Eyecare in the News

News From The Journal Of The American Society Of Plastic Surgeons, January 2009

Can The US Really Cut Health Care Spending? A new study suggests that while health care is one of the strongest sectors of the ailing US economy, achieving a substantial, sustainable reduction is US health care spending is not probable.

Inflammatory Factors And Diabetic Macular Edema Highlighted In Ophthalmology Jan. 2009

With a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicting that diabetic retinopathy will triple from 5.5 million in 2005 to 16 million in 2050, improved treatments are urgently needed for this leading cause of blindness in working-age people. The CDC study is the latest indicator of a world-wide diabetes epidemic that is motivating ophthalmic research around the globe.

Cytomegalovirus: Cell Death May Bring New Life To Treatment Of Retinal Disease

Just days after the first retinal cell gets infected with the common cytomegalovirus, contiguous cells start committing suicide and researchers believe their death may provide clues to better treatment of this potentially blinding infection. Understanding the cell death may also provide new insight into the larger issue of how the retina responds to assault, whether by infection or a disease process such as diabetes, said Dr.

FDA Announces Class I Recall Of Ophthalmic Surgical Device

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced a Class I recall of lot no. UD30654 of Healon D, an ophthalmic viscosurgical device (OVD) manufactured by Advanced Medical Optics Inc. (AMO) of Santa Ana, Calif. OVDs are viscoelastic materials used to maintain space in the eye during surgery. Typically, OVDs are pre-packaged in a syringe and are applied using a small tube. On Oct. 30, 2008, AMO voluntarily recalled all 4,439 units of Healon D lot no.

Bright Lights, Not So Big Pupils

A team of Johns Hopkins neuroscientists has worked out how some newly discovered light sensors in the eye detect light and communicate with the brain. The report appears online this week in Nature. These light sensors are a small number of nerve cells in the retina that contain melanopsin molecules.

The Discovery Eye Foundation Recommends Eye Care As A New Year's Resolution

New Year's Day is a time of year when many individuals take a look forward to the coming year. New Year's resolutions, such as weight loss, and exercise are common, but medical experts at The Discovery Eye Foundation (DEF) are recommending you include making eye care a priority. Eye care is not usually something that tops everyone's New Year resolution lists.

Purchasing Contact Lenses Online

When purchasing lenses you obviously want to get the best deal possible and it has shown over and over again that the Internet is where the best prices are. However, with that said we also have to mention that purchasing contact lenses online comes with some downsides. To clarify all the important points that this topic sustains we created this guide with the pros, cons, online safety and other important dos and don'ts.

Resolvyx Announces Initiation Of Phase I/II Clinical Trial Of Novel Resolvin Therapeutic RX-10045 In Patients With Dry Eye

Resolvyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the leading resolvin therapeutics company, today announced that it has initiated the first human clinical trial evaluating a resolvin therapeutic, RX-10045, in a Phase I/II clinical trial in patients with moderate-severe dry eye syndrome. RX-10045 is a synthetic analog of RvE1, a naturally occurring resolvin with potent anti-inflammatory and cell-sparing activities in laboratory testing.

FDA Approves Alcon's AcrySof® IQ ReSTOR® +3.0 D Intraocular Lens - New Lens Corrects For Cataracts With Presbyopia

Alcon, Inc. (NYSE: ACL), the world's leader in eye care and cataract surgery announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved its +3.0 diopter add power AcrySof® IQ ReSTOR® IOL. This new lens, which was introduced in many major markets outside the United States earlier this year, is now approved in the U.S. for cataract surgery in patients with presbyopia.

FDA Advisory Committee Unanimously Recommends Approval For New Ophthalmic Product Enabled By InSite's DuraSite® Technology

InSite Vision Incorporated (AMEX:ISV) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Dermatologic and Ophthalmic Drugs Advisory Committee has voted unanimously to recommend approval of Bausch & Lomb's besifloxacin ophthalmic suspension, 0.6%, for the treatment of bacterial conjunctivitis, a product that utilizes InSite Vision's DuraSite® patented drug delivery system.

Facial Expression Of Emotion Is Hardwired Say Scientists

US scientists studying the facial expressions of blind and sighted Olympic athletes from more than 20 countries concluded that the way our faces show emotion is determined by our genes: it is hardwired and not learned. The study was the work of San Francisco State University Psychology Professor David Matsumoto and colleague Bob Willingham and is due to be published later today, 29 December, in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Living With Glaucoma: It's All In The Family

With today's improved treatments, glaucoma patients no longer face inevitable blindness, but preserving vision depends on seeing an Eye M.D. (ophthalmologist) at the right time and carefully following a prescribed plan. Glaucoma remains a leading cause of preventable blindness because it often goes undetected -- about half of the three million Americans who have the disease are unaware of it.

