In Focus, July/August 2008

Please click on any of the headlines below to see the full story.

Do retina transplants represent the future of retinal degeneration treatment?
Transplants of foetal retinal cells are an effective treatment for retinal degeneration involving the destruction of photoreceptor cells, according to a report published in the August 2008 issue of the American Journal of Ophthalmology.

Body clock sensor in eye discovered
Light sensors present in 2% of retinal cells relate to the body's internal clock and not to vision, according to research published in the journal PLoS ONE.

Microneedles: minimal penetration, optimal delivery
Microneedles offer a better method of ocular drug delivery than traditional methods, according to research presented during the Ophthalmic Drug Delivery symposium, held on June 30 at a meeting of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain.

Opening up the web to the blind
WebAnywhere, a new web tool that allows the blind to surf the web "on the go", without any additional software or installation requirements, has been launched.

Substitute for live animal testing approved
Live animal testing for ocular safety in the US is to be replaced with bovine corneal opacity and permeability (BCOP) and isolated chicken eye (ICE) assays, which do not involve the use of live animals.

Erratum
In the promotional supplement, "The Future in 1-Piece IOL Technology", published with the May edition of Ophthalmology Times Europe, there was an inaccurate statement: "It [Tecnis lens] is the only IOL that has an approved labeling claim for improved functional vision, improved night-driving simulator performance, and reduction in spherical aberration." The AcrySof IQ lens has the same labeling claim.

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