Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology overview recaps research

Fort Lauderdale, FL-From potential new therapies for glaucoma and diabetic macular edema (DME) to a deeper look at the anterior segment (and everything in between) the 2011 meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) was, yet again, an industry spectacle. Scientists, clinicians, and industry members joined together for a "Visionary Genomics"-themed conference with no shortage of innovative ophthalmic topics.

Retina

Retinal research was a strong presence at the meeting; with reference to age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the highly anticipated results of the Comparison of AMD Treatments Trials (CATT) kicked off the week. One session, "Synthesizing the Latest Data from DME and AMD Clinical Trials," provided an expansive perspective on how those results as well as the latest clinical trials for wet AMD and DME may affect the future outcomes of retinal therapies. (Nguyen Q. IOVS. 2011;52:ARVO E-Abstract 245)

Glaucoma

Examining new approaches to the diagnosis and prevention of glaucoma opened up discussions on imaging technologies. One study described a first use of the confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscope (Heidelberg Retina Tomograph, Heidelberg Engineering) in a placebo-controlled trial. (Hoffman E. IOVS. 2011;52:ARVO E-Abstract 205; Stefano M. IOVS. 2011;52:ARVO E-Abstract 3061) Much like this system, other refinements of spectral- and time-domain imaging were compared with established methods in other presentations. (Elledge J. IOVS. 2011;52:ARVO E-Abstract 138; Ristau T. IOVS. 2011;52:ARVO E-Abstract 144; Deak GG. IOVS. 2011;52:ARVO E-Abstract 153)

Rho-kinase inhibitors are a potential new therapy for glaucoma and were a popular topic in the arena, as a number of posters provided clinical results. In a phase II trial, the rho-kinase inhibitor AR-12286 (Aerie Pharmaceuticals) was compared with latanoprost for efficacy and safety. (Searle J. IOVS. 2011;52:ARVO E-Abstract 217) Both AR-12286 and latanoprost lowered IOP, yet there were no clinically significant differences between the two compounds.