News

A roundup of the week's news stories affecting the ophthalmic community (3/4/16).

Implantation of a gel stent for glaucoma studied in Europe led to a 40% reduction in IOP.

Optical coherence tomography scans can be useful to follow glaucoma, but clinicians should be aware of scan quality.

Patients with age-related macular degeneration patients who had received anti-platelet derived growth factor (PDGF) therapy prior to anti-VEGF treatment fared better than those who did not in a pilot study.

If asked to balance the desires of athletes eager to compete after years of training and the host country's desire to conduct the games as scheduled versus the public health risk of the Zika virus and Aedes aegypti duo, what would you advise?

Patients receiving a sodium hyaluronate ophthalmic viscoelastic device injection showed a trend toward greater reduction in IOP than patients who received a microstent alone.

Femtosecond laser cataract surgery has demonstrated comparable safety, superior effectiveness, and greater efficiency compared with traditional phacoemulsification.

Schlemm’s canal and collector channels respond rapidly to changes in pressure gradients.

A survey of cataract surgeons operating with a proprietary phacoemulsification unit explored their use of dual-linear foot pedal control of fluidics and phacoemulsification power.

Though there is a short learning curve for performing a direct phaco chop technique with a 45° balanced tip, it makes surgery more efficient by eliminating or minimizing the need for longitudinal energy.

Two phase III trials evaluated sustained-release dexamethasone for the treatment of inflammation and pain after cataract surgery.

Features of a new phacoemulsification platform provide surgeons with improvements to outcomes, safety, and cost and time effectiveness.

A new image-guided system streamlines surgical planning for patients undergoing cataract surgery with implantation of a single-piece aspheric IOL or a multifocal IOL.

To run a successful practice, managers must be able to discipline behavior that doesn’t align with company procedures, even when it may be uncomfortable.

Arun C. Gulani, MD, continues the discussion correcting premium cataract surgery.

While there is still a long way to go for better representation in ophthalmology and medicine in general, let’s take a look at some of the pioneers and achievements of the African American ophthalmic community up until now.

By 2020, there will be over 5,200 gigabytes of data available for every individual worldwide, she said.Ophthalmology seems ready for Big Data as evidenced by the findings dating back to the 1990s.

The appropriate use of agents that inhibit vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) can bring significant improvements to both short-term and long-term visual acuity for patients with neovascular AMD.

Although the healthcare industry was slow in the acceptance of content marketing, it has definitely gained momentum, and it’s time that we find its place within ophthalmology.

Ophthalmologists spend significant amounts of time during cataract surgery trying to precisely center an implanted IOL to achieve the best possible vision after surgery. The high success rate of cataract surgery suggests that in most cases, they succeed.

The loss of pioneering refractive-corneal surgeon Kenneth A. Greenberg, MD, left an indelible mark on many in the ophthalmic community. Dr. Greenberg passed away Jan. 31, 2016.

Physicians have the option of various adjunctive therapy when prostaglandin analog therapy alone is not sufficiently potent to lower IOP, i.e., they can add one agent, a fixed-combination therapy, or perform selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT).

Similar to their smartphone counterparts, smartwatch applications allow physicians to view schedules, basic patient information, and communicate with ancillary staff.

In this installment of Sight Lines, J.C. Noreika, MD, MBA, talks with Thomas Ebner, MD, a community-based surgeon from Medina, OH, who, in his retirement after a fulfilling career of more than 30 years, brings his expertise, care, and compassion to the underserved of Kenya. Though Dr. Ebner’s expertise is in general orthopedic practice, his passion for volunteerism is universal among many professionals in the greater medical community, including ophthalmology. Dr. Ebner shares the challenges and insights he has gained in his second career.

Implantation of two second-generation trabecular micro-bypass stents (iStent inject, Glaukos) as a single procedure or combined with cataract surgery is a safe and effective option for reducing IOP and the medication burden in eyes with open-angle glaucoma and IOP uncontrolled by medication and/or surgery, according to German surgeons.

High-level evidence supports the use of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD), but falls short of recommending any one agent over another in terms of efficacy or safety, said Paul Sternberg Jr., MD.

Atropine slowed childhood myopia progression by 50% to 60% in two large trials in Asia.

In a phase IIa study of patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration, a single subretinal injection of rAAV.sFlt-1 gene therapy demonstrated acceptable safety, but not a complete or durable anti-VEGF response. Additional preclinical research is under way.

Twenty-two of 23 eyes with a trans-scleral micro-lumen aqueous drainage tube implanted after failing maximum tolerated medication were evaluable at 3 years.

An ophthalmologist shares the clinical benefits he has experienced with a home vision-monitoring device for his patients with age-related macular degeneration.