Europe gives Macugen thumbs up
March 1st 2006The month of February witnessed the first approval of an anti-angiogenesis therapy for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in Europe. The European Commission granted marketing authorisation for Macugen (pegaptanib sodium injection) for the treatment of neovascular AMD.
Case report: tenosynovitis of the left superior oblique muscle
March 1st 2006Brown syndrome is defined as an ocular motility disorder, characterized by an inability to elevate the adducted eye actively or passively. The causes can be congenital or acquired, and the problem can be permanent or transient. Clinically, Brown syndrome is characterized by a significant limitation of elevation in the adducting position that occurs in the majority of cases and improved elevation is usually apparent in the midline, with generally normal elevation in abduction. Exodeviation (V pattern) can occur on elevation in the midline. Many patients are orthophoric in the primary position, although sometimes hypotropia can develop with a compensatory face turn towards the opposite eye. A positive forced duction test is usually the hallmark of Brown syndrome.
Do impotence drugs cause NAION?
March 1st 2006The impotence drugs Viagra (sildenafil) and Cialis (tadalafil) may increase the risk of developing non-arteritic anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy (NAION), according to a study published in the February 2006 issue of the British Journal of Ophthalmology.
SOE: Societas Ophthalmologica Europæa
January 1st 2006This month we had the pleasure of speaking with Zdenek Gregor, FRCS, FRCOphth, President of the European Society of Ophthalmology (SOE). You can read what he had to say in our interview with Dr Gregor. Just as a taster, here is some background information on the society.
Novartis happy as Lucentis shows further promise in AMD
January 1st 2006Novartis Ophthalmics' and Genentech's investigational treatment for AMD has again delighted its developers by meeting its one-year primary efficacy endpoint of maintaining vision in patients with wet AMD during the first year of the two-year ANCHOR study.
European Society of Ophthalmology: the first 50 years
January 1st 2006Since its inception in 1956, the European Society of Ophthalmology (SOE) has grown from a small entity into a conglomerate of national ophthalmological societies from all 40 European countries, representing more than 40,000 European ophthalmologists. We speak with President Zdenek Gregor about the changing face of the society, the importance of collaboration and the way the society has adapted to an ever-evolving Europe.
The four microkeratome comparison
January 1st 2006Published in the September/October 2005 edition of Journal of Refractive Surgery, Thomas Hammer and colleagues compared the quality and reproducibility of cuts produced by four automatic microkeratomes, and found that each performed similarly on overall quality of cut surface, with one out of the four, performing exceptionally better than the rest on quality of cut edge.
Welcome to Ophthalmology Times Europe
October 1st 2005I often feel that the European ophthalmology industry is becoming the victim of its own success. With the half-life value of ophthalmic knowledge on the continent now set at less than five years, compared with 30 years in 1960, innovation in Europe is not showing any signs of slowing down. Ophthalmologists in Europe are continuously required to update and broaden their specialist knowledge with the advent of new techniques, treatments, instruments and devices. With meetings every few weeks, around the globe, on all branches of ophthalmic science and clinical practice, how is it possible to keep up?
Coaxial microphaco & sealed capsule irrigation
October 1st 2005Coaxial microphacoemulsification performed through a 2.2 mm incision is a new technique available to cataract surgeons skilled in phacoemulsification. The technique affords patients the combined benefits of ultra-small incision surgery and conventional foldable IOLs, announced Robert H. Osher, MD, professor of ophthalmology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and medical director emeritus, Cincinnati Eye Institute, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.