News

Kathmandu, Nepal-What may be one man's elective may be another man's necessity. Such is the case with LASIK in the Himalayas.

Like other areas of ophthalmology, refractive surgery enjoyed a number of refinements and advancements over the past year, including the FDA approval of both wavefront technology and conductive keratoplasty for hyperopia, and advances in refractive IOLs, among others. However, wavefront technology took center stage as the development cited as having the most potential benefit for patients undergoing refractive procedures. Several refractive surgeons weigh in on advances in their subspecialty in 2002.

In a recent Market Scope report onphakic IOLs, editor David Harmon observes: "Phakic IOLs have become a standard part of the European ophthalmologist's tool kit. CE Mark regulatory approval has been granted to four manufacturers of the devices . . . Europe has become the center of worldwide phakic IOL clinical experience . . . European surgeons implanted an estimated 15,350 phakic IOLs last year."

San Francisco-The angiostatic steroid anecortave acetate continues to show promise as a safe and effective treatment for subfoveal, exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to results from an interim analysis of an ongoing phase II trial.

For John Bingner Lyman, MD, time spent in his wood shop is just plane fun.

Nice, France-By extending the ablation optical zone and overall treatment zone, physicians may be able to decrease the frequency and severity of glare, according to early results from a study of patients treated with the VISX STAR S3 laser.

San Diego-A large ablation zone and a transition zone are two factors that, when combined during LASIK, seem to decrease the number of patient complaints about the quality of vision in the early postoperative period, according to Steven C. Schallhorn, MD.

Irvine, CA-A modified microkeratome shows promise for making the task of limbal stem cell harvesting simpler, better, and more efficient, said Roy S. Chuck, MD, PhD, who has been involved in the development of this instrument.

Orlando-Advanced vision testing with wave-front analyzers represents exciting new technology for the entire eye-care field, said Daniel S. Durrie, MD, in the Barraquer Lecture at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Nice, France-Although the incidence of epithelial ingrowth as a complication of LASIK is declining, considerable uncertainty remains over when to intervene, according to Arun C. Gulani, MD. In response, Dr. Gulani has devised a grading system to help surgeons answer that question by placing values on the density of the epithelial ingrowth

Therapies for retinal diseases that re-mained untreatable for decades are seeing major advances. So much so that Jason Slakter, MD, clinical professor of ophthalmology, New York University School of Medicine, and surgeon director, Manhattan Eye, Ear, & Throat Hospital, New York, has proclaimed the first years of the new mil-lennium as the "Decade of the Macula."

Editor's Note: HIV/AIDS continues to be a major health problem, not only in the developing world, but in North America and Europe as well. Although the incidence of ocular complications of HIV/AIDS has decreased dramatically since the introduction of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART), the prevalence of HIV positivity continues toincrease, particularly among heterosexual women and minorities.

Publication of results from the Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS) and the Early Manifest Glaucoma Trial (EMGT) represents two of the most notable events occurring in the field of glaucoma in 2002, but the year is also marked by a number of other significant developments with the potential to influence patient evaluation and management.

Editor's Note: This is the final story in a three-part series covering a forum on "Ethnicity and Glaucoma" at Johns Hopkins University to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Baltimore Eye Survey.

New York-Fluctuations in IOP during the day and night can be important for the diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma, according to Robert N. Weinreb, MD, who spoke during the Glaucoma 2002 meeting here.

Orlando-A task force composed of 30 leading ophthalmologists and retinal specialists is recommending the use of a new, five-level classification system for distinguishing degrees of diabetic retinopathy. The results of this effort were highlighted at a news conference held during the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) annual meeting in Orlando.

Carlsbad, CA-The Pulsion FS femtosecond laser keratome (IntraLase Corp., Irvine, CA) appears to be an important new instrument for use in the treatment of lamellar keratoplasty, among others, according to Lee T. Nordan, MD, who described his preliminary results.

FDA News

In short...

Orlando-Daniel M. Albert, MD, has won the Fight for Sight/Mildred Weisenfeld Award for Lifetime Achievement in Vision Research, which includes a $50,000 grant for research endeavors. The award was presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Rochester, NY-Bausch & Lomb's Technolas 217z Zyoptix system is useful for successfully treating eyes with a combination of myopia up to ?7 D and astigmatism up to ?3.5 D, according to results of a U.S. study.

Washington, DC-As Congress resumes its post-election session, doctors frustrated by continued cuts in the Medicare physician fees are lobbying for change.

Peapack, NJ-Pharmacia Ophthalmology has settled two major multimillion dollar lawsuits with Allergan Inc. and Alcon Inc. 2 months before it is scheduled to merge with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc.

Hunenberg, Switzerland-The FDA has approved Alcon Inc.'s LADARVision System for customized wavefront-guided laser eye surgery in the treatment of myopia.

Nice, France-Custom ablation is a useful technique for eyes that have not been treated with a refractive procedure. But this approach can also be used to improve the quality of vision in previously treated eyes that exhibit symptoms such as glare, halos, night vision difficulties, or monocular diplopia, according to Omar J. Hakim, MD, who spoke during the XX Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS).

Charleston, SC-When prescribing brimonidine 0.2% b.i.d. as monotherapy for ocular hypertension or primary open-angle glaucoma, physicians should make sure that the drug maintains its effectiveness in the late afternoon and may want to add a third drop to the daily dosage, said William C. Stewart, MD.

Green Bay, WI-The recently introduced miniature glaucoma shunt (Ex-Press) is an exciting modality with a lot of potential, but this new IOP-lowering treatment still requires further study to define its long-term efficacy and place in the armamentarium of glaucoma management options, said James E. Memmen, MD.

Newark, NJ-Timolol hemihydrate (Betimol, Santen Inc.) is an excellent choice when a beta-blocker is indicated for IOP-lowering in patients with ocular hypertension or glaucoma, said Paul J. Lama, MD.