News

Performing selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) in patients with pseudoexfoliative glaucoma (PEXG) may in fact cause a rise in intraocular pressure (IOP), according to results published in the October issue of BMC Ophthalmology.

Ellex's 2RT, a Retina Regeneration Therapy, is safe and effective in the treatment of macular oedema (ME) secondary to diabetic retinopathy (DR), according to study results presented at this year's American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting.

The Lamellar Corneal Surgery Module (LCS Module), with a hand-piece that can cut depths of 250?450 µm, has been released by Ziemer Group.

Four new ophthalmic lasers and delivery devices have been unveiled by Lumenis at the meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Following limited reports of adverse events encountered by US physicians using a particular batch of Healon D viscoelastic, AMO has recalled the remaining products in the batch.

The level of reimbursement of Optonol's Ex-PRESS Mini Glaucoma Shunt has been increased by the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), according to an announcement made by Optonol at the Glaucoma Subspecialty Day of this year's meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

A Phase I trial of POT-4, a complement inhibitor in development for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), have demonstrated that the agent is safe and well tolerated. The results were presented by Potentia Pharmaceuticals during the Retina Subspecialty Day at the meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

CataractSurgery.com, an online resource for patient education, has been launched by Alcon, Inc.

The Latanoprost punctal plug drug delivery system (L-PPDS) has performed well in its Phase II CORE trial, according to study data released by the manufacturer, QLT Plug Delivery Inc.

The introduction of anti-glaucoma medications has reduced the need for filtration surgery, according to study results published online ahead of print by Eye.

The Implantable Miniature Telescope (IMT) from VisionCare for end-stage age-related macular degeneration (AMD) maintains best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) improvements to two years, according to results published in the November edition of the American Journal of Ophthalmology.

Long-term use of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) drugs should be treated with caution, as endogenous VEGF plays an important role in the maintenance of retina neuronal cells, according to study results published by PLoS ONE on November 3.

Following the conclusion of the five-year extension of their agreement, Carl Zeiss Meditech has acquired all manufacturing assets from Welch Allyn of their glaucoma diagnostic products, including the Humphrey FDT Visual Field Instrument.

The Premium Experience Network (PEN), a membership programme designed to enhance the professional competitiveness of refractive surgeons? practices, has been launched by Shareef Mahdavi of SM2 Strategic.

The TearLab Osmolarity System and Osmolarity Test Card have been submitted to the FDA for premarket authorization in the US, according to an announcement from the manufacturer of TearLab, Occulogix.

A greater number of mast cells are present in the conjunctiva of glaucoma patients who have undergone ocular surgery, possibly leading to increased scarring, according to study results published online ahead of print by Eye.

Generic versions of dorzolamide-timolol (Cosopt) and dorzolamide hydrochloride (Trusopt; Merck) are now available from Prasco.

Sensitivity analysis could determine the rate of human error in strabismus surgery and reduce the need for repeated operations, according to results published online ahead of print by Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology.

Although both latanoprost and timolol-dorzolamide fixed combination (TDFC) decrease 24-hour intraocular pressure (IOP) and enhance diastolic ocular perfusion pressure (DOPP) in primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) patients, their mechanisms of action are different, according to study results published online by Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science.

The 23-gauge system for pars plana vitrectomy offers greater postoperative comfort for the patient than does the standard 20-gauge system, according to a study published online ahead of print by the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

Multiple-use packs of preservative-free artificial tears are susceptible to contamination, according to study results published in the November issue of the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

Contrary to accepted wisdom, cataract surgery decreases mortality rates, according to results published online ahead of print by the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

Interest in complement factor inhibition in the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) continues to gain momentum with two developers making separate announcements on progress with their AMD therapy hopefuls.

Bleb creation and modification should be viewed as any other construction project, according to Dr Andrew Iwach.

Members of the European Ophthalmology forum debate the usefulness of congresses to the ophthalmology community.

AMO's Healon D latex-free viscoelastic has been granted premarket approval by the FDA. The clear dispersive ophthalmic viscosurgical device (OVD) is designed to be used during phacoemulsification, intraocular lens (IOL) implantation, keratoplasty and glaucoma filtration surgery.

Ophthalmology is perhaps two steps closer to a possible clinical application of lens refilling with silicon gel for restoring ocular accommodation thanks to a refined procedure developed by Dr Okihiro Nishi, MD of the Nishi Eye Hospital, Japan.

The iSpheric Model YA-60BB intraocular lens (IOL) (Hoya) has received FDA market approval. The lens has been available in Europe since 2003.

STAAR Surgical's Visian implantable collamer lens (ICL) & toric ICL (TICL) will allow surgeons to differentiate themselves in the slowing LASIK marketplace, according to the firm's president of international operations, David Bailey.

News in focus, November 2008