Articles

Dr Gilles Lesieur asks: Do disposable microincision knives or diamond knives provide patients with the best postoperative visual outcome?

It would probably be safe to assume that everyone reading this piece will have at least heard of Twitter; even if they are not actually using it. However, knowing that Twitter is out there and using it effectively are two very different things.

Dr Sami El Hage outlines a technique for early detection of corneal ectasia using four different displays: the normal average cornea, Zernike polynomials, Fourier harmonics and elevation plots.

Blindness in millions of people with diseases that starve eye tissue and nerves of oxygen might be averted with a procedure being developed by researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the University of Southern California and the University of Tennessee.

The investigative research group Catalyst for a Cure has made significant discoveries developing a better understanding of the insidious changes caused by glaucoma and is developing strategies to prevent them.

According to Eye Research Australia researchers at the University of Melbourne, a high intake of fresh and processed red meat is positively associated with early AMD, the leading cause of blindness among older people. Diet has often been postulated to alter the risk of AMD.

The CABERNET (CNV Secondary to AMD Treated with Beta RadiatioN Epiretinal Therapy) clinical trial is pivotal to establishing the safety and effectiveness of a beta radiation based focal epimacular brachytherapy device. Its development in bringing a paradigm shift in the way retina specialists treat wet AMD patients moved a step closer as Neovista Inc. secured more than $18 million in its Series D private venture funding round.

In infants with birth weights of 1250 g, haemangiomas are associated with the development of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), according to study data published in the March 2009 issue of Pediatrics.

BD OcuSeal Liquid Ocular Bandage, a fully synthetic protective barrier to be used for post-surgical, post-traumatic and non-traumatic ocular conditions, has been launched in Europe by BD Medical?Ophthalmic Systems.

Lux Biosciences has just completed its enrolment in the company's Phase III LUCIDA (LUx Corneal Transplant Implant Development and Advancement of Therapy) clinical trial programme for LUMITECT (LX201), a silicone matrix ocular (episcleral) implant designed to provide the continuous release for one year of therapeutic levels of cyclosporine A locally to the eye to prevent corneal transplant rejection.

When treating post-phacorefractive keratectomy (PRK) discomfort, there are no significant differences in either safety or efficacy between bromfenac twice-daily and ketorolac four times daily, according to a study published in the February issue of the Journal of Refractive Surgery.

According to research analysts it is estimated that as little as five percent of a topically applied drug ever reaches the intraocular tissues due to drug loss as the result of tearing, lacrimal fluid-eye barriers, and blood-ocular barriers.

iForum, a surgeon-support website to enable the adoption of canaloplasty into clinicians' practices, has been launched by iScience Interventional.

The eyecare nutritional supplement market is worth $43.4 million and is projected to grow to $87.4 million within five years, according to research by Frost & Sullivan.

Although refractive procedures are wide-ranging - from refractive laser surgery all the way through to cataract surgery with intraocular lens (IOL) implantation - the sensation of dry eye is common to all.

The Iluvien fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal insert (Alimera Sciences, Inc) is safe and effective in the management of diabetic macular oedema (DME) at twelve months, according to study results released by Alimera.

The LV Prasad Eye Institute and Satyam Computer Services Ltd, India, have received a Consumer Health World Award in recognition of their scheme to provide ophthalmology services remotely to rural Indian villages.

The fluocinolone acetonide (Retisert; Bausch & Lomb) surgical implant can prevent blindness in cases of sympathetic ophthalmia (SO), according to research at the University of Iowa, US.

The TearLab Osmolarity Core Validation Study, a multicentre international clinical study assessing the efficacy of the TearLab Osmolarity System for the diagnosis of dry eye disease, has been launched by the system's maker, OccuLogix Inc, and sponsored by Alcon.

There is an association between uveal and a variety of skin melanomas, according to study results published in the March issue of Ophthalmology.

The first data on Nova21027 (Novagali Pharma), a benzalkonimum chloride (BAK)-free latanoprost cationic emulsion, have been announced at the Scientific Meeting of the Association for Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics (AOPT) in Salzburg, Austria.

Public screenings will take place at a variety of venues including private practices and hospitals in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Spain and Switzerland.

Pfizer and Bausch & Lomb are to co-promote their prescription eye drugs in the United States, allowing both companies to increase significantly the support for the products, according to a joint statement released by the companies.

The Motion Displacement Test (MDT), developed by Moorfields Eye Hospital in partnership with UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and City University London will be on show during World Glaucoma Day (March 12th) to demonstrate some of the latest glaucoma diagnostic equipment.

The aspheric AcrySof IQ Toric intraocular lens (Alcon Inc) has been approved by the FDA, and will shortly be available to provide improved distance vision to patients with cataract and astigmatism.

Scientists studying a neural retina in a salamander have found Müller cells in the promoted cone-specific pigment regeneration and dark adaptation that are independent of the pigment epithelium.

Laser burn to the retina of a single eye can compromise the immune privilege of the fellow eye.

Dr Tiziana Fattori of Per Vedere Fatti Vedere onlus in Italy explains the reasons behind the launch of a campaign to abolish bureaucratic procedures inhibiting patients from undertaking treatment for glaucoma.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and University College London's Institute of Ophthalmology have agreed a deal in which the Institute will investigate the potential of compounds provided by GSK's ophthalmic unit, Ophthiris.

The retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cell mosaic has been imaged for the first time in a living retina using an adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscope (AOSLO), according to a report published in the March issue of Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science.