Medical and Health News

Seniors Group Asks Medicare Part-D Plans To Provide Affordable Gout Medication For Patients

2011-04-11T07:38:00.000-07:00

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Also Included In: Gout
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As part of the 60 Plus Association's "Keeping Seniors Safe" project, the organization's chairman, Jim Martin, recently sent letters to the CEOs of five Part-D Medicare plans, urging them to provide accessible colchicine-based medications to gout patients after untested and potentially harmful options were removed from the marketplace as part of an important Food and Drug Administration (FDA) safety-initiative.

"In light of the FDA's removal of unapproved colchicine from the market, [these outlying companies] must follow the lead of other Part-D insurers around the country and reclassify COLCRYS as a tier-1 or 2 drug to ensure seniors have access to their vital gout medications" Martin wrote to the CEOs of the companies. "It is unjust to force patients to suffer through often excruciatingly-painful acute gout flare-ups despite the fact that they were promised affordable coverage for their medications."

The FDA's "Unapproved Drugs Initiative" calls for the removal of unapproved drugs from the market when approved versions exist. The agency recently acted on this initiative by removing untested colchicine products from the market.

"The FDA did what was best for patients by removing untested colchicine products from the market," wrote Martin. "We hope your company will also act in the best interest of patients and immediately work to ensure that seniors enrolled in your Part-D plan have access to the colchicine products they were promised-and sorely need."

In addition to the CEOs of offending insurance companies, copies of Martin's letter were sent to Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, HHS Deputy Secretary William Corr, CMS Administrator Donald Berwick, Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), Representative Pete Stark (D-CA), Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA), Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), and Representative Allyson Schwartz (D-NY).

Source:
60 Plus Association

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posted by Gregg on 25 Feb 2011 at 9:36 am

Where the article is mistaken is in saying that the former versions of Colchicine were "potentially harmful". There is nothing different chemically about Colcrys, it merely has different labeling. For the privilege of getting this new "special" label on the package, the FDA says you must pay one-hundred and fifty dollars (or more) a month, instead of the previous twenty dollars or so.

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Innovative Technique Gives Vision Researchers Insight Into How People Recognize Faces

2011-04-11T03:13:00.000-07:00

Main Category: Eye Health / Blindness
Also Included In: Neurology / Neuroscience; Biology / Biochemistry
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It is no surprise to scientists that the largest social network on the web is called Facebook. Identifying people by their face is fundamental to our social interactions, one of the primary reasons vision researchers are trying to find out how our brain processes facial identity.

In a study recently published in the Journal of Vision, scientists used an original approach a method that "shakes" the brain gently and repeatedly by making an image appear and disappear at a constant rate to evaluate its sensitivity to perceiving facial identity. The technique is called steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP).

"If we measure global human brain activity when one face is viewed, it cannot be differentiated from brain activity when another face is viewed," said author Bruno Rossion, PhD, a researcher at the Institute of Psychology and Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium. "This is why we relied on a method in which brain activity is compared between repetition of the same face and the presentation of different faces in succession."

During the experiment, 12 participants were presented with a series of faces appearing at a frequency of 3.5 faces per second. The result showed the brain signal at that specific frequency only was much larger when a sequence of different faces was presented at that rate than when an identical face was repeated.

The research team was positively surprised by the resulting large size of the difference between the two conditions, obtained only after one minute and a half of testing, and was equally astonished that the difference in conditions did not exist when the faces were inverted. The study also confirmed that the region for face perception lies primarily in the posterior part of the brain's right hemisphere.

The ability to recognize a face is a common problem in cases of sudden onset of posterior brain damage, neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer disease and other forms of dementia and social disorders such as autism. Rossion points out that an advantage of using this highly sensitive SSVEP methods is that it can be used and compared objectively in different human populations adults, infants, children, neurological patients, people with long-life face recognition impairments or autism - without requiring complex instructions and a long testing duration.

"Face recognition involves the most complex aspects of perception and memory and, for this reason, understanding how it works has large-scale implication," Rossion adds. "Ultimately, through a better understanding of this function, we will make tremendous progress in our understanding of how the brain works in general, develop tools to detect its dysfunction and hopefully help remedy it."

Source: Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO)

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American Optometric Association Awards ACUVUE(R) ADVANCE(R) Plus Brand Contact Lenses With Seal Of Acceptance For UV Absorbing Contact Lenses

2011-04-10T23:17:00.000-07:00

Main Category: Eye Health / Blindness
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ACUVUE® ADVANCE® Plus Brand Contact Lenses became the sixth contact lens in the ACUVUE® Brand family of products to receive the Seal of Acceptance for Ultraviolet Absorbing Contact Lenses from the American Optometric Association's (AOA) Commission on Ophthalmic Standards.

In awarding the Seal of Acceptance, AOA's Commission on Ophthalmic Standards, which provides independent evaluation of ophthalmic related products, determined that ACUVUE® ADVANCE® Plus Brand meets AOA specifications for ultraviolet absorbing contact lenses. These specifications are in accordance with published standards of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and International Standards Organization (ISO).

"For those who need vision correction, a significant measure of UV protection can be achieved with a combination of UV-absorbing sunglasses, a wide-brimmed hat, and UV-blocking contact lenses," says Karl M. Citek, OD, Ph.D., Chair of the Commission on Ophthalmic Standards.

"Not all contact lens lines offer UV protection, and, of those that do, not all provide similar absorption levels," explains Sheila Hickson-Curran, Director, Medical Affairs, VISTAKON®, Division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc.

All ACUVUE® Brand Contact Lenses offer effective UV-blocking, and among contact lens brands, only ACUVUE® ADVANCE® Plus, 1•DAY ACUVUE® TRUEYETM, ACUVUE® OASYS® with HYDRACLEAR® PLUS, ACUVUE® OASYS®for ASTIGMATISM, ACUVUE® ADVANCE® with HYDRACLEAR®, and ACUVUE® ADVANCE® for ASTIGMATISM Brand Contact Lenses carry the AOA's Seal of Acceptance for Ultraviolet Absorbing Contact Lenses. These contact lenses offer the highest level of UV-blocking available, blocking more than 90 percent of UVA rays and 99 percent of UVB rays that reach the lens.† * On average, contact lenses without UV-blocking capability allow 90% of UVA radiation and 70% of UVB radiation to pass through the lenses to your eyes.

"Although UV-blocking contact lenses provide important added protection for patients, they should not be viewed as a stand-alone solution," notes Dr. Citek. "Contact lenses should always be worn in conjunction with high-quality UV-blocking sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat for maximum UV protection for the eyes."

Important information for contact lens wearers: ACUVUE® Brand Contact Lenses are available by prescription only for vision correction. An eye care professional will determine whether contact lenses are right for you. Although rare, serious eye problems can develop while wearing contact lenses. To help avoid these problems, follow the wear and replacement schedule and the lens care instructions provided by your eye doctor. Do not wear contact lenses if you have an eye infection, or experience eye discomfort, excessive tearing, vision changes, redness or other eye problems. If one of these conditions occurs, contact your eye doctor immediately.

† Helps protect against transmission of harmful UV radiation to the cornea and into the eye.

