News

Nicox has launched Sjö, an advanced diagnostic panel for the early detection of Sjögren's syndrome, and has formed a partnership with the Sjögren's Syndrome Foundation to raise aware of this disease among eye care professionals.

ML7 has the potential to bring an effective, targeted therapeutic response in patients who suffer from dry eye syndromes. Preclinical trials of the eye-drop formulation of Neuroptis Biotech's ML7 product have yielded positive results, and have recently been published.

Heidelberg edge perimetry (HEP) may have role in the early detection and assessment of functional damage cause by glaucoma, according to the authors of a case report presented online at PubMed via Case Reports in Ophthalmology. Further, HEP testing may potentially have advantages over standard automated perimetry (SAP), currently the gold standard for visual function testing.

Shallower anterior chamber depth (ACD) and a smaller iris curvature (I-Curv) are the two primary anterior segment biometric parameters associated with acute primary angle closure during an attack, according to a recent study published in Ophthalmology.

One in three young Danish patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus progressed to proliferative diabetic retinopathy, and two in three had 2-step progression despite their young age, according to study results recently published in the November 2013 issue of Acta Diabetologica. In addition, these researchers from Denmark found that after 30-years? duration of diabetes, the presence of diabetic retinopathy was almost universal.

The most common indications for IOL exchange are IOL dislocation and incorrect IOL power, according to study results in press for the American Journal of Ophthalmology. Patient requests for IOL exchange due to dissatisfaction have also increased, and this is especially true for patients who achieve undesired visual acuity even without photic symptoms.

Waveform changes in optic nerve head (ONH) blood flow as measured by laser speckle flowgraphy may be useful in differentiating healthy eyes from those with normal-tension glaucoma (NTG), according to the authors of a recent study.

Phacoemulsification done after trabeculectomy may significantly increase the rates of bleb failure in the following 12 months, but not at 24 months, according to a recently published study.

Oral pazopanib - in a dose of 15 mg/d - is well tolerated and may improve mean best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central retinal lesion thickness and central retinal thickness in as little as 1 month of treatment in some patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to recent study results.

Traditionally, corneal astigmatism in cataract patients has been addressed through corneal correction by means of corneal incisional relaxing techniques, excimer laser keratectomy and, most recently, by means of femtosecond laser astigmatic keratotomy.

In this article, the authors describe the IOL in detail and discuss a feasibility study, concluding that the concept of a multi-component IOL can help overcome any refractive problem that may arise at any time after cataract surgery.

Preliminary results suggest that the PresVIEW ScleraI Implant, a two-part clear plastic locking implant designed to provide secure placement in the eye, is safe and effective for presbyopic emmetropes and has demonstrated interesting intraocular pressure (IOP) reduction capabailities.

Non-invasive imaging modalities, such as high-resolution anterior-segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) and in-vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) imaging, may be more sensitive to identifying and monitoring epithelial downgrowth, compared with routine light biomicroscopy in patients undergoing penetrating keratoplasty, and will perhaps replace more invasive diagnostics in these patients.

In this article, the author provides a summary of the current market and considerations with regard to generic drugs for glaucoma treatment.

In this article, Dr Vinekar describes the Karnataka Internet Assisted Diagnosis of Retinopathy of Prematurity (KIDROP) programme and how this is changing the landscape of eye screening in India.

Dr Hirnschall described a recent prospective, multicentre study performed in Vienna (Austria), Castrop-Rauxel (Germany) and London (UK), in which the insufficient astigmatism reduction after toric lens implantation was assessed.

In a recent study, Dr Henry and colleagues looked at a series of patients with delayed-onset endophthalmitis associated with corneal suture infections, finding that removal of loose or elevated sutures should be considered when the wound is stable to help prevent serious complications.

Dr Monaco and colleagues performed a comparative study on two different toric lenses using wavefront technology for analysis. Here, he presents the findings.

The authors previously reported a case of a patient with a history of radial keratotomy (RK) who developed acute postoperative endophthalmitis without keratitis shortly after photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) surgery. In this article, the authors present the case study, highlighting the importance of understanding surgical complications.

Nepafenac can be used to prevent the onset of cystoid macular oedema and as an alternative to cortisone to control the inflammatory effects of cataract surgery; this drug can be used to similar effect regardless of the experience of the surgeon, according to Dr Elisa Tosco.

A new +2.5 D add version of a multifocal IOL features a redesigned optic that enhances visual function at intermediate and distance and delivers excellent visual quality.

Dr Kanellopoulos describes a study in which the quantitative differences in the presence and extent of opaque bubble layer in flaps created with a femtosecond laser with a wider venting canal design and its predecessor design have been compared.

The authors conducted a prospective, randomized, fellow eye comparative study to evaluate the difference in PCO performance between two aspheric hydrophilic acrylic microincision IOLs and these results were further compared with those of a conventional spherical hydrophobic acrylic non-microincision IOL.

Even patients experienced with instilling topical glaucoma medications continue to have difficulties with eye drop administration, even those who do not self-report such difficulties, according to a recent study. Further, the risk of having difficulties with eye drop instillation is increased in patients who self-report difficulty and in those who have been previously observed to have difficulties.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended ocriplasmin (Jetrea) as a clinically effective and cost-effective treatment option for patients suffering from vitreomacular traction, including that associated with macular hole of ? 400 ?m when an epiretinal membrane is absent, or adults with vitreomacular traction and severe symptoms, when an epiretinal membrane and macular hole are both absent.

Choosing and using the AcrySof IQ ReSTOR IOL family - Customized options for individual patients.

Combined topical and intracameral anesthesia without sedatives is well tolerated by most phacoemulsification patients, according to results of a large, population-based series of small-incision phacoemulsification surgery. In addition, this anesthetic regimen was also effective in cases where complications or adverse events occurred.

Researchers have developed a methodology for calculating likelihood ratios for glaucoma diagnosis using continuous retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness measurements taken with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), and found that average RNFL thickness values < 86 ?m were associated with negative likelihood ratios of such a diagnosis.

Novartis has launched a fully interactive Facebook app, ?Retina App,? which simulates retinal disease by illustrating the user?s journey with a highly realistic view of the possible impact of vision loss on their daily lives.

B+L has announced the European launch of INCISE.