Californian Files Consumer Fraud Class Action Against Advanced Medical Optics For Falsely Advertising Contact Lens Solution

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, and Moscone, Emblidge & Quadra announced that Southern California-based Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. ("AMO") was named as the defendant in a consumer fraud and false advertising class action lawsuit. The case, Maria Ruiz v. Advanced Medical Optics, et al., was filed today in California State Superior Court in Orange County.

Blind Man Navigates Obstacle Maze Unaided

With a study of a blind man who successfully nagivated an obstacle maze unaided, scientists have shown for the first time that it is possible for people who have been left blind after severe brain damage to the visual (striate) cortex to be able to use an ability called "blindsight", where they can detect things in their vicinity without being aware of seeing them.

Issued Of Vision-impaired People When Accessing GP Practices, England

Action for Blind People have been asked to carry out a scoping exercise on behalf of the Department of Health on what issues vision impaired people have when accessing GP Practices, from the point of actually needing to make an appointment to actually being in contact with a relevant professional practitioner (e.g. doctor or nurse).This could be an actual face to face appointment, telephone consultation, etc.

Research Into The Contrast Sensitivity Of Persons With Varying Levels Of Visual Acuity

The objective is to determine the characteristics of contrast sensitivity of the human vision system (HVS) by experimental measurements employing a CRT. Said characteristics form the basis for the technologies of displaying, processing and understanding images. The contrast sensitivity function (CSF) is one of most important measures for the HVS.

AOA, School Nurses Partner To Link Healthy Vision And Improved Classroom Learning

The American Optometric Association (AOA), the voice for more than 36,000 frontline providers of eye and vision care nationwide, formed a new partnership today with the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) aimed at developing and implementing strategies to ensure that school-aged children have increased access to comprehensive vision care.

People With Blindness From Cataract Are Poorer Than Those With Normal Sight

A new study conducted in three developing countries - Kenya, the Philippines, and Bangladesh - finds that people with cataract-induced visual impairment are more likely to live in poverty than those with normal sight. The study is published in the open access international health journal PLoS Medicine. Blindness affects about 45 million people worldwide, and more than a third is caused by cataract.

Flying Champagne Corks Are Bad News For Your Eyes

For most people bringing in the New Year means celebrating with friends and family, champagne toasts and cheer, but if you get hit in the eye with a champagne cork, it may mean a trip to the emergency room to try and save your sight. Jim Doessel knows all too well about the danger a cork can present. He was recently hit in the eye while celebrating his tennis club championship.

An Exceptionally Well Preserved Eocene Dolichopodid Fly Eye: Function And Evolutionary Significance

The exceptionally preserved eyes of an Eocene dolichopodid fly contained in Baltic amber show remarkable detail, including features at micron and submicron level. Based on this material we establish that it is likely that the neural superposition compound eye existed as far back at 45 Ma. The ommatidia have an open rhabdom with a trapezoidal arrangement of seven rhabdomeres.

Akorn, Inc. Announces FDA Approval Of Ciprofloxacin HCl Ophthalmic Solution USP, 0.3%

Akorn, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKRX) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted approval for Akorn's Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Ciprofloxacin HCl Ophthalmic Solution USP, 0.3%. Ciprofloxacin HCl Ophthalmic Solution is indicated for the treatment of infections caused by microorganisms in corneal ulcers and conjunctivitis. Annual sales for Ciprofloxacin HCl Ophthalmic Solution are approximately $20 million, according to IMS sales data.

SARcode Announces Completion Of Phase 1 Clinical Trial Of SAR 1118 Ophthalmic Solution

SARcode Corporation, a privately-held biopharmaceutical company focused on developing small molecule LFA-1 antagonists to treat inflammatory diseases, today announced the completion of a Phase 1 study of the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of its lead molecule, SAR 1118 in healthy human subjects. The full set of Phase 1 data is anticipated to be presented at a major ophthalmology meeting in the spring of 2009.

How Mutations Are Transmitted From One Generation To The Next

A fundamental process in the transmission of genes from mother to child has been identified by researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University. The new study published in the December issue of the journal Nature Genetics identifies a mechanism that plays a key role in how mutations are transmitted from one generation to the next, providing unprecedented insight into metabolic diseases.

New Clinical Trial For Drug Delivery Device In AMD - PSivida Corp

Drug delivery company pSivida Corp (NASDAQ:PSDV)(ASX:PVA) today announced that a clinical trial has begun using its MedidurTM delivery technology to treat a form of dry-Age related Macular Degeneration (dry-AMD). Medidur is a tiny intravitreal insert designed to be administered by an eye care professional, using a proprietary 25-gauge inserter in a minimally invasive, outpatient procedure.

Eye Care - Black And Minority Ethnic Communities Still Neglected Says Thomas Pocklington Trust, UK

Projects in Birmingham, Devon, Derbyshire, Tower Hamlets, Bradford and Sheffield are among only thirteen to be cited as "good practice" in a new guide to providing vision services for people from black and minority ethnic communities.