* WARNING: UV-absorbing contact lenses are NOT substitutes for protective UV-absorbing eyewear such as UV-absorbing goggles or sunglasses because they do not completely cover the eye and surrounding area. You should continue to use UV-absorbing eyewear as directed. NOTE: Long term exposure to UV radiation is one of the risk factors associated with cataracts. Exposure is based on a number of factors such as environmental conditions (altitude, geography, cloud cover) and personal factors (extent and nature of outdoor activities). UV-Blocking contact lenses help provide protection against harmful UV radiation. However, clinical studies have not been done to demonstrate that wearing UV-Blocking contact lenses reduces the risk of developing cataracts or other eye disorders. Consult your eye care practitioner for more information.

Source:
Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc.

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New Approaches To Dementia And Sight Loss - Report Of First National Conference Released Today, UK

2011-04-10T19:06:00.000-07:00

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Main Category: Alzheimer's / Dementia
Also Included In: Eye Health / Blindness
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Key messages for professionals, policy makers, commissioners and carers are highlighted in a report released today (1) of the First National Conference on Dementia and Sight Loss.

The report, by the Dementia and Sight Loss Interest Group (DaSLIG), a coalition of leading charities, (2) summarises the presentations and discussions delivered at the recent National Conference in London. Organised by DaSLIG and sponsored by ARUP, the conference brought together over 70 delegates - sight loss and dementia specialists as well as representatives from bodies including the Department of Health, NHS and Social Care Institute for Excellence.

"This conference was a milestone in the bid to improve the lives of people living with both dementia and sight loss," said Sarah Buchanan, Research and Development Manager, Thomas Pocklington Trust. "It was the first major debate on this issue and it delivered crucial information and practical solutions for improving care. The report should be essential reading for all those involved in the care and support of people with dementia."

Of the estimated 750,000 people in the UK living with dementia, at least 100,000 will also have serious sight loss yet, in 2010, a review of existing dementia policy, practice and literature, summarised for the conference by Dr. Declan McKeefry (3), (Bradford University School of Optometry and Vision Science), concluded that all three displayed a "fundamental lack of sensitivity to sight loss."

He highlighted three main types of sight loss associated with dementia. A specific eye condition might occur at the same time as dementia; some forms of dementia affect vision, including perception of colour, depth and detail; and, thirdly, normal ageing of the eyes plays an important role since most people with dementia are over the age of 75.

Despite this, his research showed that few people with dementia appear to have access to regular eye tests.

"Ocular health screening is important in people with dementia, yet there's a reticence to refer them," he said.

At the conference, Fazilet Hadi, Group Director Inclusive Society, RNIB, spelled out the realities of living with dementia and sight loss. The emotional impact on people's identity, confidence and self worth are underestimated and a lot of people are not getting the services they need.

"Having both dementia and sight loss is qualitatively different than having one or the other. But when dementia is the main condition sight loss can be forgotten," she said.

Dr. Graham Stokes, Director of Dementia Care for BUPA, had seen many cases of dementia related sight loss. He called it "not seeing with true knowledge". In a moving account he described a man whose dementia and sight loss led to terror at his own reflection. Too often carers were insensitive to this kind of fear and alarm. He classified this as "malign care" and urged carers to "move beyond quality of care to quality of life." He listed practical examples for improving care in care homes. For example: how to deliver "high intensity engagement" to people with dementia. Even 90 seconds of interaction can give long-lasting feelings of wellbeing:

"The positive feeling exists far longer than the memory of the interaction," he said. "Carers, you do have time to give people one-to-one attention."

The National Dementia Strategy was setting a pathway for change, said Professor Sube Banerjee, leading specialist in dementia and co-leader on development of the national strategy.

"At the moment we spend a lot of money - late - on things that aren't of good quality," he said.

He cited "waiting too long and not focussing on prevention" as major failings. Late diagnosis was resulting in "harm, crisis and cost," he said, with only 30% of people with dementia ever diagnosed. Now, early diagnosis and intervention "including the diagnosis of important co-morbidities such as sight loss" is a key aim of the National Dementia Strategy.

The huge cost of dementia care - £17 billion a year in the UK - would be a powerful driver of change:

"Doing dementia care well will cost less than doing it badly. Doing it well becomes the solution rather than the problem."

Andrew Chidgey, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at the Alzheimer's Society, said the scene was set for achieving change.

"There is a willingness of people to talk more freely about members of their family who have dementia. With this increased awareness and willingness to act there is an opportunity now to do far more on dementia linked to sight loss."

Other speakers highlighted in the report include:

Professor David Croisdale-Appleby OBE (Skills for Care) on how qualifications available from January 2011 will improve the knowledge, understanding and status of social care staff.

Penny Redwood (freelance trainer) on how to recognise concurrent sight loss and dementia.

Pam Turpin, (ARUP) giving a room-by-room account of making a home dementia and sight loss friendly.

Notes:

1. Dementia and Sight Loss Conference - Summary of Conference available here.

2. The Dementia and Sight Loss Interest Group (DaSLIG) of VISION 2020 UK is led by Alzheimer's Society, Macular Disease Society, ARUP, Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and Thomas Pocklington Trust. This special interest group leads work to raise awareness of concurrent dementia and sight loss.

3. Research papers available here.
The key papers presented by Professor Sube Banerjee and Dr. Declan McKeefry are:
"The experiences and needs of people with dementia and serious visual impairment: a qualitative study" by Vanessa Lawrence, Joanna Murray, Dr. Dominic ffytche and Professor Sube Banerjee, King's College London.
"The development of professional guidelines for the eye examination of people with dementia" D. McKeefry. University of Bradford Schools of Optometry and Vision Science. The findings of this study are included in Thomas Pocklington Trust Research Discussion Paper number 8 - "Improving the provision of vision and eye health care to people with dementia"

4. The research led by Professor Sube Banerjee at Kings College, London, and supported by Thomas Pocklington Trust, shows that in dementia a person's orientation, recognition, recall and judgement are all exacerbated by sight loss, making the impact of dementia worse. Sight loss can increase feelings of confusion, isolation and fear and this, in turn, may trigger aggression. At the same time, a person's ability to cope with sight loss is reduced by dementia. Responding to people's sight loss, suggests the research, could reduce both the distress of dementia and the likelihood of disruptive behaviour.

Source:
Thomas Pocklington Trust

posted by Jim on 26 Mar 2011 at 12:11 am

My wife Patricia was diagnosed with alzheimers in 2000 at the age of 57. Her eyes are perfect, but the brain cells for seeing have died. She had trouble seeing in 1998, and is now blind. It is advisable to be checked out for alz if one is having to use spectacles for the first time at 35 years and over. Alzheimers may be the cause.

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InSite Vision Announces Positive Phase 1/2 Results For ISV-303 For The Reduction Of Pain And Inflammation After Cataract Surgery

2011-04-10T16:00:00.000-07:00

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Main Category: Eye Health / Blindness
Also Included In: Pain / Anesthetics
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InSite Vision Incorporated (OTCBB:INSV) announced top-line results from its recently completed Phase 1/2 clinical trial of ISV-303, a topical anti-inflammatory product intended to reduce the pain and inflammation associated with ocular surgery. This randomized four-arm study compared once- and twice-daily doses of ISV-303 versus Xibrom™ and DuraSite® (vehicle), each administered twice-daily. ISV-303 combines a lower dose (0.075%) of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) bromfenac (BROMDAY™/Xibrom (bromfenac ophthalmic solution) 0.09%, marketed by ISTA Pharmaceuticals) with InSite Vision's proprietary DuraSite drug delivery technology.

