Ophthalmic Women Leaders (OWL) will hold a networking reception and meeting Monday, April 12, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Westin Boston Waterfront Hotel. The event will take place during the annual meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.
A number of recent advances in ophthalmology are leading to improved care and enhanced outcomes for patients undergoing refractive surgery, cataract removal with IOL implantation, and those with ocular hypertension and glaucoma. At "Innovations in Ophthalmology," an Alcon Laboratories-sponsored medical education program, a faculty of renowned experts reviewed these developments and their applications in clinical practice.
Images for 9/3 OT enews
Updated analyses of data from the Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS) failed to confirm the original finding that a history of diabetes mellitus protects against progression from ocular hypertension to primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), said Michael A. Kass, MD.
Calcutta, India-Research being conducted in search of a cure for the potentially blinding disease, pterygium, is getting closer. The Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine (CSTM), Calcutta, India, is conducting research on the culture of limbal stem cells, which could be used for replacement of damaged limbal cells in the eye.
In a night-driving simulation, fog and glare separately reduced sign recognition distances but when combined paradoxically increased performance relative to either factor alone. However, fog and glare reduced object recognition both separately and when paired, said Bruce A. Drum, PhD, Division of Ophthalmic and ENT Devices, FDA, Rockville, MD.
In a night-driving simulation, fog and glare separately reduced sign recognition distances but when combined paradoxically increased performance relative to either factor alone. However, fog and glare reduced object recognition both separately and when paired, said Bruce A. Drum, PhD, Division of Ophthalmic and ENT Devices, FDA, Rockville, MD.
Washington, DC — Patients who do not have glaucoma and those with glaucoma should be carefully monitored in the immediate postoperative period following phacoemulsification and at postoperative day 1 for low and high IOPs, according to Bradford J. Shingleton, MD.
As the understanding of the genetics of glaucoma advances, it may one day be possible for people to obtain a cheek swab that will determine their risk of developing glaucoma.
Washington, DC — Carmen A. Puliafito, MD, was chosen to present the Charles D. Kelman Innovator's Lecture at the 2005 ASCRS Symposium on Cataract, IOL, and Refractive Surgery in recognition of his work as the co-inventor of optical coherence tomography (OCT).
Washington, DC-Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceuticals is warning healthcareprofessionals that the epilepsy drug Topamax (topiramate) has been linkedto cases of severe myopia and secondary angle-closure glaucoma.
Washington, DC-Pharmacia Corp. has stopped using marketing materialsthe FDA said were inappropriate promotions of an implantable lens.
B&L buys Pharmos piece; deal could hit $49 millionRochester, NY-Bausch & Lomb has acquired the rights to theloteprednol etabonate ophthalmic business of Pharmos Corp. for a price thatmight reach $49 million.
Johnstown, NY-Small pupil-high vacuum phaco flip is a simple techniquefor safe and efficient phacoemulsification, said John R. Kearney, MD, aprivate practitioner in Johnstown, NY, and past president of the AmericanCollege of Eye Surgeons.
San Francisco-The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) is preparingto revise the Preferred Practice Patterns (PPPs) on pediatric eye exams,amblyopia, esotropia, and refractive errors (including refractive surgery).
San Francisco-Medem, the secure patient/physician e-health network foundedby the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the nation's leading medicalspecialty societies, has surpassed its growth projections for this year.As of July, more than 30,000 physicians have signed up to join the Medemnetwork.
San Francisco-Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of newblindness in adults age 20 to 74. In an attempt to halt this tragedy, theAmerican Academy of Ophthalmology has released a new Diabetes and Eye Diseaseslide-script program, containing 57 slides and a corresponding script thatincludes handouts. Ophthalmologists can use the script to educate medicalprofessionals who care for patients with diabetes.
Today, when patients come for a visit, ophthalmologists have the discretionof using either the eye codes (92002 to 92014) or the E/M codes in billing.But, when is it truly appropriate to use a certain set of codes for a givenvisit? Unfortunately, there's no one standard. It all depends on the rulesset by the carriers in your state.
In my experience, the failure rate (turnover in the first 2 years) ofnew physician recruits to practices is high. The reason: employers do notselect from a broad enough universe. Gathering a large crop of candidatestogether implies a major safari that lots of practices just don't have theenergy or budget to mount, so they take the first or second doctor who happensto come along. Small wonder it doesn't work out.
Philadelphia-Thalidomide is dead, at least when it comes to itscurative properties for age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This isthe conclusion of the Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Thalidomide Study(AMDATS).
San Francisco-The Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA) thisyear celebrated 40 years of service, supplying safe corneal tissue for patientsin need of transplants, according to a press release from the American Academyof Ophthalmology.
Augusta, GA-Despite negative results in an early trial, effortsare continuing to determine whether external-beam irradiation can slow visionloss caused by subfoveal choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in age-relatedmacular degeneration (AMD), said Dennis M. Marcus, MD.
Memphis-Dual therapy with brimonidine (Alphagan, Allergan) andlatanoprost (Xalatan, Pharmacia & Upjohn) was more effective than timolol/dorzolamide(Cosopt, Merck) in reducing IOP in a study of 21 patients being treatedfor glaucoma. The dual therapy also produced greater clinical success asmeasured subjectively by clinicians, according to Peter A. Netland, MD,PhD.