News

Denver-It's been said that one learns more from experience than from reading or observing. Some ophthalmic procedures, such as myopic LASIK, can be performed safely by house staff physicians-provided they are properly supervised by an experienced mentor, said Darren G. Gregory, MD.

Aliso Viejo, CA-C&C Vision, developer of the CrystaLens, has changed its name to eyeonics Inc. The company said the new name more clearly identifies what it does.

San Francisco-The American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS) is offering its annual "I Care for Eye Care" calendar and note cards, featuring children's artwork from all over the world.

Wilmette, IL-More intensive staffing and better preparation can reduce various aspects of procedure time associated with cataract procedures performed at ambulatory surgery centers.

Fountain Hills, AZ-Coronado Industries Inc.'s glaucoma treatment device will be sold and distributed in Italy under a new agreement signed with EuPharmed of Rome.

Washington, DC -- Members of the Alliance for Eye and Vision Research updated Congressional staffers about the latest developments in LASIK and corneal healing, and asked that Congress keep its promise to double the National Eye Institute's budget.

Fort Myers, FL-Takayuki Akahoshi, MD, will present the 2004 John H. Sheets Memorial Lecture during the SEE Island Quality Sur-gery XVIII Seminar Feb. 28 to March 3.

Irvine, CA -- Two phase III clinical trials of ovine hyaluronidase (Vitrase, ISTA Pharmaceuticals) reveal a statistically significant reduction in vitreous hemorrhage density in patients with diabetes during each of 3 months following a single intravitreous injection of ovine hyaluronidase when compared with a single injection of saline solution.

Fort Worth, TX-A third generic version of brimonidine tartrate ophthalmic solution 0.2% now gives ophthalmologists yet another alternative for lowering IOP in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension.

Beverly Hills, CA-Centration on the coaxially sighted corneal light reflex (visual axis) is a safe and effective technique for LASIK when treating low to moderate hyperopia with or without astigmatism, according to the results of a retrospective study.

Editor's Note: Although less common than uveitis in adults, uveitis in children can present unique diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Emmett T. Cunningham Jr., MD, PhD, MPH, editor of the "Uveitis Update" column in Ophthalmology Times, asked a panel of uveitis specialists to comment on various aspects of the condition in this roundtable discussion. Their comments have been edited for length and clarity.

Alexandria, LA-Cataract surgeons now have an opportunity to correct astigmatism at the time of the cataract procedure with the use of limbal relaxing incisions (LRIs), according to R. Bruce Wallace III, MD.

Indianapolis-The Model 311 Iris Reconstruction Lens (Ophtec) appears safe and has significant benefit for reducing visual disturbances in patients with partial or complete aniridia, according to the first reported results from the FDA phase I trial evaluating that implant.

Dallas-The future just became brighter for the nearly 100 million people worldwide who wear contact lenses.

In the past, ophthalmologists have had the luxury of viewing themselves as specialized surgical and medical care providers and have not been driven to include a retail profit center, such as an optical dispensary, in their practice.

Two large clinical studies have confirmed that large-spot-size transpupillary thermotherapy (TTT) is efficacious for the treatment of occult choroidal neovascularization (CNV) associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Salisbury, MD-The BriteLight Illuminating EndoProbe, the newest addition to IRIDEX Corp.'s IRIS Medical delivery devices, is a high-quality, endolaser probe that delivers both high-intensity white light and laser light through a single handpiece.

New Brunswick, NJ-Results of a retrospective study suggest that intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide may be a beneficial treatment for eyes with diabetic macular edema (DME), said Janet J. Chieh, MD.

New York-A new clinical device that simultaneously displays optical coherence tomography (OCT) and scanning laser ophthal- moscopy (SLO) images may be useful in analyzing vitreoretinal pathologies of the posterior segment.

Groningen, The Netherlands-Early preclinical studies are yielding promise that an injected, artificial, capsule-filling lens may offer a possible solution for restoring accommodative ability lost in presbyopia or pseudophakia.

London-The level of control a surgeon has today over customizing laser treatments for refractive surgery patients is very limited. Basically, surgeons are limited to control over the size of the fully corrected optical zone, and in some laser systems the size of the transition zone, according to Dan Rein-stein, MD, MA (Cantab), FRSC, DABO.

San Francisco-Clinical trials have begun evaluating the Light-Adjustable Lens (LAL, Calhoun Vision), a unique silicone-based, pseudophakic IOL that would allow for non-invasive, postoperative correction of refractive and wavefront errors, said Daniel M. Schwartz, MD.

Nuremberg, Germany-The Acri.Smart 48S IOL implanted with the Acri.Glide/Acri.Shooter system (Acri.Tec, Berlin, Germany) enables cataract surgery to be performed completely with the benefits of ultra-small-incision techniques, said Wolfram Wehner, MD.

Sydney, Australia-The introduction of the Perfect Pupil Injector (Becton, Dickinson and Co. [BD]) has made implantation with the Perfect Pupil expansion device (BD) a very surgeon-friendly procedure, according to E. John Milverton, MD.

New York-Treatment is now available for Fabry's disease, a lysosomal storage disorder with ophthalmologic findings. In April, the FDA granted Orphan Drug designation for agalsidase beta (Fabrazyme, Genzyme General), an enzyme replacement therapy, for the treatment of this progressive and potentially fatal disease.

Cataract surgery in the presence of pseudoexfoliation (PXF) of the lens presents surgeons with unusual challenges. In addition to a higher incidence of glaucoma, these patients have loss of zonular integrity occasionally associated with lens subluxation and pupils that dilate poorly. Although the use of phacoemulsification in experienced hands has resulted in a low incidence of intraoperative and postoperative complications such as zonular dialysis, capsule tears, vitreous loss, and IOL decentration,1 special care should still be exercised when performing cataract surgery in these patients. Improvements in phacoemulsification technology, technique, and capsular supporting rings should ultimately enable these patients to undergo

Birmingham, AL-Glaucoma can arise as a complication of uveitis or as a result of steroids used to treat the inflammatory disorder, said Christopher A. Girkin, MD, associate professor of ophthalmology and director of the glaucoma service, University of Alabama, Birmingham. He reviewed information on the epidemiology, mechanisms, and management of inflammatory and steroid-induced glaucoma.

Northridge, CA-Researchers with multidisciplinary expertise are collaborating to develop a miniature, implantable sensor that could continuously monitor IOP, said Leon G. Partamian, MD.

Chicago-In the late 1980s, ophthalmologists were challenged by Eddy and Billings to prove that IOP was an essential element in the management of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). Recent results from a number of National Eye Institute (NEI)-sponsored randomized controlled trials confirm that IOP reduction is effective in slowing both disease development and its progression. The results of those studies, however, have raised new issues in glaucoma management.

Frankfurt, Germany-Refractive lens exchange with diffractive, bifocal IOL implantation can offer a good option for improving distance vision and restoring near visual acuity in some presbyopic-age patients, said Thomas Kohnen, MD.