The Phase 1/2 clinical trial enrolled 169 patients undergoing cataract surgery. The primary endpoint of the study was the absence of cells in the anterior chamber of the eye at day 15 post surgery. Once-daily ISV-303 achieved statistically significant superiority compared to vehicle (53.3% vs. 19.0%, p=0.0016) for the primary endpoint. Further, secondary endpoints such as reduction of flare, pain and discomfort as a result of inflammation, achieved statistically significant superiority at days 8, 15 and 29 as compared with vehicle. While once-daily ISV-303 achieved a numerically superior difference in the primary endpoint versus twice-daily Xibrom (53.3% vs. 42.2%), the results did not reach statistical significance given the relatively small size of the trial. ISV-303, Xibrom and vehicle were all generally well tolerated and there were no safety concerns or serious adverse events related to any of the agents. InSite Vision intends to present a final analysis of the ISV-303 Phase 1/2 clinical trial in conjunction with a future scientific meeting.

The exploratory Phase 1/2 study was not designed to achieve statistically significant difference between the arms. Nevertheless, the results of this relatively small study comfortably demonstrate the clear efficacy and safety of once-daily ISV-303 over DuraSite in terms of a regulatory pathway, and the promise of a commercially superior once-daily NSAID for post-surgical use in the marketplace. Following final analysis, the Company plans to initiate discussions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the design of the pivotal Phase 3 program for once-daily ISV-303. The Company also plans to conduct a Phase 2 pharmacokinetic study of once-daily ISV-303 against ISTA Pharmaceutical's currently marketed once-daily NSAID, BROMDAY.

"It is a delightfully rare situation to experience such stunningly statistically significant results in an exploratory Phase 1/2 study," said Timothy Ruane, Chief Executive Officer of InSite Vision. "With the efficacy and safety profile established in this study, and potential patent protection extending to 2029, we believe once-daily ISV-303 is very well positioned to compete in the growing $300 million ophthalmic NSAID market in the United States. Importantly, the results of this study further transform InSite Vision into a late-stage company with three Phase 3 candidates that we intend to move toward approval."

InSite Vision is advancing another product candidate that utilizes a low-concentration of bromfenac enabled by DuraSite. ISV-101, a lower dose of bromfenac in DuraSite, is being developed for the treatment of dry eye disease. On January 11, 2011, InSite Vision announced it had filed an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for ISV-101 with the FDA. The Company is now positioned to initiate a dose-ranging Phase 1/2 clinical trial in 2011 to evaluate the safety and efficacy of ISV-101 when administered to patients suffering from dry eye disease. Patent protection for this drug candidate is also expected to extend into 2029. Preclinical data on the safety of ISV-303 and ISV-101 (bromfenac formulated in DuraSite) on ocular tissues have been accepted for presentation at the 2011 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Annual Meeting being held May 1 - 5, 2011 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Cataract surgery is the most frequently performed ocular surgery in the United States with more than three million procedures annually. Following surgery, anti-inflammatory eye drops are typically prescribed to reduce pain and inflammation and to enhance healing.

Dry eye disease occurs when the surface of the eye becomes compromised for various reasons, frequently involving tear-film changes. While causes of dry eye may vary, it is frequently associated with inflammation of the surface of the eye, the lacrimal gland, and/or the conjunctiva. A potentially chronic condition that can occur at any age, dry eye disease is most prevalent among the elderly. It is estimated to affect at least twenty-five million people in the U.S. alone.

About DuraSite®

InSite's DuraSite sustained delivery technology is a patented synthetic polymer-based formulation designed to extend the residence time of a drug relative to conventional topical therapies. It enables topical delivery of a solution, gel or suspension and can be customized for delivering a wide variety of potential drug candidates. The DuraSite platform is currently leveraged in two commercial products for the treatment of bacterial eye infections, AzaSite® (azithromycin ophthalmic solution) 1% and Besivance™ (besifloxacin ophthalmic suspension) 0.6%. InSite vision is also applying DuraSite to multiple other clinical- and preclinical-stage product candidates to create a portfolio of novel ophthalmic products.

Source:
InSite Vision

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New CNIB Survey Finds Many Canadians Less Than Well-Informed About Family History Of Glaucoma

2011-04-10T11:28:00.000-07:00

Main Category: Eye Health / Blindness
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According to a new CNIB survey released this week for World Glaucoma Week (March 7-13), few Canadians are as informed as they need to be about their family history of glaucoma, a serious and incurable eye condition that affects 250,000 Canadians.

Despite the fact that glaucoma tends to run in families, the survey found that almost half of Canadians (47 per cent) do not feel well-informed about their family history of the disease. In fact, only one-third of Canadians (33 per cent) have spoken to their immediate families to learn whether glaucoma could be a hereditary concern.

But astonishingly, among the group that reported having had that conversation, almost half (47 per cent) learned that glaucoma was in the family, indicating they could be at an elevated risk.

"People forget that learning about your family history of glaucoma is an important step to protecting your eyesight. Family history, particularly having a parent or sibling with the disease, is considered one of the primary risk factors of glaucoma," said Dr. Keith Gordon, Vice-President of Research and Service Quality, CNIB.

The survey also revealed that most Canadians (71 per cent) are unaware that you could have glaucoma, but still be able to see perfectly well.

Eye Remember

To educate Canadians about the importance of detecting glaucoma early, CNIB has launched its third annual awareness campaign and photo contest called "Eye Remember." From March 8 to May 18, Canadians can visit www.eyeremember.ca to get the facts on glaucoma and upload a photograph that represents a cherished memory from their past - whether it's a summer with family at the cottage, a shot from your honeymoon, or an old black and white picture from grandma's albums - along with a brief description of why it is close to their heart and reminds them to be proactive about their vision health.

All uploaded photos will be entered for a chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime trip for two to one of four popular Canadian destinations, including Banff (Alberta), Quebec City (Quebec), Niagara Falls (Ontario) and the Okanagan Valley (British Columbia).

Glaucoma: The "silent thief"

Caused by damage to the optic nerve, glaucoma usually progresses slowly and painlessly; therefore it's possible to have glaucoma without noticing any symptoms or major changes to your eyesight. In fact, 125,000 Canadians are living with glaucoma today and don't know it.

"Because glaucoma has no symptoms, it can only be picked up by regular eye examinations with an eye doctor," said Dr. Neeru Gupta, Professor, Dorothy Pitts Chair of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences, and Director of the Glaucoma Unit at St. Michael's Hospital, University of Toronto. "If someone in your family has glaucoma, you are at a much higher risk for the disease. Get your eye pressure and optic nerves checked for glaucoma. Early treatment is a powerful way to prevent vision loss."

In addition to family history, risk factors for glaucoma include having elevated eye pressure, being over the age of 40, being of African, Asian or Inuit descent and having myopia.

