News

New therapeutic treatments and medication for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) will alter management for the thousands of patients who have been diagnosed with AMD or who are at risk of developing the disease.

Fixed combination therapy is a good choice for treating patients with glaucoma who have failed monotherapy, agreed an international panel of glaucoma specialists participating in a roundtable discussion on combination therapy.

Carl Zeiss Meditec presents its newest ophthalmic advancements at this year?s American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting, including anterior chamber OCT, a non-mydriatic fundus camera, and a number of new networkable systems.

Three- and 6-month clinical results comparing wavefront-optimized and wavefront-guided treatments with the Allegretto Wave excimer laser (WaveLight Laser Technologie AG) showed that both treatment approaches achieved nearly identical visual outcomes postoperatively, and neither treatment induced higher-order aberrations. WaveLight outlined the results of the study in a prepared statement as presented by Bill Bond, MD, of Bond Eye Associates, Pekin, IL.

Eyetech Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced on Monday the enrollment of the first patient in a phase III randomized, controlled, double-masked, multicenter, comparative dose-finding trial that will compare the safety and efficacy of pegaptanib sodium injection (Macugen) in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME).

Data presented at the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting from the first head-to-head contralateral study comparing the outcomes of the latest Bausch & Lomb microkeratome technology against the Intralase Femtosecond (FS) device show that the new Bausch & Lomb Zyoptix XP microkeratome:

IntraLens Vision Inc. has changed its name to ReVision Optics Inc. (RVO) to align with its strategy to enter the presbyopia market.

An international panel of glaucoma experts described the latest advances in glaucoma assessment and treatment, including the development of a risk calculator for assessing individualized risk of glaucoma in patients with ocular hypertension, during an evening CME symposium at the Field Museum.

Patients today have high expectations for cataract and refractive surgery, and experts at a breakfast CME symposium shared some of the techniques, agents, and strategies used to meet these expectations. The program was held at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place.

Femtosecond laser technology (IntraLase Corp.) for LASIK flap creation certainly offers some distinct advantages over mechanical microkeratomes, according to its proponent, Perry S. Binder, MD, University of California-San Diego School of Medicine. However, surgeons still have to weigh the advantages versus the ?significant disadvantages? of the femtosecond laser technology, which is the cost of the device and increased time per procedure, noted Helen Wu, MD, New England Eye Center, Boston.

A birthweight of 1,250 g may be a dependable criterion for screening for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and also might reduce the number of examinations, suggested Shailesh K. Gupta, MD, University of Florida College of Medicine, Jacksonville. Current guidelines recommend screening of infants under 1,500 g or a gestational age of less than 28 weeks.

Conductive keratoplasty (CK) may afford a useful tool to correct optical complications of LASIK and PRK when further laser surgery is contraindicated, said Peter S. Hersh, MD, professor of ophthalmology, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School.

While considered by many to be a technique ahead of its time, the benefits of bimanual microincision phacoemulsification make it a better method of lens removal and an especially advantageous technique to use in complicated and challenging cases, said I. Howard Fine, MD, Eugene, OR, in his delivery of the inaugural Charles D. Kelman Lecture to conclude the ?Spotlight on Cataract Surgery 2005? session during the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Awareness of the etiology and treatment of toxic anterior segment syndrome (TASS) is essential. While rare, TASS is a potentially devastating complication of cataract surgery, said Liliana Werner, MD, PhD, at ?Spotlight on Cataract Surgery 2005? during the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Intracameral triamcinolone acetonide (Kenalog, Bristol?Myers Squibb) used judiciously offers simple and safe anti-inflammatory treatment in cataract surgery patients, said James P. Gills, MD, at "Spotlight on Cataract Surgery in 2005" during the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

When diplopia arises within the context of Graves? ophthalmopathy, the diagnosis is usually straightforward. However, the diagnosis becomes more complicated in the absence of previous thyroid dysfunction, when the patient has a remote history of hyperthyroidism, and when ocular symptoms present first, James Garrity, MD, explained Monday at the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting.

A number of pathologies can be confused with giant cell arteritis, Anthony Arnold, MD, explained Monday at the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting. Patients with a painful ophthalmoplegia might have an isolated cranial neuropathy, a skull-based or cavernous sinus process such as a tumor, or an inflammatory or infiltrative process, an orbital process, a brainstem process, or a vasculitic process.

Corneal refractive therapy (orthokeratology) and contact lens fitting can have a complementary rather than a competitive role in a refractive surgery practice, said David Hardten, MD, at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology

Uncomplicated vitrectomy has been implicated in the development of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), according to Stanley Chang, MD, who presented the Jackson Memorial Lecture Sunday at the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting.

Adapting an idea from other medical specialties, ophthalmologists are beginning to apply the concept of global risk assessment to their glaucoma patients.

Ophthalmologists at Wills Eye Hospital, Philadelphia, have seen a recent dramatic increase in cases of Acanthamoeba keratitis.

A number of compounds are either available or under investigation to treat wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), offering some hope to patients and clinicians, said Michael J. Tolentino, MD, of Winter Haven, FL.

Cataract surgeons experienced with the AquaLase platform of the Infiniti Vision system (Alcon Laboratories) agree that it offers multiple advantages that make it leading technology for small incision lens removal in properly selected patients.

Mass vision screening for amblyopia in school-age children should be standardized, and Pamela Hutt Berg, CO, COMT, recommended how that might be accomplished Sunday at the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting.

Corneal refractive therapy (orthokeratology) and contact lens fitting can have a complementary rather than a competitive role in a refractive surgery practice, said David Hardten, MD, at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology

While treatment for amblyopia is effective, there is no consensus as to what treatment works best. There are a number of factors that have an impact on treatment efficacy, according to Bruce Furr, CO. He discussed these factors Sunday at the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting.

While results of epidemiologic studies indicate that only one-third of glaucoma damage is attributable to excess IOP over the normal distribution, much more of glaucoma damage appears to be pressure-dependent and therefore preventable, especially in patients whose IOP is higher than average, said Paul F. Palmberg, MD, PhD.

Recognizing significant achievements and contributions to ophthalmology, several awards were presented to physicians and organizations during opening ceremonies of the 2005 annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO).

New tools are available in the ongoing effort to prevent infection and inflammation during eye surgery, suggested speakers at a Sunday breakfast symposium at the Hilton Chicago.

Ziemer Ophthalmic Systems AG announces the debut of its Da Vinci femtosecond surgical laser. The laser incorporates a design concept that seamlessly integrates with LASIK and corneal surgery procedures.