News

These are exciting times to sell eyewear options to your patients.

In final draft guidance, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) here has recommended an intravitreal implant that delivers 0.7 mg of dexamethasone via an applicator (Ozurdex, Allergan) for the treatment of macular edema (ME) due to central retinal vein occlusion and also for branch retinal vein occlusionin cases in which laser photocoagulation is neither beneficial nor appropriate.

The European Commission (EC) has approved a new indication for ranibizumab (Lucentis, marketed by Genentech in the United States and Novartis in the rest of the world): treating patients with visual impairment due to macular edema secondary to branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) or central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO). The action makes ranibizumab the first anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy licensed for the treatment of both BRVO and CRVO in the European Union.

Bayer HealthCare has submitted an application for marketing authorization in Europe for a fusion protein (VEGF Trap-Eye) for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

To increase public knowledge of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), Prevent Blindness America (PBA) and its affiliates across the country are launching the ?AMD: Awareness Makes a Difference? campaign June 16. The non-profit organization also has designated the day as AMD Awareness Day.

Santinelli International has bestowed its second annual Santinelli International Award. The merit-based award was presented to Gaspar Ramirez, a senior at George Westinghouse High School in Brooklyn, NY. The high school has a vision care technology program, and Santinelli International is a member of the school?s Optical Council.

Dave Cole has been appointed as president of Transitions Optical, Inc., effective immediately. Cole, who had been serving as the company?s chief operating officer since October 2010, will assume full responsibility for the Transitions Optical business.

OCuSOFT Inc.'s proprietary blend of zinc and phytase (Zytaze) is now available for physician dispensing. This proprietary medical food is designed to provide nutritional support to enhance the effectiveness of botulinum toxin injections in the treatment of blepharospasm, hemifacial spasm, or cosmetic procedures.

In a move that the institutions say will create the world?s largest ophthalmology research center, Schepens Eye Research Institute will become part of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI) on June 30. Schepens will remain a non-profit entity and will retain its name, but both institutions will operate under the direction of the MEEI board of directors.

The International Centre for Eyecare Education (ICEE) has launched a new eye-care initiative in Nigeria with the goal of reducing the prevalence of avoidable blindness, visual impairment, and eye disease by 50% over the next 4 years. The initiative, called "Seeing is Believing," has been launched across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Zamfara state.

Prevent Blindness America (PBA) has declared June as Cataract Awareness Month in an effort to educate the public on the risk factors, symptoms, and treatment options of the world?s leading cause of blindness.

STAAR Surgical Company has received CE Mark approval for a proprietary IOL (KS-SP Preloaded Single Piece Hydrophobic Acrylic Intraocular Lens) and has received approval for marketing in Brazil a proprietary implantable lens design (Visian Implantable Collamer Lens V4). The company plans to launch both products in their respective markets during the second half of 2011.

CROMA Pharma, GmbH, and Bausch + Lomb (B + L) have announced the approval bromfenac sodium sesquihydrate (Yellox) by the European commission. This news follows the positive opinion issued in March by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), part of the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

A proprietary interferometer (LipiView Ocular Surface Interferometer, TearScience, Inc.), has received the Medical Design Excellence Award from UBM Canon. The device provides eye-care practitioners with an in-office tear film procedure for dry eye patients that takes less than 5 minutes to perform.

"Optovue recently celebrated 20 years of advancements in optical coherence tomography (OCT) at the 20th anniversary annual meeting of Vision Source, an independent private practice optometrist group. Coincidently, 2011 marks the 20th anniversary of both the founding of Vision Source and the introduction of optical coherence tomography technology. "

in September, clinician scientist Eric Pierce, MD, PhD, will join in September the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Harvard Department of Ophthalmology. Dr. Pierce will serve as associate director of the Berman-Gund Laboratory for the Study of Retinal Degenerations as a clinician and educator, and as director of the new Ocular Genomics Institute, where he will direct the genetic therapies program..

Michael R. Redmond, MD, has received the Outstanding Advocate Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO). Dr. Redmond was honored for his more than 30 years of involvement with advocacy on behalf of ophthalmologists and their patients, and for his many contributions to AAO.

Susanna Soon-Chun Park, MD, PhD, has received the University of California (UC), Davis, 2011 Joan Oettinger Memorial Award for her research into the use of proton beam irradiation to treat eye conditions.

With the arrival of warmer weather, more of your patients may be participating in their favorite outdoor sports and activities, but many may not be protecting their eyes with sunglasses.

The FDA has granted 510(k) clearance to a rapid, point-of-care test (RPS Adeno Detector Plus, Rapid Pathogen Screening Inc.) to diagnose adenoviral conjunctivitis.

Alcon Laboratories Inc., Alcon Research Ltd., and Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co. Ltd. have won a patent infringement lawsuit against Apotex, Inc. and Apotex Corp. in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.

David Beebe, PhD, FARVO, has been elected as the editor-in-chief of Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (IOVS), the journal of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO).

Four eye-care professionals will receive federal stimulus payments after attesting to meaningful use of the certified version of a proprietary electronic health record (EHR) system (OfficeMate/ExamWriter v10, Eyefinity).

The Vistakon Division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. has announced a new contest based on one of its contact lens brands. The Acuvue 1-Day Contest is open through June 30 to people aged 13 to 21 years. Five contestants will win a trip to Los Angeles to meet and be mentored by one of five top teen icons: musician Joe Jonas, actress Meaghan Martin, singer Charice, runner Allyson Felix, and actor Sterling Knight.

Eyenstein,? VSP Vision Care?s mobile eye-care clinic, arrived in Birmingham, AL, 3 days after deadly tornadoes raked the state. The mobile clinic, which is equipped with a comprehensive eye exam room, a full eyewear dispensary, and a lens finishing lab donated by Santinelli International, participated in disaster relief at Red Cross and Federal Emergency Management Agency shelters throughout Alabama.

Results of a randomized study comparing medication protocols for cataract surgery suggest that adding a corticosteroid to a regimen composed of twice-daily bromfenac 0.09% with a fourth-generation fluoroquinolone provides no extra benefit for controlling inflammation but increases the risk for IOP spikes on the first day after surgery.

Cataract removal using transversal phaco with a Venturi pump improved the followability of nuclear fragments and reduced chatter at the phaco tip compared with conventional longitudinal phaco with a peristatic pump.

Clear corneal microincisions of 2.2 and 1.8 mm produce similar low levels of surgically induced astigmatism after cataract extraction.

The only sure political prediction for the future of health care is change, both positive and negative.

Although the head-to-head trial of bevacizumab and ranibizumab is being hailed as a landmark study, retina specialists are saying its results are unlikely to change practice patterns in the treatment of age-related macular degeneration.