Over time, glaucoma may cause loss of peripheral (side) vision, followed by "tunnel" vision or complete vision loss. There is no cure for glaucoma and, once you begin to lose your vision, it can't be restored. Fortunately, vision loss from glaucoma can be controlled if detected early.

About the survey

This survey was conducted as part of CNIB's Eye Remember campaign in order to determine how much Canadians know about glaucoma and its risk factors. A random sample of 1,003 Canadians aged 18 and older answered an online survey. Survey results from a sample of Canadians of this size can be considered accurate to +/- 3.1 per cent, 19 times out of 20. The survey was undertaken by CNIB, with data collection by Ipsos Public Affairs. Eye Remember is supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Pfizer Canada Inc.

Source:
CNIB

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LensAR™ Laser System Receives FDA Clearance For Lens Fragmentation And Anterior Capsulotomy In Cataract Surgery

2011-04-10T07:25:00.000-07:00

Main Category: Eye Health / Blindness
Also Included In: Medical Devices / Diagnostics; Regulatory Affairs / Drug Approvals
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LensAR, Inc., the leading developer of next-generation laser technology for refractive cataract surgery, announced that the company has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for use of the LensAR™ Laser System for anterior capsulotomy and lens fragmentation during cataract surgery.

"Receiving the additional FDA indication for lens fragmentation is a significant milestone achievement in getting our technology one step closer to commercialization. We are very pleased with the exceptional fragmentation data that was submitted to obtain the indication and the resulting FDA clearance," said Randy Frey, founder and Chief Executive Officer of LensAR™.

Louis "Skip" Nichamin, MD, went on to comment, "In 2010, I was honored to be the first US surgeon to use the LensAR™ Laser System. I found that even in the most advanced grades of cataract that the lens fragmentation and extraction process was considerably more proficient and seamless than conventional phacoemulsification. The recent FDA clearance is a tremendous accomplishment in advancing innovative technologies that will improve lens replacement surgery."

The LensAR™ Laser System has been developed to meet the advancing needs of refractive cataract surgeons and their patients. The proprietary 3D-CSI™ (Confocal Structured Illumination) imaging and biometry system is being designed to image and analyze the anatomy across all grades of cataract to improve proficiency.

Unlike traditional imaging systems, 3D-CSI™ provides clean, low noise images that are both high contrast and high-resolution from the anterior surface of the cornea to the posterior capsule. The precision of the LensAR™ Laser System creates an exact capsulotomy incision size and placement based on IOL selection and fragments high grade cataracts for easier removal.

The LensAR™ Laser System is cleared by the FDA for anterior capsulotomy and lens fragmentation. The system has been used in more than 500 eyes outside the United States to date. For other indications it is an investigational device limited by US law to investigational use only.

Source:
LensAR, Inc.

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Merck Announces FDA Acceptance Of New Drug Application For Investigational Ophthalmic Medication SAFLUTAN(R) (Tafluprost)

2011-04-10T03:41:00.000-07:00

Main Category: Eye Health / Blindness
Also Included In: Regulatory Affairs / Drug Approvals
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Merck (NYSE:MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced today that the New Drug Application (NDA) for SAFLUTAN® (tafluprost), Merck's investigational preservative-free prostaglandin analogue ophthalmic solution, has been accepted for standard review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). SAFLUTAN is the proposed trade name for tafluprost in the United States.

Merck submitted an NDA to support the proposed use of SAFLUTAN for the reduction of elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. SAFLUTAN is believed to help increase the fluid drainage that occurs through the root of the iris in the eye (this fluid is also known as aqueous humor). SAFLUTAN is currently approved in several European countries, including the United Kingdom, Spain and Italy. Additional launches in other countries are expected, pending regulatory approvals.

"Merck has been providing new therapies to help treat eye diseases for more than 50 years," said Joseph Markoff, Ph.D., M.D., global director, Scientific Affairs, Ophthalmology, Merck. "The acceptance of the NDA submission for tafluprost is an important milestone in our effort to bring forward an additional therapeutic option for patients with primary open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension."

On April 15, 2009, Merck and Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. entered into a worldwide licensing agreement for tafluprost. Merck has exclusive commercial rights to tafluprost in Western Europe (excluding Germany), North America, South America, Africa, the Middle East, India and Australia. Santen retains commercial rights to tafluprost in most countries in Eastern Europe, northern Europe and in countries in the Asia Pacific region, including Japan. Santen will have the option to co-promote SAFLUTAN in the United States, if approved.

Source:
Merck

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Dow Corning And The Centre For Vision In The Developing World Launch Children's Vision Correction Initiative

2011-04-10T00:35:00.000-07:00

Main Category: Eye Health / Blindness
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health
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Dow Corning, a global leader in silicon-based technology, and the Centre for Vision in the Developing World (CVDW) are jointly announcing a collaboration to create an innovative new way to help correct the vision of children in the developing world. Dow Corning has committed US $3 million of funding and materials expertise to the CVDW as part of this collaboration to launch an initiative called Child ViSion™.

The Child ViSion™ initiative will design, manufacture and distribute a child-specific version of self-adjustable eyeglasses to children in the developing world. The aim is to increase the effectiveness of classroom-based education by improving children's ability to see the blackboard from which they are being taught.

"There are 100 million children or more in the developing world who need glasses to benefit fully from their education in the classroom. This problem arises principally because there are too few eye care professionals in the developing world," said Prof. Josh Silver, Oxford University physicist, founder and director of the CVDW, and inventor of the world's first universal fluid-filled adjustable eyeglasses. "Through this collaboration with Dow Corning, CVDW can now expand our efforts to provide eyeglasses to the children who need them for their education."

The goal of the CVDW, a United Kingdom-based Community Interest Company, is to improve vision for people in the developing world who lack access to adequate vision correction.

"This collaboration between Dow Corning and the Centre for Vision in the Developing World will combine our expertise to help bring improved vision correction to children in desperate need," said Stephanie A. Burns, Chairman and CEO of Dow Corning.

Through Child ViSion™, Dow Corning will work with the CVDW to explore how self-adjustable eyeglasses can be designed specifically for the needs of children so that the glasses are able to withstand daily use, are light weight and look more appealing, which will increase the likelihood that they will be worn. Another key element of the initiative will be to ensure the design can be scaled up to mass-production levels, which includes lowering the cost of production.

"Dow Corning fluids played a critical role in Prof. Silver's pioneering self-adjustable glasses, which have already provided vision correction to approximately 40,000 people in more than 20 countries," said James Stephenson, Dow Corning global Healthcare marketing manager and leader of the Child ViSion™ initiative at Dow Corning. "We are excited to further our relationship with the CVDW and to see how our silicon-based technologies can now improve vision correction and the quality of life for children in the developing world."

Note

Prof. Silver's original self-adjustable glasses contain special lenses composed of clear membranes that are filled with Dow Corning silicone fluid. By adding or removing fluid via a removable syringe and dial attached to the glasses' frame, wearers can modify the curvature of the lenses and therefore the strength of their glasses. The glasses are designed to provide vision correction for myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness) and presbyopia (inability to focus on near objects).

