News

San Francisco—Sirna Therapeutics' medication for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) appears to be safe and well-tolerated, with all patients experiencing visual acuity stabilization so far, the company said.

New Orleans—More than 250 African-American men over age 50 took part in a glaucoma screening at Franklin Avenue Baptist Church here earlier this year.

Escondido, CA—Optelec U.S. Inc., a manufacturer of products for people who are blind or partially sighted, has purchased the Professional Products Division of Lighthouse International.

Baltimore—Elder abuse is a relatively common occurrence, with more than 1 million cases reported each year in the United States. In all likelihood, elder abuse is underreported, according to Myron Miller, MD.

Fort Lauderdale, FL—All indications point to the fact that inflammation is involved in complement activation in age-related macular degeneration (AMD), based on the results of recent research. In addition, the phenotype of drusen in a rare disease, membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis type II, is similar to that in AMD.

Washington, DC—Results of the 2004 American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) survey of infectious keratitis after refractive surgery show there has been an end to the epidemic of atypical mycobacterial infections.

These observations—together with recent studies that have identified specific auto-antigens in melanin-containing cells—support the idea that VKH disease is an autoimmune disorder.

Chester, VA—Carl Zeiss has updated its company Web site to include an interactive vision demo section that explains eye anatomy, vision problems, Zeiss products, and more.

Ophthalmologists may feel that offering low vision care would be too time-consuming and not profitable.

Tehran, Iran—Hypothesizing that vitreous traction on the optic nerve head may have a role in the pathogenesis of nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), physicians in Iran performed a small, preliminary study of a new treatment in which vitrectomy was performed to release the traction.

Madison, WI—Diagnosing chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia (CPEO) can be problematic because of overlap in clinical presentation with other ocular and neurologic diseases. In most cases, the disease is associated with a serious multi-system disease, but the ocular manifestations may be the first patient complaints.

Baltimore—Ophthalmologists must learn to recognize the signs and symptoms that indicate an impending stroke and initiate the appropriate evaluation for each patient, according to Preston C. Calvert, MD. He outlined a plan for ophthalmologists to implement to ensure a rapid neurologic consultation when patients present with risk factors for stroke.

Boston—Physicians must remain vigilant to detect nonglaucomatous pathologies that can mimic glaucoma and can use a set of time-tested recommendations to help determine which patients need a nonglaucomatous workup, said Louis R. Pasquale, MD, co-director, Glaucoma Service, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston.

In medicine, as in many other professions, a gap exists between ideal or recommended behavior and what happens in the complex, messy "real world," where an infinite number of factors cause deviations from the desired goal. This is certainly true in glaucoma treatment, where various studies in recent years have shown that physicians fail to provide or document services such as optic nerve head photography as often as preferred practice guidelines recommend.

San Francisco—Capt. Steven Schallhorn, MD, addressed two timely issues at the annual San Francisco Cornea, Cataract, and Refractive Surgery Symposium. The first was the effect of pupil size on visual symptoms after LASIK and the second, custom-guided PRK procedures related to visual results and improved quality of vision.

San Francisco—Patients with malpositioned IOLs are likely to present more frequently in the future and surgeons need to develop individualized strategies and skill sets for managing this complication.

Flap thickness can be predetermined to virtually any depth up to 400 ? 10 ?m from the laser interface.

La Jolla, CA—A 23-gauge vitrectomy should replace 20-gauge as the surgical standard because it offers benefits such as a small size, durability, and adaptability to any procedure without a learning curve, said Paul E. Tornambe, MD, one of only a handful of U.S. surgeons who regularly uses instruments of this size.

Advances in instrumentation have fueled the expanded scope of 25-gauge surgical possibilities.

Regardless of ophthalmic specialty, both physicians and instrument makers must have an understanding of the market and patient needs.

About 20 years ago, a number of organizations came up with an idea of written guidelines for disease management. The idea was met with skepticism in some circles.

Washington, DC—A silent auction of original paintings has helped to launch the American Friends of Vision for the World Inc., the U.S. chapter of a global non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention and curing of blindness in Third World countries.

Fairfax, VA—Three physicians noted for their contributions to ophthalmology have earned positions in the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery's Ophthalmology Hall of Fame.

Los Angeles—The Eye Birth Defects Research Foundation honored Robert Gavin, founder of the Center for Keratoconus, during its first gala dinner at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

Santa Ana, CA—A jury has ordered Alcon Laboratories Inc. to pay Advanced Medical Optics Inc. (AMO) $94.8 million for what it found to be willful infringement of two patents for phacoemulsification equipment used during cataract surgery.

Fort Lauderdale, FL—The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is working to transform medicine in the 21st century in order to change the way it is practiced. The burden of public health has shifted from an acute to a chronic disease pattern, the population is aging rapidly, and the cost of healthcare is growing at an unprecedented rate.

Washington, DC—Results of the 2004 American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) survey of infectious keratitis after refractive surgery show there has been an end to the epidemic of atypical mycobacterial infections.

The Centers for Medicare &Medicaid Services (CMS) rulingon May 3 sets forth CMS policy concerning the requirements fordetermining payment for insertion of presbyopia-correcting IOLs following cataract surgery under thefollowing sections of the SocialSecurity Act (the Act):

Washington, DC—Medicare patients may now choose to pay extra to correct presbyopia with an IOL after cataract surgery under a new ruling by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), opening a vast, untapped market for IOL manufacturers and cataract surgeons.

Who gets VKH disease, and what are the historical and clinical clues that help make the diagnosis? Can VKH disease occur without serous retinal detachments? Does it always have to be granulomatous?