News

Miami—Results from an international clinical trial including nearly 1,600 eyes indicate laser presbyopia reversal (LAPR) increases accommodation and improves near and intermediate vision with a benefit that is maintained for up to 5 years, said Richard S. Kalski, MD.

Charlotte, NC—The iris claw phakic IOL (Verisyse, AMO) is a welcome addition to the refractive surgeon's armamentarium for enabling treatment of patients who are not good candidates for custom wavefront-guided LASIK or IntraLASIK either because of level of myopia or corneal thickness, said Jonathan Christenbury, MD.

Munich, Germany—Ongoing follow-up in recipients of the STAAR toric implantable collamer lens (TICL) shows that this phakic IOL continues to provide safe, stable, and accurate correction for moderate to high myopia and astigmatism, said Tobias H. Neuhann, MD.

Most patients had clear corneas after surgery and achieved a more rapid visual recovery.

Chicago—Wavefront-guided CustomCornea LASIK using the LADARVision 4000 Excimer Laser System (Alcon Laboratories) safely and effectively treats mixed astigmatism and with some advantages compared with conventional LASIK, said James J. Salz, MD, at the refractive surgery subspecialty day meeting sponsored by the International Society of Refractive Surgery of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Chicago—Topography-guided LASIK performed with a platform consisting of the Atlas 995 topographer, the CRS-Master software program for ablation planning, and the MEL-80 excimer laser (Carl Zeiss Meditec) offers a safe and highly successful method for improving outcomes in eyes with debilitating vision complaints after previous refractive excimer laser surgery, said Frank J. Goes, MD, at the refractive surgery subspecialty day meeting sponsored by the International Society of Refractive Surgery of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

One third of patients reported being spectacle-free for all reading and about half said they wore glasses some of the time to work at the computer.

Chicago—Higher amounts of preoperative coma and a greater difference between the preoperative manifest and wavefront-measured cylinder are risk factors for postoperative astigmatism after wavefront-guided LASIK using the Zyoptix platform (Bausch & Lomb), reported Scott M. MacRae, MD. He spoke at the refractive surgery subspecialty day meeting sponsored by the International Society of Refractive Surgery of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Chicago—An early report of custom topography-guided LASIK indicates that it is quite effective in treating irregular astigmatism and enlarging optical zones, according to David T.C. Lin, MD, FRCSC.

Chicago—Conductive keratoplasty (CK) may benefit a subset of patients who are experiencing complications from LASIK or PRK by improving corneal optics and vision, according to the results of a small, interventional case series reported at the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting.

Chicago—Implantation of microthin prescription inserts (Intacs, Addition Technology) for the treatment of keratoconus appears to result in better visual outcomes when the femtosecond laser (IntraLase FS, IntraLase) is used for channel creation instead of a mechanical device, said Yaron S. Rabinowitz, MD. He spoke during the refractive surgery subspecialty day meeting sponsored by the International Society of Refractive Surgery of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Chicago—The Synchrony Dual Optic Accommodating IOL (Visiogen) is an exciting option for patients with cataract and presbyopia. Researchers reported the results of the 2-year experience with the IOL at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Miami—When determining IOL calculations after refractive surgery, surgeons can take a few steps to avoid any pseudophakic refractive surprises, according to Terence O'Brien, MD.

Researchers have been working hard to develop an artificial cornea for use in patients who are at high risk of graft failure with a conventional corneal transplant. Patients at high risk of corneal graft failure are those who have undergone previous transplantations that were unsuccessful. Attempting to transplant another corneal graft after one, two, three, or more previous attempts likely will result in another failed procedure. In addition, patients without a previous corneal transplant in whom a donor corneal graft is likely to fail can also benefit from an artificial cornea.

Vancouver, Canada—QLT Inc. has outlined a new strategic plan that refocuses it on key programs in an effort to streamline the company and increase revenues.

Cincinnati—Robert H. Osher, MD, professor of ophthalmology at the University of Cincinnati and medical director emeritus of the Cincinnati Eye Institute, is celebrating 20 years of the Video Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery with two issues in 2006.

Fort Worth, TX—Alcon Inc. is disputing a judge's finding that the company intentionally copied aspects of Advanced Medical Optics (AMO) Inc.'s Sovereign phacoemulsification machine and says it will appeal.

In case you have been so busy with your practice and other obligations that you missed it, two medical miracles (my opinion) have recently been reported. Each is only partially relevant to the practice of ophthalmology, but it seems to me that these are worth awareness.

Chicago—Off-label use of intravitreal bevacizumab (Avastin, Genentech) now holds promise for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Setting aside decades of distrust, China's Premier Wen Jiabao hailed the vast potential for Sino-Indian cooperation in science and technology during a visit to technology export powerhouse Tata Consultancy Services in Bangalore.

Chicago—Diabetic macular edema (DME), by its nature, is somewhat resistant to simple algorithmic treatment formulations because of the multifactorial nature of the decision-making process and the host of new therapies that continually become available, explained Julia Haller, MD.

Plymouth, England—Latanoprost (Xalatan, Pfizer Ophthalmics), a potent topical ocular antihypertensive agent, does not seem to cause changes in the central corneal thickness after 2 months of follow-up. This result contradicts previous studies that reported a statistically significant decrease in the central corneal thickness, according to George D. Pappas, MD.

American ophthalmologists have a number of meetings each year they can choose to attend to hear the latest advances in the practice of eye care.

Portland, OR—The novel formulation of timolol maleate 0.5% ophthalmic solution containing potassium sorbate (Istalol, ISTA Pharmaceuticals) is a good option to consider for adjunctive therapy in patients whose IOP is not adequately controlled by a prostaglandin analogue alone, said John R. Samples, MD.

Chicago—The GDx-variable corneal compensator (VCC, Carl Zeiss Meditec), a commercial device that is currently in its fifth generation, may help with early diagnosis of glaucoma by identifying a thinning retinal nerve fiber layer, according to David S. Greenfield, MD, who described the basics of the technology at the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting.

An advantage of spectral-domain OCT compared with conventional OCT technology is that the former has a more than 150-fold better light sensitivity, allowing higher resolution up to 2 to 3 ?m.

San Francisco—The pioneering of global risk assessment in cardiovascular medicine has provided some important lessons for ophthalmologists in their effort to develop a risk calculator for glaucoma, said Jeffrey M. Liebmann, MD, at Glaucoma 2005.

San Francisco—Both IOP and the rate of aqueous flow exhibit a circadian rhythm, and that is likely to have significant implications for the evaluation and treatment of patients with ocular hypertension and glaucoma, said Robert N. Weinreb, MD, at Glaucoma 2005.

Chicago—Releasable compression sutures can circumvent the limitations of transconjunctival suture lysis and offer several advantages in controlling aqueous flow after trabeculectomy, according to Murray A. Johnstone, MD, a consultant in glaucoma at Swedish Medical Center, Seattle.

Plymouth, England—Latanoprost (Xalatan, Pfizer Ophthalmics), a potent topical ocular antihypertensive agent, does not seem to cause changes in the central corneal thickness after 2 months of follow-up. This result contradicts previous studies that reported a statistically significant decrease in the central corneal thickness, according to George D. Pappas, MD.