Source:
Dow Corning
Centre for Vision in the Developing World

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Periocular Treatment Improves Eye Comfort And Quality Of Life For Patients With Facial Paralysis

2011-04-09T19:50:00.000-07:00

Academic Journal
Main Category: Eye Health / Blindness
Also Included In: Rehabilitation / Physical Therapy
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Patients with facial paralysis who underwent surgical treatment for a condition that leaves them unable to completely close their eyes reported improvement in comfort around the eyes and overall quality of life, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

The inability to close the eye can be a devastating result of facial paralysis. "The resulting loss of corneal protection can lead to exposure keratitis [inflammation of the cornea], corneal ulceration, and potentially permanently vision loss," the authors write as background information in the article. "Eyelid weight placement, lower eyelid suspension, and brow ptosis [drooping or sagging of the eyelid] correction are frequently performed to protect the eye."

Douglas K. Henstrom, M.D., of Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, and colleagues measured and reported the change in quality of life (QOL) after surgical periocular treatment. The researchers used the Facial Clinimetric Evaluation (FaCE) scale - a patient-based system that measures impairment and disability in facial paralysis and represents a valuable adjunct to traditional physician-graded scales for evaluating QOL issues in patients affected by facial paralysis.

From March 2009 to May 2010, 49 patients with paralytic inability to completely close the eye were treated at the Facial Nerve Center at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston. Thirty-seven of the patients completed preoperative and postoperative FaCE surveys.

"Overall QOL, measured by the FaCE instrument, significantly improved following static periocular treatment," the authors report. "Mean FaCE scores increased from 44.1 to 52.7."

"Patients also reported a significant decrease in the amount of time their eye felt dry, irritated, or scratchy," the authors write.

Two patients experienced localized cellulitis (a bacterial infection of the skin and tissues beneath the skin) in reaction to the eyelid weight. There was one eyelid weight extrusion.

"In the overall treatment paradigm for patients with facial paralysis, treating the eye using this modality is simple, and not only improves corneal protection but also yields a significant subjective benefit," the authors conclude.

Arch Facial Plast Surg. 2011;13[2]:125-128.

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Glaucoma Week Designed To Raise Awareness Of "Sneak Thief Of Sight"

2011-04-09T14:54:00.000-07:00

Glaucoma develops when pressure builds in the eye and causes damage to the optic nerve, explains Louis Cantor, M.D., chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at the Glick Eye Institute. "The optic nerve is the main cable carrying the messages from the eye to the brain. Damage to the optic nerve can cause blind spots to develop, and those spots often go unnoticed until they increase in size, impairing sight," he said. "The result is vision loss that cannot be recovered."

This week is World Glaucoma Week, dedicated to bringing awareness to the disease. The observance is to raise awareness of the disease, which can occur without symptoms in up to 50 percent of patients who have glaucoma. In the United States, more than 4 million people have glaucoma. African-Americans and Hispanics are more susceptible to the disease although it strikes all races. Risk factors for glaucoma include:

- Age
- Being African-American or Hispanic
- Having a family history of glaucoma
- Having elevated eye pressure
- Being farsighted or nearsighted
- Having previous eye injuries
- Having other health problems such as diabetes, low blood pressure or migraine headaches.

Working with Alon Harris, Ph.D., director of clinical research for the Glick Eye Institute, Dr. Cantor hopes their approach to understanding glaucoma will benefit patients in Indiana and around the world. "In Indiana alone, the number of patients with glaucoma could fill Lucas Oil Stadium," he says. "And there are thousands more who have the disease who don't know it, and they are most at risk for vision loss."

Their study, the Indianapolis Glaucoma Progression Study, is the largest of its kind in the United States. With 120 patients enrolled for three years, the clinical trial is in its second year, and is focused on vascular - or blood flow - causes or effects of the disease. Dr. Harris is principal investigator of the study.

"I hope they learn something that can be applied to problems in the short run," said patient Jim Palmer, an Indianapolis resident. "This study of blood flow might find out that it is just as significant as pressure, and that could be of benefit to all glaucoma patients."

Dr. Harris explains that eye pressure is the most common measurement in glaucoma. But he notes that some patients develop glaucoma and don't experience the high ocular pressure common in other patients, and some of those patients without high pressure lose sight to the disease. The research is important to determine if blood flow plays a part in the disease.

Maybe, he said, some patients don't receive enough blood flow to their eyes. This study will help determine if improper blood flow is a side effect of the disease or a cause of the disease.

"Unlocking the answer to that question could give us different treatment options for glaucoma," Dr. Harris said. "Understanding the role the vascular system plays in the disease would bring a new way of looking at glaucoma patients."

Dr. Harris is an international expert on the field of ocular blood flow and has designed and perfected many of the diagnostic tests performed on the study patients.

"I've learned a fair amount about this disease because of participating in the study," Palmer said. "And they check so many different things that it would be cost-prohibitive to have all of this done if I did not participate in the study."

Palmer, 67, has experienced glaucoma since about 1986. He learned he had the disease when he saw an ophthalmologist for a detached retina. He currently manages his glaucoma with drops he uses three times a day.

Study participant Carolyn Christman also is a long-time glaucoma patient. "I've learned the newest information from the doctors and the fellows and it's been helpful to me to have this information about my glaucoma," she said. The 70-year-old patient has had glaucoma since she was 42.

"This study, working on the relationship between blood pressure and blood vessels around the eye, is interesting to me," she said. "Participating is my way of helping other people."

The opportunity to participate in a study that could determine new treatments also appealed to Ronnie Adams. The retired 70-year-old African-American says glaucoma runs in his family - his father lost vision in one eye due to the disease and his sister, who also has glaucoma, convinced him to have his eyes examined.

"I'd say the study experience has been really good," Adams said. "I don't want to lose my eyesight and right now it looks as if the drops I use are helping. It's important to try to do something to improve the situation or not lose vision."

Cantor and Harris say the participation of their study patients is crucial to their success in formulating new discoveries about glaucoma.

"We rely on our patients to help us understand why this disease strikes when it does," Cantor said. "We're interested in learning if the blood flow theory is one we could explore further and we need our study patients to help us."

Glaucoma is not the only disease that causes vision loss - but vision loss from many conditions can be prevented with proper care. Most people begin to experience changes in their vision as they turn 40, Dr. Cantor said. By age 65, one in three Americans will experience some form of vision-impairing eye disease.

Source:
IU School of Medicine

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FDA Approves UR Technology To Enhance Eyesight

2011-04-09T11:09:00.000-07:00

The technology, called the Rochester Nomogram, marks a leap forward for patients who receive refractive surgery, also broadly known as LASIK. Refractive surgeon Scott MacRae, M.D., helped develop the formula which has helped him achieve nearly unparalleled results in broad groups of patients.

With the aid of the Nomogram, a remarkable 99.3 percent of the eyes that MacRae operates on have vision of 20/20 or better. That's one of the best, if not the best, success rates among refractive surgeons in the world.

This week, a company that has licensed the technology from the University announced that the FDA has approved its use in its refractive surgery system. Technolas Perfect Vision is a cataract and refractive laser company that was formed through a joint venture of Bausch + Lomb and 20/10 Perfect Vision AG. It's currently the only company offering the Nomogram technology in its refractive surgery correction system.

