News

Washington, DC-The National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (NAEVR) has developed a new fact sheet that details the incidence of age-related eye disease.

Oklahoma City-When patients with strabismus or diplopia present, ophthalmologists question if the condition is a congenital or an acquired neurologic disease and if imaging or any other tests are needed. R. Michael Siatkowski, MD, differentiated among the various possibilities.

Philadelphia-The five most important causes of light-near dissociation are deafferented pupils, midbrain lesions, Argyll-Robertson pupils, aberrant regeneration of the third nerve, and tonic pupils.

Certain systemic infections such as syphilis, Lyme disease, cat-scratch disease, tuberculosis, or post-viral optic neuritis can mimic the appearance of typical optic neuritis.

Papilledema is a term that is best reserved for optic disc edema that is due to increased intracranial pressure. All other forms of optic disc swelling should probably be referred to as optic disc edema to avoid clinical confusion with the more specific term, papilledema. Ophthalmologists should therefore be cautious about using the term papilledema when they really mean ischemic optic neuropathy or optic neuritis. This is especially important when referring patients to other consultants (for example, neurology) because these patients may end up with inappropriate, expensive, or unnecessary testing.

San Diego-The University of California San Diego's (UCSD) Shiley Eye Center recently received $2 million to establish a distinguished chair in ophthalmology.

Iowa City, IA-The constricted pupil is both easy and hard to diagnose. As with the dilated pupil, there are easy-to-diagnose conditions in the patient with a small pupil-such as physiologic anisocoria, Horner's syndrome, and iris abnormalities-and these occur commonly. Pharmacologic miosis, Adie's pupil, and aberrant regeneration of the third nerve, however, are a bit harder to pinpoint, according to Andrew G. Lee, MD, who outlined his practical approach to diagnosing the constricted pupil.

New York-Structure does predict function, George A. (Jack) Cioffi, MD, told participants in the Glaucoma 2004 meeting here, and therefore measurement of the optic nerve head is important in assessing the presence and progression of the disease.

Patients need to know when an additional fee may be warranted or if the procedure will be free.

Vancouver, British Columbia-In the absence of other risk factors, eyes with a post-LASIK initial residual stromal thickness (RST)

Fort Lauderdale, FL-Accumulating evidence is providing support for the hypothesis that elevated iron levels in the retina may be a factor in the pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), said Joshua Dunaief, MD, PhD

Fort Lauderdale, FL-A new analysis of baseline data collected in participants of the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) reveals a higher intake of lutein/zeaxanthin was associated with a decreased likelihood of having advanced age-related macular degen- eration (AMD). The results were reported by John Paul SanGiovanni, ScD, at the annual meeting of the Association for Re-search in Vision and Ophthalmology.

Pasadena, CA-A research and supply partnership will combine Carl Zeiss Meditec AG's digital light delivery system with Calhoun Vision Inc.'s light-adjustable lens (LAL).

Fort Lauderdale, FL-In a comparison of the comfort of two non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) formulations, ketorolac tromethamine ophthalmic solution 0.4% with benzalkonium chloride (BAK) (Acular LS, Allergan) seemed to be as comfortable as preservative-free ketorolac tromethamine ophthalmic solution 0.5% (Acular PF, Allergan) based on ratings by 45 healthy volunteers who received two doses of the drops in a randomized, investigator-masked, single-center clinical trial

Fort Lauderdale, FL- In a preliminary mouse model study of corneal epithelial permeability and barrier function, several differences were found be- tween gatifloxacin ophthalmic solution 0.3% (Zymar, Allergan) and moxifloxacin ophthalmic solu- tion 0.5% (Vigamox, Alcon) but the significance of these findings is unclear, ac- cording to Stephen C. Pflugfelder, MD, who presented a poster on this study at the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology

Fort Lauderdale, FL-Studies evaluating age-related changes in the diffusional status of macromolecular transport processes across Bruch's membrane may provide new insight into the pathophysiology of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and suggest new targets for intervention, said Ali A. Hussain, PhD, at the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.

By far, most patients surveyed considered efficacy of medication to be more important than possible side effects.

Fort Lauderdale, FL-The investigational drug tin ethyl etiopurpurin (SnET2) produced a visual acuity benefit and slowed the development of neovascular lesions in two phase III trials of SnET2 photodynamic therapy (PDT) (Miravant Medical Technologies) for the treatment of subfoveal choroidal neovascularization associated with wet age-related macular degeneration, said Edgar L. Thomas, MD, Retina-Vitreous Associates, Los Angeles.

Fort Lauderdale, FL-Prior pseudophakia appears to be a risk factor for trabeculectomy failure in eyes with uveitic glaucoma, said K. Sheng Lim, MD, at the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.

Fort Lauderdale, FL-Experience with implantation of the Ex-PRESS miniature glaucoma device (Optonol Ltd.) under a scleral flap in high-risk eyes shows that it is a simple and effective technique for controlling IOP and reduces complications encountered with subconjunctival implantation, said Trevor R. Carmichael, MD, PhD, at the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.

Fort Lauderdale, FL-Results of the OPTIME Study show that cardiovascular risk factors are significantly more prevalent among patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) compared with unaffected controls, reported Nicola Orzalesi, MD, PhD, at the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.

New York-Results of an in vitro susceptibility study suggest a combination regimen consisting of clarithromycin and a fourth-generation fluoroquinolone may offer the best topical treatment for keratitis due to non-tuberculous Mycobacteria, said Mahendra K. Shah, MS.

A new artificial cornea may offer hope to patients who have a history of multiple human donor cornea rejections. AlphaCor, manufactured by Australian-based Argus Biomedical Pty Ltd. and marketed by CooperVision Surgical Inc., is a biocompatible, flexible, one-piece artificial cornea that has been designed to replace a scarred or diseased native cornea in patients for whom corneal graft using human donor tissue is unsuitable.

Rishon Le-Zion, Israel-LASEK performed by using hypertonic saline (5% NaCl) to lift the flap may be a better alternative to alcohol-assisted LASEK, according to a recent randomized prospective study. Israeli researchers presented clinical trial results of the new method.

New York-Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB), announced 44 new grants totaling $4.8 million for investigations into the causes, treatment, and prevention of all blinding diseases.

Fort Lauderdale, FL-In a comparison study that has implications for wound healing in surface ablation procedures, investigators found that four commonly used topical ophthalmic antibiotics-moxifloxacin (Vigamox, Alcon), levofloxacin (Quixin, Santen), gatifloxacin (Zymar, Allergan), and ofloxacin (Ocuflox, Allergan)-all showed evidence of toxicity on human corneal epithelial cells, with moxifloxacin causing the least amount of toxicity.

Salt Lake City-A $100,000 grant to the University of Utah's John A. Moran Eye Center will support continued research into retinal cell transplantation in the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa (RP).

New York-Columbia University Medical Center is hoping its new Louis V. Gerstner Jr. Clinical Research Center in Vision will help to develop solutions to the world's most pressing vision problems.

Fountain Hills, AZ-Coronado Industries Inc. has received 2A CE certification from the European Union for its proprietary pneumatic device for glaucoma treatment.

Fort Worth, TX-Alcon Inc. has filed the second of three parts of its "rolling" new drug application for anecortave acetate for depot suspension (Retaane) 15 mg, an investigational treatment for patients with wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).