News

Lucentis (ranibizumab; Novartis) is to be made available to patients of the National Health Service (NHS) in England and Wales. The final appraisal document (FAD) has been published ahead of a final decision, expected in June 2008.

Providing patients with renewed hope and the chance of halting and maybe even reversing vision loss, the launch of this anti-VEGF therapy has signalled a permanent change in the way this debilitating disorder is treated worldwide.

Orbis International, an international nonprofit humanitarian organization which operates the world"s only Flying Eye Hospital, is to upgrade from a DC-10-10 to a DC-10 Series 30 freighter airline, giving the project an extra 20 years of flying time.

Sometimes I sit back and think about how this magazine has evolved over the years and, on a more regular basis, I think about where we can go from here.

A new lubricating eye drop (blink Tears, Advanced Medical Optics) with the active ingredient polyethylene glycol is designed to provide a balance between viscosity and retention without sacrificing a patient's visual quality. It can help optimize the ocular surface before and after refractive surgery, aiding postoperative visual outcomes and patient satisfaction.

Refractive surgeons should be aware of the possibility that a surgical marker pen (Codman; Johnson & Johnson) could be a cause of diffuse lamellar keratitis (DLK) after LASIK, said Wei-Han Chua, MD.

Canaloplasty with tensioning suture placement is growing in popularity owing to a combination of factors, including a successful training programme, an improved reimbursement picture, and favourable long-term data, said Richard A. Lewis, MD.

An aspheric IOL may be considered the implant design of choice for most patients with glaucoma who require cataract surgery, said Richard L. Lindstrom, MD.

The injection of DNA into the optic nerve resulted in light perception vision in patients with no light perception and very low vision, according to Sunita Agarwal, MD.

Nutritional supplements seem to make sense as a treatment of tear dysfunction, according to Marian Macsai, MD. Dr Macsai tempered her assertion with the observation that no objective trials have been performed to support the use of nutritional supplements in patients with tear deficiency.

The use of ophthalmic solutions tends to increase with age; however, as use of these solutions, both therapeutic and diagnostic, rises, so too does a patient's risk of infections.

Novartis acquires a stake in Alcon

New treatments have not only caused major shifts in practice patterns but have also presented feasible options for pathologies other than those for which they were initially developed.

Second Sight's "bionic eye" implant, the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System, has been implanted into two blind patients at London's Moorfields Eye Hospital by Dr Lyndon da Cruz and team.

Spectral domain, three-dimensional (3-D), high-resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT) represents a step forward in OCT technology, with precise registration, complete data set acquisition, and improved coverage of the retina being the major advantages.

VEGFb, a novel form of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), an anti-angiogenic which is cytoprotective for retinal cells, can inhibit choroidal neovascularization significantly, according to preclinical results presented at this year's BIO National Venture Conference, held April 22?23 in Cambridge, US.

Cortiject, Novagali Pharma's investigational treatment for Diabetic Macular Oedema (DME), has successfully been injected into the first patient in its Phase I clinical trial.

The intraocular position of different models of phakic IOLs show differences in space to the crystalline lens and the corneal endothelium, which may affect long-term results in terms of IOL interaction with surrounding tissue, according to a study published in the January 2008 issue of the Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.

A Phase I study testing safety and tolerability of a new non-invasive drug delivery system, the EyeGate II Ocular Drug Delivery System (EyeGate Pharma), has been launched.

The increased level of ultraviolet (UV) rays in the Earth's atmosphere due to the depleted ozone layer is increasing the risk of cataract-induced blindness, according to a spokesman from the Fred Hollows Foundation.

"See America", a contest to promote the importance of eye exams in the prevention of glaucoma, has been launched by Prevent Blindness America.

Although tonometry remains a vital tool in glaucoma management, the significance of individual measurements should be regarded with a healthy degree of skepticism. Central corneal thickness (CCT) measurements should be incorporated into global assessment of glaucoma risk, but trying to correct tonometry readings by CCT is not appropriate.

The periodic assessment of vision function with visual field testing is a standard and important part of the management of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). Automated achromatic static threshold perimetry is the preferred technique, although other static and kinetic techniques are acceptable alternatives in patients who are unable to complete automated perimetry reliably or when the technology is not available.

Patients with retinal dystrophy experience slower disease progression when treated with the α2 agonist brimonidine, according to a study published in the February 2008 issue of the Journal of Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

The FDA has approved an expansion of the Phase III CABERNET (CNV Secondary to AMD Treated with BEta RadiatioN Epiretinal Therapy) trial, which is evaluating the safety and efficacy of NeoVista's epiretinal brachytherapy in wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

The P200C, a retinal imaging device designed for advanced ocular disease, has been launched by Optos plc.

The Akreos AO microincision lens (model MI60; Bausch and Lomb) and the Amaris excimer laser (Schwind) have been named amongst 33 winners at the 2008 Medical Design Excellence Awards (MDEA).

Cases of intraoperative floppy iris syndrome (IFIS) encompass a wide spectrum of severity, so it is important for surgeons to master several different strategies to increase the likelihood of achieving a safe outcome in these eyes.

A surgical microscope designed specifically for cataract and anterior segment surgery - the OMS-710 Operation Microscope - has been launched by Topcon Medical Systems, Inc.

Cationorm, a cationic emulsion to treat dry eye, has been launched in France by Novagali Pharma.