The Nomogram was first created and tested at the University about five years ago by MacRae working together with Manoj Venkiteshwar, Ph.D., who was then a post-doctoral researcher at the University's Center for Visual Science.

MacRae, the director of the Refractive Surgery Center at the Flaum Eye Institute, had long noted that patients undergoing refractive surgery were much more likely to come out of the surgery slightly far-sighted, though their vision was nearly always 20/20 or better. He and Venkiteshwar studied the problem and created a complex formula that helps physicians understand more thoroughly how refractive surgery affects a person's eyesight. The Nomogram adjusts the way a laser interacts with a person's vision, vastly reducing the chances that the patient's eyes will be near-sighted or far-sighted after the procedure.

"We have a commitment to our patients, to do the very best for them that we can," said MacRae. "We've taken an extraordinarily safe, effective procedure and made it even more effective, not only for our patients here in Rochester, but for patients around the world who will have access to this technology."

The FDA approval is the latest development in a nearly 20-year-long project by University scientists and physicians to study and improve human vision.

In the early 1990s, scientist David Williams, Ph.D., director of the Center for Visual Science, began a series of experiments to look into the eye in unprecedented detail, not only to see the organ's fine structures but also to understand how light moves around inside the eye.

His pioneering work opened the door, for the first time in history, to the possibility of fixing not only the three major flaws in the eye that reading glasses and contact lenses have corrected for decades, but also approximately 60 additional imperfections that were never known before. Nearly everyone has these flaws in their eyes to some extent; while most people don't notice them, they hurt our quality of vision in subtle ways.

MacRae, an internationally recognized refractive surgeon, moved to Rochester in 2000 from Portland, Ore., to help bring the developments to the bedsides of patients and give them a quality of eyesight that was not possible before Williams' work. Through a series of clinical trials and work in the laboratory, the Rochester team did just that.

The team helped to create a field known as customized ablation, a form of LASIK that corrects subtle imperfections, bringing about a super-crisp quality of eyesight. Beyond making vision on the order of 20/15 or 20/16 possible or even commonplace in some groups of patients, the technology also increases the eye's ability to see in situations where there is low light or little contrast.

Five years ago, Venkiteshwar and MacRae calculated the subtle effects that customized ablation can have on the eye and how the eye shunts around light. Specifically, they found that fixing subtle imperfections that hadn't even been recognized before Williams' work offered new opportunities for enhancing a person's vision. They developed the Rochester Nomogram to allow surgeons to take advantage of this information during refractive surgery.

"It's not just the formula or the laser used during surgery that makes the difference," said MacRae, who is also professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Science. "Re-shaping the cornea to provide better vision is an incredibly complex process. We've had more than a decade of experience studying the process in great detail, and that very much plays a role in our ability to help our patients see better than they ever have."

Notes:

MacRae is the author of two best-selling books on customized ablation, including Customized Corneal Ablation: The Quest for Supervision. He has trained hundreds of refractive surgeons and has performed refractive surgery on more than 10,000 people during his 25-year career. Recently he was recognized as one of the world's top 50 most influential people in the realm of cataract and refractive surgery by readers of Cataract and Refractive Surgery Today. MacRae also serves as a consultant for Bausch + Lomb.

Source:
Tom Rickey
University of Rochester Medical Center

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Researchers Develop The First Permanent Anti-Fog Coating

2011-04-09T06:34:00.000-07:00

Main Category: Medical Devices / Diagnostics
Also Included In: Eye Health / Blindness
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Researchers under the supervision of Université Laval professor Gaétan Laroche have developed the very first permanent anti-fog coating. Dr. Laroche and his colleagues present in the online edition of Applied Materials and Interfaces the details of this innovation which could eliminate, once and for all, the fog on eyeglasses, windshields, goggles, camera lenses, and on any transparent glass or plastic surface.

Fog forms on a surface when water vapor in the air condenses in fine droplets. "Despite appearances, the fog that forms on glasses is not a continuous film. In fact, it consists of tiny droplets of water that coalesce on the surface and reduce light transmission," explains Laroche, a professor at Université Laval's Faculty of Sciences and Engineering. "A good anti-fog coating should prevent the formation of such droplets."

Researchers used polyvinyl alcohol, a hydrophilic compound that allows water to spread uniformly. The challenge was to firmly attach the compound to the glass or plastic surface. To accomplish this, researchers applied four successive layers of molecules, which formed strong bonds with their adjoining layers, prior to adding the anti-fog compound over this base. The result was a thin, transparent, multilayered coating that does not alter the optical properties of the surface on which it is overlaid. In addition, the chemical bonds that join the different layers ensure the hardness and durability of the entire coating.

"Existing anti-fog treatments don't have these properties and won't withstand washing, so the product application must be repeated regularly," notes Professor Laroche. "Our coating, on the other hand, is permanent."

Two patents already protect this invention, which has numerous potential applications, including vehicle windshields, protective visors, camera lenses, binoculars, optical instruments used in chemistry and medicine, and corrective lenses. Negotiations are already underway with a major eyewear company interested in obtaining a license for this technology.

In addition to Gaétan Laroche, the study published in Applied Materials and Interfaces was coauthored by Pascale Chevallier, Stéphane Turgeon, Christian Sarra-Bournet, and Raphaël Turcotte.

Source:
Université Laval

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Retina Implant AG Partners With Wills Eye Institute To Bring Artificial Vision Clinical Trials To The United States

2011-04-09T01:50:00.000-07:00

Main Category: Eye Health / Blindness
Also Included In: Clinical Trials / Drug Trials
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Retina Implant AG, a leading developer of subretinal implants for the visually impaired, announced that they will partner with the Wills Eye Institute in Philadelphia as the lead U.S. clinical trial investigator site. This partnership marks the first time Retina Implant's subretinal implant technology will be utilized in studies by patients who suffer from retinitis pigmentosa in North America.

"The results of the subretinal approach in Europe demonstrate the great potential this implant has to impact dramatically the quality of life for our patients here in the United States," said Dr. Julia A. Haller, ophthalmologist-in-chief, Wills Eye Institute. "Patients involved in previous clinical trials have achieved extraordinary success in their ability to regain useful vision. It is this life-changing success we hope to replicate with our own patients as Wills becomes the first institution in the U.S. to offer Retina Implant's technology."

Retina Implant's subretinal implant technology has been in clinical trials for more than six years in Germany and plans to expand its second human clinical trial into the U.K. this summer. The results of their first human clinical trial proved to be superior to any other company in the retinal implant industry. Moreover, results of Retina Implant's first human clinical trial were published in the prestigious peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B last November. The results showed placement of the implant below the retina, in the macular region, provided optimum visual results allowing patients to recognize foreign objects and to read letters to form words.

"We are honored to work with one of the foremost eye care centers in the world to bring our product to the United States," said Dr. Walter-G. Wrobel, president and CEO, Retina Implant AG. Reinhard Rubow, executive vice president and CFO, Retina Implant AG adds: "It is our hope that by offering patients in America with this technology that we, with the Wills Eye Institute, will be able to change the lives of those who are currently living in darkness."

