News

President Barack Obama has signed an order to lift restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, according to a prepared statement.

Roche and Genentech announced that they have signed a merger agreement in which Roche will acquire the outstanding publicly held shares of Genentech for $95 per share, or $46.8 billion, according to statements issued by both companies.

Bausch & Lomb has launched a marketing initiative with the goal of raising U.S. awareness of presbyopia and multi-focal contact lenses.

Beams of light are being used as a less invasive, less expensive approach to spot early stages of retinal damage from diabetic retinopathy by measuring blood flow in the back of the eye, according to scientists in California.

Ophthalmologists looking for a new avenue for growth might want to consider adding bimatoprost ophthalmic solution 0.03% (Latisse, Allergan) to their repertoire.

After following a rigorous clinical comparison of excimer laser platform technologies, LCA Vision is finalizing plans to reduce the number of platforms at each of its LASIKPlus vision centers from three to two.

European Union-Public screenings were scheduled to take place on World Glaucoma day today at a variety of venues including private practices and hospitals in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland, in observance of World Glaucoma Day.

Rome-Tiziana Fattori, MD, of Per Vedere Fatti Vedere onlus in Italy explained the reasons behind the launch of a campaign to abolish bureaucratic procedures inhibiting patients from undertaking treatment for glaucoma.

London-In observance of World Glaucoma Day (WGD), the Motion Displacement Test (MDT), developed by Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, in partnership with University College London (UCL) Institute of Ophthalmology and City University London was on display as part of a demonstration of the latest glaucoma diagnostic equipment.

Latin America-World Glaucoma Day events occurred across Latin and Central America. In Argentina, Maria Carrasco, MD, of Hospital Perrupato granted radio interviews about glaucoma in Mendoza. Television, radio, and newspaper interviews also were scheduled in San Pedro, Argentina (Jorge Marceillac, MD), Santa Cruz, and Buenos Aires.

Washington, DC-To recognize the second annual World Glaucoma Day (WGD), the Association for Eye and Vision Research (AEVR) sponsored a March 10 Capitol Hill briefing to educate Members of Congress and their staffs.

New York-As president and chief executive officer of the World Glaucoma Foundation, and president of the World Glaucoma Patient Association (WGPA), Scott R. Christensen has been extensively involved in planning and coordinating efforts around the world to raise awareness about the critical need to detect glaucoma in its earliest stages possible.

United States-Many World Glaucoma Day activities occurred across the United States.

New York-In observance of the second annual World Glaucoma Day, ambassadors, deputy ambassadors, and the secretary general and his staff at the United Nations headquarters here were invited to a free glaucoma screening Wednesday, which was hosted by the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary and The Glaucoma Foundation.

New York-The World Glaucoma Association and the World Glaucoma Patient Association (WGPA) are teaming up with governmental agencies, health-care providers, eye-care industry members, and others to sponsor the second annual World Glaucoma Day (WGD) today, which is expected to surpass last year's efforts.

New York-To help celebrate the second annual World Glaucoma Day, government representatives, eye-care professionals, patient groups, and members of the industry throughout the world offered their support through specific programs designed to increase global awareness of glaucoma and the importance of early detection and successful management.

Diabetes prevalence has doubled in the past decade, and the increases in diabetes-related eye disease poses a new challenge to eye specialists, according to an editorial in the March issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.

Four researchers from Case Western Reserve University Medical School, Cleveland, OH, received a $1.04 million grant to continue their research into diseases including age-related macular degeneration.

PresbyLASIK, an advanced form of LASIK developed to correct presbyopia, may reduce the need for glasses for middle-aged patients, according to research.

San Diego-Intervention can improve patient adherence with once-daily glaucoma therapy, according to results of a randomized clinical trial reported by David S. Friedman, MD, PhD, professor of ophthalmology, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore.

San Diego-The answer to low patient adherence to glaucoma medications may be as simple as improving communication, according to researchers. Harry A. Quigley, MD, of the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, and his colleagues studied physician-patient communication to determine ophthalmologists' proficiency for detecting and dealing with patient non-adherence to medications.

San Diego-A trabecular micro-bypass implant (iStent, Glaukos) helped to reduce IOP effectively in a prospective study of 25 patients. “Multiple [stents] placed in Schlemm’s canal, combined with phacoemulsification, had a significant effect in lowering IOP in this study,” said Ike K. Ahmed, MD, University of Toronto.

San Diego-In the Tube versus Trabeculectomy (TVT) Study, patients undergoing trabeculectomy with mitomycin C (MMC) were more likely to experience early postoperative complications than were those who had tube shunts implanted, but rates of late postoperative complications and serious complications associated with vision loss and/or re-treatment were similar for both surgical procedures, said Donald L. Budenz, MD, MPH, professor of ophthalmology, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

San Diego-A novel device (Trabectome, NeoMedix) has a potential role in treating primary open-angle glaucoma, said Malik Y. Kahook, MD, assistant professor, University of Colorado, and Rocky Mountains Lions Eye Institute, Aurora, CO.

San Diego-Patients who have had prior glaucoma surgeries are not at significantly increased risk of negative visual outcomes if they then have Descemet's stripping endothelial keratoplasty (DSEK), according to Thasarat S. Vajaranant, MD, assistant professor, glaucoma service, University of Illinois at Chicago.

San Diego-"There's a well-defined and ill-met need to improve the delivery of glaucoma medications." That's the word from Richard A. Lewis, MD, a private practitioner in Sacramento, CA.

San Diego-The newest version of proprietary software (Guided Progression Analysis, Carl Zeiss Meditec) to measure the progression of glaucoma combines event and trend analyses and permits faster and more quantitative evaluation of progressive change in visual field, said Donald L. Budenz, MD, MPH, professor of ophthalmology, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

San Diego-When it comes to assessment of progression of glaucoma, trend analysis and event analysis have distinct advantages, said Joseph Caprioli, MD. He is the David May II Professor of Ophthalmology, chief of the glaucoma division, and director of the glaucoma basic science and clinical laboratories at the Jules Stein Eye Institute, Los Angeles.

San Diego-Although heuristic factors always will be part of the art of ophthalmology, the profession currently faces an era in which payments for medical treatments will be scrutinized increasingly for their effectiveness. Ophthalmologists may be well-advised to focus on an evidence-based approach to identifying high-risk glaucoma cases, said Ivan Goldberg, FRANZCO, FRACS, University of Sydney and Sydney Eye Hospital, Australia.

San Diego-Elderly people who have bilateral glaucoma are significantly more likely to cease driving than age-matched peers who do not have glaucoma or who have glaucoma in only one eye, according to Pradeep Y. Ramulu, MD, PhD, assistant professor of ophthalmology, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore.