Articles

OccuLogix has signed an agreement to acquire SOLX, in order to continue its diversification plans focusing on age-related eye diseases.

In some cases, it can be difficult for ophthalmologists to determine precisely what is affecting their patient. It is essential that a correct diagnosis is established as a misdiagnosis could have serious consequences for the patient; allowing the real problem to progress undetected. Here, Arashvand and Geh talk us through a case of orbital injury mimicking traumatic Brown's Syndrome.

The NOG (Nederlands Oogheelkundig Gezelschap) was founded in 1892 when a group of like-minded ophthalmologists met at the Maashotel in Rotterdam to discuss the latest developments in their profession. The aim of the society was, and still is, the scientific and social support of ophthalmology in the Netherlands. The father of Dutch ophthalmology was Franciscus Cornelis Donders who was a brilliant ophthalmologist and scientist. He was a close friend of Albrecht von Graefe from Germany. Together, Donders and Herman Snellen formed, in Utrecht, the "epicentre" of Dutch Ophthalmology. Three years after the death of Donders the NOG was founded.

The Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Service (CMS) has recognized Alcon's AcrySof IQ intraocular lens (IOL) as belonging to the New Technology IOL (NTIOL) classification of Reduced Spherical Aberration.

It's that time of year again and I'm sure most of you will be getting ready for Europe's largest annual congress, the 24th Congress of the ESCRS. I have to admit, although I have lived in England my whole life, London never ceases to amaze me. It's busy, expensive and sometimes can feel quite impersonal. That aside, it is a remarkable city. Its cosmopolitan nature gives rise to an eclectic mix of, amongst many other things, restaurants, bars, parks, theatres and shops. It's quite easy to feel spoilt for choice. So while you're visiting our wonderful capital, make sure you get out and sample the delights the city has to offer. Our quick guide to getting out and about in London (ESCRS Congress preview) gives you a little taste of what you might expect.

Laser assisted in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK) and photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) offer comparable results for the correction of myopia, but LASIK provides faster visual recovery, according to the results of a review published in The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2006, Issue 2.

The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has completed its "New Framework for Scientific Advice & Protocol Assistance", which outlines changes in the way it will provide scientific advice on the research and development of new medicines.

From the 9-13 September, the Excel Exhibition and conference centre in London will open its doors to more than four thousand delegates for the 24th Congress of the European Society for Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS). This year's congress is full to the brim of symposia, courses and skills training, in addition to having one of Europe's largest ophthalmic exhibitions. The congress is also playing host to this year's annual meeting of the United Kingdom and Ireland Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (UKISCRS), who will be hosting a free papers session as well as three presentations on complicated cases and videos, training refractive surgeons for the future and femtosecond lasers.

Advanced surface ablation, such as LASEK and Epi-LASIK, defined as a refractive laser technique that does not create a lamellar flap, is the wave of the future, according to Richard Yee, MD. He said that advanced surface ablations are ideal procedures for problem cases, such as those with thin corneas and high myopia and is even better for routine cases.

QLT has formed a global co-development and licensing agreement with Retinagenix to develop active synthetic treatments for degenerative retinal diseases.

It has been demonstrated that a single compound is as effective as fixed combination therapy in lowering intraocular pressure (IOP), according to a study presented at the recent ARVO (Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology) meeting.

When you attend an ophthalmology congress, what is it that you expect to gain? Does the opportunity to mingle with the elite inspire you to pay your congress fee, or do you want to learn new skills and improve your everyday practice? Certainly, people's motivations have been somewhat ambiguous in the past. With the style of the traditional meetings placing more emphasis on lecture-type presentations with no real discussion and less emphasis on the sharing of knowledge amongst participants, meeting attendees rarely had any input whatsoever.

In 1999, the World Health Organization (WHO) initiated its worldwide campaign, "Vision 2020 - The Right to Sight". The main aim of the programme was to eliminate the main causes of avoidable blindness by the target date of 2020. Hungary is participating in this "Fight for Sight" initiative. Here, J?nos N?meth summarizes the progress that he and his colleagues have made over the last five years, showing the current state of, and trends in, ophthalmic healthcare in Hungary, as well as the incidence of blindness in the country.

Didier Ducournau talks about the development and growth of the EVRS and on his personal vision for vitreoretinal surgeons.

Alcon has added another device to its product portfolio in the form of the LADAR6000 excimer laser with high-speed ablation, which received FDA approval last month.

Swedish ophthalmologic research has a long tradition dating back to the slit lamp of Gullstrand of the early 20th century through later concepts such as the use of sodium hyaluronate in cataract surgery and latanoprost in glaucoma treatment. University departments of ophthalmology are present at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and at the universities of Uppsala, Lund (Lund and Malm?), Link?ping, Gothenburg and Ume?.

Intravitreal triamcinolone will, more often than not, lead to the development of cataracts in eyes with diabetic macular oedema (DME), according to the results of a study published in the March 17, 2006 issue of Eye.

CHMP gives Ganfort thumbs up

Spring has finally sprung, although I have a feeling that the pleasant weather associated with this season has decided to give England a miss this year! Indeed, we are already into the month of May and with several big ophthalmology meetings already behind us, we still have many others to look forward to, particularly this month, which sees, amongst others, the DOC, EURETINA, and the Turkish, French and Italian ophthalmology societies taking centre stage for their annual meetings. Hopefully we will get the chance to meet some of you there.

The DOG (Deutsche Ophthalmologische Gesellschaft) was founded in 1857 when a group of like-minded ophthalmologists, brought together by Albrecht von Greafe, met in Heidelberg to discuss the latest developments in their profession. This first meeting was organized to take place a few days before the international ophthalmology conference in Brussels with the idea that they would then travel on together to attend. In all, twelve people arrived in Heidleberg, where discussion topics ranged from the use of compression bandages to glaucoma treatment. It was considered such a success that they agreed to meet again the following year.

In answer to the question: "What specifically makes SLT different from ALT in its action?" we offer the following response:

With the world's population getting older and the rate of blindness increasing, cataract surgeons worldwide are facing some clinical challenges in the years ahead, according to Stephen A. Obstbaum, MD, of the United States.

Advanced Medical Optics (AMO) has pledged $1 million to support the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery's (ASCRS) foundation sponsored research in the field of refractive lenticular science.

Allergan and Alcon have settled Allergan's patent infringement lawsuit, contending that Alcon's proposed brimonidine 0.15% product infringed two brimonidine-related patents owned by Allergan.

Errors in the measurement of retinal thickness are a frequent occurrence with optical coherence tomography (OCT) segmentation and analysis algorithms, according to a study published in the February 2006 issue of Ophthalmology.

Earlier this year, Ophthalmology Times Europe caught up with two admirable people: the President of SICR, Roberto Pinelli and his friend and SICR colleague, Paolo Fazio. We spoke about refractive surgery practice, education and patient management and heard how both men plan to change the way that their industry is perceived and the way that it is practiced through their new society. Please go to page 19 to find out exactly what they are planning. Meanwhile, here's a snippet of information on the society to get you started.

Novartis has announced the submission of Lucentis (ranibizumab) for European Union approval, for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Surgeons should not feel ashamed if they only manage to see a few patients, devotion to the patient and then to your practice is of paramount importance. Then, and only then, will you be doing your job well.

Ever wondered what it must be like for today's refractive surgeon, having to perform a job to the best of their ability whilst sometimes facing criticism for being "too commercial"? The refractive surgery industry has suffered its fair share of setbacks over recent years and certainly, some clinics have deservedly earned this criticism for not performing the job adequately.

I embarked on a memorable trip to Africa recently and, along with a wonderful team of skilled ophthalmologists and nurses, we set up two eye camps in Namibia and Zambia. Our mission was to study corneal thickness in native Africans so that we could, in the future, establish the relationship between corneal thickness and glaucoma in this population.