Wills Eye Institute was established in 1832 as the nation's first eye care hospital and is recognized as a world-leader in the field of ophthalmology. Wills Eye has been ranked as one of the nation's top three ophthalmology centers by the annual U.S. News & World Report survey since its inception in 1990, and provides a full-range of primary and sub-specialty eye care. Wills Eye is the only center in North America that will conduct this evaluation of artificial vision.

"Wills Eye Institute has a strong tradition of innovation and discovery, providing people who suffer from eye disorders with cutting-edge technology that can assist them in living the best possible life," said Joseph P. Bilson, executive director, Wills Eye Institute. "We're excited to be working with Retina Implant and continue our tradition by bringing this technological advance to people in the United States who have lost their vision due to retinitis pigmentosa."

Source:
Wills Eye Institute
Retina Implant AG

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Self-Adjustable Glasses Voted Most Likely To Make The Biggest Impact On Healthcare By 2020 At Healthcare Innovation Expo

2011-04-08T22:00:00.000-07:00

Main Category: Eye Health / Blindness
Also Included In: Medical Devices / Diagnostics
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Professor Josh Silver's self-adjustable glasses have been voted the idea most likely to make the biggest impact on healthcare by 2020 at the Healthcare Innovation Expo.

The idea impressed the panel, which consisted of Dr Fiona Godlee, Editor in Chief of the BMJ, Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS Medical Director, Dr Andy Goldberg OBE, Founder, Medical Futures and Vivienne Parry, Science Journalist and ex Tomorrow's World presenter, as well as the Expo audience who proclaimed Professor Silver's idea as the winner.

Professor Silver is the inventor of the world's first universal self-adjustable glasses - Adspecs. Self-adjustable glasses are low-cost glasses with adjustable lenses, the power of which is set by the wearer by looking through the lenses and turning a dial until they can see clearly. The glasses have a number of advantages for the developing world in that those distributing the glasses need not be highly trained, distribution is quick and easy, and almost any organisation working in the developing world can add vision correction to the services they provide.

Professor Silver is Director of the Centre for Vision in the Developing World, a research institution based in Oxforddedicated to researching the best ways of providing vision correction in the developing world.

The Centre estimates that 1 billion or more people in the world lack a pair of glasses that they need to see clearly, and a lack of optometrists and eyecare facilities is the key issue preventing them from receiving these glasses.

The four short listed "Innovation Champions" were:

Professor Josh Silver, Director of the Centre for Vision in the Developing World - Self-adjustable glasses

Professor Sir Rory Collins, Chief Executive of UK Biobank - Creation and maintenance of database of large UK population for longitudinal study of factors affecting disease and well-being

Professor Robert Chambers, Institute for Development Studies - Facilitating developing world communities' adoption of practices to end open defecation and the associated risk of disease

Dr Patty Kostkova, Head of City University ehealth Research Centre - Use of social networks accessible via mobile phone to track disease

To view the BMJ's online video of the Healthcare Innovation Expo visit here.

Source:
Vane Percy & Roberts

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Conscious And Unconscious Perception And How Flexibly The Brain Processes Images

2011-04-08T18:55:00.000-07:00

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Main Category: Neurology / Neuroscience
Also Included In: Stroke; Eye Health / Blindness
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Our brains process many more stimuli than we become aware of. Often images enter our brain without being noticed: visual information is being processed, but does not reach consciousness, that is, we do not have an impression of it. Then, what is the difference between conscious and unconscious perception, and can both forms of perception be changed through practice? These questions are important not only for basic research, but also for the treatment of patients with perceptual deficits due to brain lesions e.g. following a stroke. Scientists at the MPI for Brain Research in Frankfurt/Main could now show that seeing can be trained. Their tests revealed that the brain regions underlying the learning effects on conscious perception are different than the ones underlying the learning effects on the mere processing of stimuli.

Visual stimuli undergo a series of processing stages on their journey from the eye to the brain. How conscious perception can arise from the activity of neurons is one of the mysteries that the neurophysiologists at the MPI for Brain Research seek to solve. "Today, we know that the processing of stimuli in the cortex remains extremely plastic, or malleable, even in adults," explains Caspar Schwiedrzik who investigates the neural mechanisms of visual perception with his Max Planck colleagues Wolf Singer and Lucia Melloni. In their current study, the scientists examined whether perception can be influenced by long-term and systematic training and whether such training does not only change the processing, but also affects whether the stimulus can be consciously perceived.

It is known from clinical studies that some stroke patients who suffer partial blindness as a result of damage to the visual cortex can discriminate between stimuli that fall into their blind visual field. This unconscious discrimination ability can be improved through training. Nevertheless, the patients report that they do not see the images. In a few cases, however, conscious perception of the stimuli could be improved with training. Is it maybe possible to learn to "see consciously"?

To investigate this question in healthy subjects, the Frankfurt scientists developed an experimental set up with which different learning effects on perception could be measured. The subjects were shown images of two different geometric forms - a square and a diamond - on a screen in rapid succession and in a random sequence, and were asked to discriminate between them. The visibility of the images was limited by presenting a mask shortly after each image, which rendered the shape invisible.

The experiment was designed such that the subjects could initially not discriminate between the images and that they were also subjectively invisible. The subjects were then trained for several days. Each round of the training involved the presentation of images followed by the mask. As soon as the subject indicated by pressing a button which form had been shown and how clearly he or she had seen the form, the next stimulus and the next mask were shown. This process was repeated 600 times per day. After several days, the subjects could better discriminate between the target stimuli. From the ratings of the visibility of the stimuli, the scientists could further conclude that the participants' subjective perception had increased as well: the images now entered consciousness. Thus, the scientists succeeded in demonstrating that it is also possible to learn to see consciously.

The question remained, however, as to how objective and not necessarily conscious processing of stimuli and their subjective, conscious perception are linked. To gain a better understanding of the individual processing steps and to localize them in the brain, the experiment was repeated once more. This time, the image and mask were shown on a different part of the screen, and were thus processed by a different part of the brain. "The results were revealing," explains Lucia Melloni: "While the learning effect for the pure processing of the stimuli, that is the discrimination of the shape, was lost with the spatial rearrangement of the stimuli, the clearer visibility of the images, that is the learning effect in terms of conscious seeing, remained." Therefore, objective processing and subjective perception of the stimuli seem to be less closely linked than previously assumed. The two training effects appear to be based on two different areas of the brain.

"Our experiments have shown that the neuronal processes that underlie conscious perception are very flexible," Schwiedrzik concludes. The findings provide important insights for medical applications, in particular for the rehabilitation of people suffering from perceptual deficits caused by brain lesions.

Source:
Lucia Melloni
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

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Dietary Omega-3 Fatty Acid Intake Associated With Reduced Risk Of Age-Related Macular Degeneration In Women

2011-04-08T14:30:00.000-07:00

Main Category: Eye Health / Blindness
Also Included In: Nutrition / Diet; Preventive Medicine; Seniors / Aging
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Regular consumption of fish and omega-3 fatty acids found in fish is associated with a significantly reduced risk of developing age-related macular degeneration in women, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the June issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

"An estimated nine million U.S. adults aged 40 years and older show signs of age-related macular degeneration (AMD)," the authors write as background information in the article. "An additional 7.3 million persons have early age-related macular degeneration, which is usually associated with moderate or no vision loss but does increase the risk of progression to advanced age-related macular degeneration."

