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I would like to give a warm welcome to all of our readers and, particularly to those of you who have recently joined the many ophthalmologists across Europe who read our publication. I have been delighted by the response we have had to Ophthalmology Times Europe so far and I would like to thank you all for your very kind words of support and encouragement. We have tried to make Ophthalmology Times Europe a little different to other publications out there, not only in the world of ophthalmology, but across industries. By providing broad coverage of the industry and presenting arguments and ideas in an easily digestible format, it has been our mission to supply you with something that you enjoy reading.

Open angle glaucoma can be considered as a pathology, which predominantly requires surgical treatment. In light of this, John Cairns, in 1968, introduced a "protect filtering" surgical technique that would improve aqueous outflow and reduce intraocular pressure (IOP) in glaucomatous eyes. That technique was called trabeculectomy.

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.

Keratoconus progression was halted in all 20 eyes treated at eight months postoperatively. In 75% of eyes we recorded a regression in pathology and an improvement in visual acuity was seen in 80% of eyes

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October 2006 Edit List

Vitreous relapse common in eyes with retinoblastoma

Alcon & Origenis intensify relationship

Macugen maintenance

Treating myopic foveoschisis

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.

Deep sclerectomy is not the holy grail of glaucoma surgery, but available evidence indicates that it is definitively safer than trabeculectomy, according to Tarek M. Shaarawy, MD.

Marred by reports of vision loss due to contamination, amongst other complications, trypan blue has received its fair share of bad press over recent years, with many unapproved versions of the formulation making its way into cataract surgeons' practices.

As a result of our excellent postoperative patient data in a variety of applications, we will continue to use the femtosecond laser technology in our practice. It supports our procedures with great precision and safety, it is easy to use and enables us to set new standards in our surgeries

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.

As described by Huang et al. more than a decade ago, optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-contact, non-destructive imaging modality that acquires depth-resolved two- and three-dimensional images of biological tissue.

PCO secondary cataract, no matter how you label it, it exists and it is the most common complication of cataract removal or extraction.

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.

The popularity of phakic IOLs in both cataract and refractive surgery has soared in recent years with lens manufacturers all joining the race to develop better lenses with improved outcomes and fewer complications. Although phakic IOLs are considered the ideal tools for the correction of high ametropias, because of their excellent accuracy and predictability, stability of refraction from day one and independence of tissue healing, they have, unfortunately, been marred by reports of certain complications throughout their development history. These complications include corneal decompensation, chronic inflammation, iris atrophy (pupil distortion), cataract and glaucoma. Here, Ant?nio Marinho, MD, PhD discusses the influence of phakic IOLs on cataract and glaucoma development.

Globally, LASIK is a very popular refractive procedure, which provides excellent visual acuity and quality of vision in low to moderate myopia and hyperopia.1 In the mid-nineties, however, LASIK was performed even in extreme myopic errors (up to 23D) or in corneas that were too thin with or without Forme Fruste Keratoconus (FFKC).

The challenge of glaucoma surgery is not only to create a canal within the anterior chamber that acts as a pressure alleviator, it is to ensure that the canal is stable, will not close and, preferably, will alleviate intraocular pressure (IOP) to such an extent that medication is either no longer necessary or the frequency of dosing is minimized. This is the goal of every glaucoma surgeon and one that, unfortunately, is often not achieved, for a number of reasons.

Oertli survey

Ophthalmology is a branch of medicine that we, as ophthalmologists, regard as an elite branch of medicine and others, such as general surgeons and physicians, often consider as a minor and sometimes easy discipline. As a result of this misdirected preconception, a general practitioner, consultant or physician may not feel it necessary to fully inform us of a patient's health record because they do not consider that ophthalmic medications could, potentially, carry with them serious, sometimes life threatening side effects, if used inappropriately.

DSAEK will soon replace conventional PK surgery for the treatment of endothelial decompensation

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.