL technology. However, as researchers develop new materials and designs, Nick Mamalis, MD, cautioned that care must to be taken to avoid revisiting old problems so that, as the Barenaked Ladies song title says, "Everything Old is New Again."

Editor's Note: The CrystaLens was recommended for approval by the FDA's Ophthalmic Devices Advisory Panel in late May. The lens may be commercially available later this year or early 2004. Dr. Doane's presentation was given at the annual meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery prior to the recommendation.

Milan, Italy-Combining phakic IOL implantation with LASIK is a very safe and effective strategy for treating eyes with high myopia and astigmatism, according to Francesco Carones, MD.

Duluth, GA-Less than a month after Pfizer Inc. announced it would consider selling off the surgical business it acquired with its merger with Pharmacia Corp. (Ophthalmology Times, Sept. 1 issue, Page 3), another large manufacturer of ophthalmic surgical products has announced it is pondering selling the surgical segment of its business as well.

Portland, OR-Nature's Tears EyeMist is a breakthrough product for the treatment of a variety of ocular irritations that delivers an ultra-fine mist of water to soothe and heal dry, irritated eyes, according to William D. Mathers, MD.