News

A recent study published in Archives of Ophthalmology validates a glaucoma risk calculator modeled on those used for cardiovascular disease.

In a point-counterpoint debate, David L. Epstein, MD, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, advocated treatment for most ocular hypertensive patients, drawing an analogy to treatment of systemic hypertension.

By its nature, diabetic macular edema (DME) is somewhat resistant to simple algorithmic 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, during retina subspecialty day at the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting.

Vitrectomy should be considered for some eyes with diabetic macular edema (DME), according to Tarek Hassan, MD, who spoke during the retina subspecialty day at the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting.

A recent cohort study indicates that older individuals with glaucoma drive at least as safely as other individuals of that age without the disease.

Recognizing October as World Blindness Awareness Month, EyeCare America?the public service foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology?encourages people to call its toll-free helpline to see if they are eligible for a free eye exam and up to 1 year of eye care at no cost.

The Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (FAAO) commemorates its silver anniversary in 2005, marking 25 years of education and public service.

The eye isn't the only organ that consumes the time of one New York City ophthalmologist. For Hampson A. Sisler, MD, FACS, FAGO (Fellow, American Guild of Organists), his craft as a musician leads him to an organ of another sort. In fact, the 73-year-old physician has been a professional church organist much longer than he has been an ophthalmologist.

Sun City West, AZ—The effects of low vision in elderly patients, who make up the majority of individuals affected, can be devastating. Visual impairments rank just behind arthritis and heart disease in terms of the impact on the elderly population. Low-vision rehabilitation is extremely helpful in allowing elderly patients, that is, one in four of those over age 75 years, to function as fully as possible by teaching them how to reorganize their environment and use low-vision technology.

Fraud and abuse in the ophthalmologist's optical dispensary are difficult to detect. Once suspected or even discovered, it is even more difficult as well as time-consuming to assess what is really happening, and to what extent it is having a negative impact on the practice and dispensary.

Green Valley, AZ—At Crystal Reflections Inc., artists hand-paint contact lenses for cosmetic and theatrical use.

Carlsbad, CA—The FDA has given SynergEyes Inc. approval to market SynergEyes A hybrid contact lenses to correct hyperopic, myopic, and astigmatic errors, including presbyopia.

Advanced surface ablation techniques offer potential advantages that make them attractive alternatives to LASIK for wavefront-guided procedures.

Washington, DC—Registration is a vital link in the refractive surgeon's quest to optimize quality-of-vision outcomes after customized ablation procedures, said Kerry D. Solomon, MD, at World Cornea Congress V.

Reading, MA—Selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) is safer than argon laser trabeculoplasty (ALT) as a treatment for primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and offers the considerable advantage of not causing structural damage to the trabecular meshwork, said Mark A. Latina, MD.

Fort Lauderdale, FL—The management of ocular hypertension has been receiving increased attention since the publication of the Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS) results in June 2002. An important area of controversy is what people with ocular hypertension, if anyone, should be treated in the face of treatment costs that approach more than $500/year and the risk of side effects.

Durham, NC—Experiments performed to date with novel biodendrimer adhesives suggest that this technology has promising potential for use in the repair of corneal wounds.

Washington, DC—Maintaining an index of suspicion for Acanthamoeba infection in patients with keratitis is important, irrespective of a history of contact lens wear, because timely diagnosis and prompt treatment initiation are critical for a good prognosis, said John K. Dart, DM, FRCS, FRCOphth, at World Cornea Congress V.

That cryotherapy was to be useful in ophthalmology was first shown by Frederich Schoeler (1844-1918) in a German paper, in which he described application of cold carbonic acid crystals to the sclera of rabbits and showed that a lesion of the retina could be produced.

Iowa City-Multiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with the development of various forms of nystagmus. The association is so strong that new-onset nystagmus in an adult should be considered MS until proven otherwise.

Iowa City—The rate of visual field loss in patients who had optic nerve head drusen (ONHD) was about 1.6% per year, approximately what would be expected for this condition, said Andrew G. Lee, MD, professor of ophthalmology, neurology, and neurosurgery at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City.

In the field of glaucoma therapy, a study onthe measurement of central corneal thickness suggested that clinicians may be overestimating IOP in children with thick corneas.

Baltimore—The intravitreal bioerodable dexamethasone implant, evaluated in the Posurdex (Oculex Pharmaceuticals Inc./ Allergan) for Persistent Macular Edema Study, is a drug-delivery system that achieved the primary efficacy outcome, i.e., 2 lines or more improvement in vision 90 days after treatment, with the 700-mg dose.

Two large prospective studies are under way to define better the ideal dose for IVTA injections.

With the instrumentation enhancements, it is easier for the surgeon to deal with peripheral pathology.

The problem with the use of the conversion factor is that physicians are penalized or rewarded based on a sustainable growth rate, which says that the rate of growth of services cannot exceed the growth of the gross domestic product.

San Francisco—The search for a cure for venous occlusive disease continues but at a slow pace. The last 20 years have seen the introduction of promising medical and surgical therapy for venous occlusive disease. However, the results of prospective trials of these treatments are lacking.

Iowa City, IA—Over the past 20 years, advances in diagnosis of posterior segment tumors have been achieved as well as improved understanding of the cellular biology, immunology, and genetics of lesions.

Montr?al—The blue light-filtering effects in the AcrySof Natural ultraviolet (UV) IOL (Alcon Laboratories) significantly reduce apoptosis of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells induced by blue light compared with the conventional AcrySof filter lens. Implantation of a lens with a blue filter may be beneficial for patients who are at increased risk for the development of macular degeneration.

Lisbon, Portugal—Blue-blocking IOLs, which recently have been promoted as being vision protecting, may not be doing the job.