News

New York-Aqueous misdirection is "a rare, but serious complication of intraocular surgery" that requires immediate attention to prevent lasting damage, Celso Tello, MD, told participants at the Glaucoma 2004 meeting here.

The nomenclature and etiology of "dermoid" tumors and fatty lesions of the orbit and ocular adnexa have created longstanding confusion.

A fourth-nerve palsy is a common cause of acquired vertical diplopia in the adult. These patients typically complain of vertical diplopia and tilting (torsion) of objects. The history and exam should focus on any other neurologic signs or symptoms, recent head trauma, vasculopathic risk factors, and prior symptoms suggestive of a congenital or long-standing palsy.

Cleveland-Comprehensive ophthalmologists Richard E. Gans, MD, FACS, and Shari Martyn, MD, have joined the Cleveland Clinic Cole Eye Center.

Santa Barbara, CA-Miravant Medical Technologies will launch an additional clinical trial in an effort to meet the FDA's conditions for final marketing approval of its tin ethyl etiopurpurin (SnET2).

Washington, DC-Pfizer Ophthalmic's patented formulation of latanoprost (Xalatan) is safe from competition for now, after the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has refused to step in and license generic versions.

Miami-Integrin antagonists may offer a potent alternative strategy for the treatment of sight-threatening eye diseases associated with angiogenesis, said Martin Friedlander, MD, PhD, at Angiogenesis 2004.

San Diego-An evaluation of the first group of patients to undergo conductive keratoplasty (CK) performed by Ronald Friedman, MD, indicates that the procedure can be safely used to treat hyperopia and presbyopia and is easily introduced into an average-volume practice with a refractive and cataract base.

Three months after the . . . procedure, there was a substantial reduction in higher-order aberrations, coma, and spherical aberration.

From a patient's perspective, using a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) before and after cataract or refractive surgery can help to ease pain, swelling, and irritation, and accelerate the return of visual acuity. From a surgeon's perspective, using an NSAID reduces surgical complications and makes surgery easier: it keeps the pupils larger, allowing for quicker and less traumatic procedures. It also prevents cystoid macular edema (CME) and reduces the incidence of striae because it suppresses pain and, therefore, the patient's tendency to squeeze/rub the eyes post-surgery. This article will examine the different classes of NSAIDs, compare their analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity, and determine the potency of different NSAIDs.

Plymouth Meeting, PA-Genaera Corp. is expanding its third U.S. phase II clinical trial of squalamine, its small-molecule, anti-angiogenic drug for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

San Diego-Cold ultrasound technology [WhiteStar, Advanced Medical Optics Inc. (AMO)] allows the efficient removal of all densities of cataracts and is as safe as a pulsed laser microincision phacoemulsification system. A major advantage of the cold ultrasound system is that it dramatically reduces the phacoemulsification time compared with laser phacoemulsification.