News

Orlando-A task force composed of 30 leading ophthalmologists and retinal specialists is recommending the use of a new, five-level classification system for distinguishing degrees of diabetic retinopathy. The results of this effort were highlighted at a news conference held during the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) annual meeting in Orlando.

Carlsbad, CA-The Pulsion FS femtosecond laser keratome (IntraLase Corp., Irvine, CA) appears to be an important new instrument for use in the treatment of lamellar keratoplasty, among others, according to Lee T. Nordan, MD, who described his preliminary results.

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Orlando-Daniel M. Albert, MD, has won the Fight for Sight/Mildred Weisenfeld Award for Lifetime Achievement in Vision Research, which includes a $50,000 grant for research endeavors. The award was presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Rochester, NY-Bausch & Lomb's Technolas 217z Zyoptix system is useful for successfully treating eyes with a combination of myopia up to ?7 D and astigmatism up to ?3.5 D, according to results of a U.S. study.

Washington, DC-As Congress resumes its post-election session, doctors frustrated by continued cuts in the Medicare physician fees are lobbying for change.

Peapack, NJ-Pharmacia Ophthalmology has settled two major multimillion dollar lawsuits with Allergan Inc. and Alcon Inc. 2 months before it is scheduled to merge with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc.

Hunenberg, Switzerland-The FDA has approved Alcon Inc.'s LADARVision System for customized wavefront-guided laser eye surgery in the treatment of myopia.

Nice, France-Custom ablation is a useful technique for eyes that have not been treated with a refractive procedure. But this approach can also be used to improve the quality of vision in previously treated eyes that exhibit symptoms such as glare, halos, night vision difficulties, or monocular diplopia, according to Omar J. Hakim, MD, who spoke during the XX Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS).

Charleston, SC-When prescribing brimonidine 0.2% b.i.d. as monotherapy for ocular hypertension or primary open-angle glaucoma, physicians should make sure that the drug maintains its effectiveness in the late afternoon and may want to add a third drop to the daily dosage, said William C. Stewart, MD.

Green Bay, WI-The recently introduced miniature glaucoma shunt (Ex-Press) is an exciting modality with a lot of potential, but this new IOP-lowering treatment still requires further study to define its long-term efficacy and place in the armamentarium of glaucoma management options, said James E. Memmen, MD.

Newark, NJ-Timolol hemihydrate (Betimol, Santen Inc.) is an excellent choice when a beta-blocker is indicated for IOP-lowering in patients with ocular hypertension or glaucoma, said Paul J. Lama, MD.

Los Angeles-A randomized, controlled trial comparing the combination therapy dorzolamide-timolol (Cosopt, Merck) with concomitant administration of 2% dorzolamide (Trusopt, Merck) and 0.5% timolol showed that the IOP lowering is equally effective if the drugs are given either in combination or individually.

Houston-In patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) or ocular hypertension (OH), once-daily treatment with fixed-combination latanoprost/timolol (Xalacom, Pharmacia, Peapack, NJ) is well tolerated and lowers IOP more effectively than twice-daily dorzolamide/timolol (Cosopt, Merck), according to a recent multicenter U.S. study.

Baltimore-Latanoprost 0.005% (Xalatan, Pharmacia) taken once daily is more effective in lowering IOP than unoprostone 0.15% (Rescula, Novartis) taken twice daily, according to a recent multicenter study, reported Henry D. Jampel, MD, MHS.

Los Angeles-While little is fully understood about the actual mechanisms of neuronal damage in glaucoma, a variety of IOP-independent factors seem likely to play a role, said Joseph Caprioli, MD.

Houston-Once-daily bimatoprost 0.03% (Lumigan, Allergan) is a highly effective, safe, and well-accepted IOP-lowering medication across the di-verse population of patients encountered in daily practice, according to the results of a large-scale, com-munity-based, pro-spective, open-label study.

Tucson, AZ-Topical beta-blockers have been a mainstay of ongoing treatment for glaucoma for more than 20 years, but a new study adds to the evidence that they may not be the best option for long-term control of IOP for elderly patients.

Editor's note: This is the second story in a three-part series covering a forum on "Ethnicity and Glaucoma" at Johns Hopkins University to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Baltimore Eye Study. The meeting was sponsored by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Ophthalmology Times and supported through an unrestricted educational grant from Alcon Laboratories Inc.

Hyogo, Japan-The risk of posterior capsule rupture can be reduced and the posterior capsule stabilized by increasing the infusion volume.

La Jolla, CA-Results from murine studies indicate that a population of adult bone marrow-derived hematopoietic stem cells injected intravitreally will selectively target activated astrocytes, become incorporated into blood vessels, and promote or inhibit retinal angiogenesis, reported Martin Friedlander, MD, PhD.

Nice, France-With the introduction of new implantation devices, the AcrySof IOL (Alcon, Fort Worth, TX) is now much easier to manipulate compared with previously. Takayuki Akahoshi, MD, director of ophthalmology, Mitsui Memorial Hospital, Tokyo, Japan, introduced the new implantation devices here at the XX Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons.

The new LASIK Certification Program developed by the American Board of Eye Surgery (ABES) is seen as being a long time coming and an important step in the right direction for the entire field of medicine.

Nice, France-Computer-simulated phaco takes advantage of the advances in computer power and graphics to develop simulators to train surgeons in cataract surgery. This technology might serve as a tool for surgical training or be used by medical students during basic medical education to stimulate student interest in surgery and to test their skills.

Nice, France-Intracapsular cataract emulsification (ICCEM) is a promising method that simplifies and shortens cataract removal compared with phacoemulsification or extracapsular cataract extraction.

Pittsburgh-IOP-lowering products evaluated in the "real-world" setting of a clinical practice can provide valuable information for practitioners, according to Evan B. Dreyer, MD, PhD.

New York-Glaucoma therapy of 10 years ago has no application today, according to Robert D. Fechtner, MD, who opened a session on glaucoma and cataract surgery at the Glaucoma 2002 meeting here.

Los Angeles-Considering the limited availability of published randomized trials, glaucoma surgeons should remain skeptical about the safety and efficacy of viscocanalostomy and deep sclerectomy with collagen wick, said Donald S. Minckler, MD.

Napa, CA-Santen Inc. has promoted two former product directors to its executive team.