News

In the past, ophthalmologists have had the luxury of viewing themselves as specialized surgical and medical care providers and have not been driven to include a retail profit center, such as an optical dispensary, in their practice.

Two large clinical studies have confirmed that large-spot-size transpupillary thermotherapy (TTT) is efficacious for the treatment of occult choroidal neovascularization (CNV) associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Salisbury, MD-The BriteLight Illuminating EndoProbe, the newest addition to IRIDEX Corp.'s IRIS Medical delivery devices, is a high-quality, endolaser probe that delivers both high-intensity white light and laser light through a single handpiece.

New Brunswick, NJ-Results of a retrospective study suggest that intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide may be a beneficial treatment for eyes with diabetic macular edema (DME), said Janet J. Chieh, MD.

New York-A new clinical device that simultaneously displays optical coherence tomography (OCT) and scanning laser ophthal- moscopy (SLO) images may be useful in analyzing vitreoretinal pathologies of the posterior segment.

Groningen, The Netherlands-Early preclinical studies are yielding promise that an injected, artificial, capsule-filling lens may offer a possible solution for restoring accommodative ability lost in presbyopia or pseudophakia.

London-The level of control a surgeon has today over customizing laser treatments for refractive surgery patients is very limited. Basically, surgeons are limited to control over the size of the fully corrected optical zone, and in some laser systems the size of the transition zone, according to Dan Rein-stein, MD, MA (Cantab), FRSC, DABO.

San Francisco-Clinical trials have begun evaluating the Light-Adjustable Lens (LAL, Calhoun Vision), a unique silicone-based, pseudophakic IOL that would allow for non-invasive, postoperative correction of refractive and wavefront errors, said Daniel M. Schwartz, MD.

Nuremberg, Germany-The Acri.Smart 48S IOL implanted with the Acri.Glide/Acri.Shooter system (Acri.Tec, Berlin, Germany) enables cataract surgery to be performed completely with the benefits of ultra-small-incision techniques, said Wolfram Wehner, MD.

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."

Halifax, Nova Scotia-In a small group of hyperopic patients, laser vision correction (LVC) with multifocal ablations seems to be an advantageous approach for improving both near and distance visual acuity, explained W. Bruce Jackson, MD, FRCSC, during the annual meeting of the Canadian Ophthalmologic Society here.

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.