Using the Women's Health Study, William G. Christen, Sc.D., of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, and colleagues collected data on 38,022 women who had not been diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration. Information on women's eating habits was obtained via questionnaire at the beginning of the study and included information on intake of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) [Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish], and arachidonic acid and linoleic acid (omega-6 fatty acids). During ten years of follow-up, additional questionnaires tracked the women's eye health, with specific focus on diagnosis of age-related macular degeneration.

Over the course of follow-up, 235 cases of age-related macular degeneration were reported. In analyses that adjusted for age and treatment assignment, women who consumed the most DHA compared with women who consumed the lowest amount had a 38 percent lower risk of developing age-related macular degeneration. Similar results were observed for higher intake of EPA and for higher consumption of both types of acid together.

Results for fish intake showed that consumption of one or more servings of fish per week, when compared to less than one per month, was associated with a 42 percent lower risk of age-related macular degeneration. "This lower risk appeared to be due primarily to consumption of canned tuna fish and dark-meat fish."

For omega-6 fatty acids, higher intake of linoleic acid but not arachidonic acid was associated with an increased risk of age-related macular degeneration, however this association was non-significant after adjustment for other risk factors and fats.

"In summary, these prospective data from a large population of women with no prior diagnosis of AMD indicate that regular consumption of DHA and EPA and fish significantly reduced the risk of incident AMD," the authors conclude.

Arch Ophthalmol . Published online March 14, 2011. doi:10.1001/archophthalmol.2011.34.

posted by Matthew on 16 Mar 2011 at 6:26 am

If Inuit’s could live on a diet exclusively of fish for thousands of years without suffering any form of malnutrition, or AMD, it seems pretty obvious that fish provide every form of vitamin and nutrient that our bodies require. However, the Inuit’s eat all of the fish, not just the meaty part, including the liver, head and eyes. In fact the liver contains as much vitamin D as our bodies require.

So why does not common sense prevail. If we all eat fish, including the liver and other less appetizing parts, we would not suffer from many of the conditions that seem so prevalent today.

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Wiley X(R) Supports Workplace Eye Wellness Month, Offers Full Line Of OSHA-Grade Protective Eyewear Systems

2011-04-08T09:52:00.000-07:00

Main Category: Eye Health / Blindness
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Wiley X® Eyewear is proud to support Workplace Eye Wellness Month, a nationwide campaign to raise awareness of work-related eye injuries and educate America's workforce about the importance of proper vision protection.

According to statistics from Prevent Blindness America, more than 700,000 Americans injure their eyes at work each year. This same study finds that 90% of all workplace eye injuries could be prevented by using proper safety eyewear. Wiley X launched its extensive Safety Series of performance protective eyewear products, designed to provide American workers with the same proven High Velocity Protection (HVP™) found in many Wiley X styles utilized on the field of battle.

Each pair of Wiley X sunglasses - whether intended for work, play or tactical use - offers an advanced level of protection. All Wiley X Eyewear models meet the coveted ANSI Z87.1-2003 rating for high velocity and high mass impact and optical performance standards. To pass this rigorous test, all Wiley X frames and lenses must be able to withstand repeated strikes from a .25-caliber projectile fired at 150 fps, as well as the impact of a pointed, 1.1-lb. projectile dropped from a height of 50 inches.

Among Wiley X's Safety Series products are seven Climate Control™ series models - the new Curve, as well as the popular Jake, AirRage, Blink, Airborne, Brick and Rout. Each of these models features Wiley X's patented removable, soft foam Facial Cavity Seal to keep wind, dust and debris out of the wearers' eyes. Wiley X's Top Down™ Ventilation System increases comfort for the wearer and reduces fogging, even during strenuous work activities. Wiley X's Safety line also includes the Changeable Series models like the XL-1 Advanced and Saber Advanced which allow for easy removal and replacement of lenses to adapt to changing work conditions. The Active Series models, like the popular P-17, and Goggles like the battlefield proven SG-1 are also widely chosen in the workplace.

In addition to protection from various workplace injuries, Wiley X's range of available shatterproof Selenite™ polycarbonate lenses are engineered to enhance visual acuity and reduce eyestrain under almost all working conditions. Each product in Wiley X's Safety line is also prescription ready, further enhancing comfort and safety by eliminating the need for inferior protective glasses to be worn over prescription eyewear.

Wiley X's superior design, technology and comfort are the primary factors commercial and industrial employers mention for their workers wanting to wear their safety glasses. "American workers demand similar protection of the American soldier. This was the concept behind the launch of our Safety Series products," said Wiley X Eyewear President of Sales Myles Freeman, Jr. "We knew that if we could combine the highest level of protection with style and comfort, workers would be more likely to actually wear the eye protection they need. We fully support the message of Workplace Eye Wellness Month, and appreciate this important effort to raise overall awareness of protecting a worker's most valuable asset - his vision," added Freeman.

Source:
Wiley X® Eyewear

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Eye Development Error Found To Be The Cause Of Cataracts, Glaucoma

2011-04-08T05:20:00.000-07:00

The research, published in the March 25 issue of Science, also demonstrates the first connection between RNA granules and glaucoma, as the humans and mice in the study developed glaucoma.

In the laboratory of Jackson Professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator Simon John, Ph.D., study coauthors Stephen Kneeland, Ph.D., and Gareth Howell, Ph.D., identified a malfunctioning gene in a mouse strain that develops both cataracts and glaucoma. The gene, Tdrd7, fails to build an essential protein and disrupts the development of the mouse eye lens. Mice missing the protein developed high intraocular pressure and optic nerve damage--the hallmarks of glaucoma--as well as cataracts.

The John team learned that Salil A. Lachke, Ph.D., of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, then a research fellow in the laboratory of Richard L. Maas, M.D., had found the same malfunction in a study of genetic data from patients with pediatric cataracts.

The research teams combined forces and discovered that the protein missing in the children and the mice belongs to a type of structure known as RNA granules. RNA granules function to regulate mRNAs in the cell. mRNA's primary job is to serve as a template to carry DNA-encoded information from the nucleus into the cytoplasm or body of the cell, providing the blueprints for protein production. The TDRD7 mutation affects mRNA regulation, and this misregulation was implicated in causing the cataracts. Furthermore, the human patients developed glaucoma following cataract extraction.

TDRD7 deficiency greatly reduces the number of stress granules that are produced in lens cells in response to oxidative stress, the researchers show. Stress granules, a specific type of RNA granule, are important to protect the cell in stressful conditions. Oxidative stress has been previously suggested to contribute to glaucoma by damaging the ocular drainage structures. The new findings imply that mice and patients with these mutations may not have adequate protection from oxidative stress in the drainage structures of the eye. With increasing age, their tissues may be more susceptible to oxidative damage resulting in high intraocular pressure and glaucoma.

Although further experiments are needed to be certain, this work is the first to suggest that RNA granules are important in modulating the oxidative stress response relevant to glaucoma. John notes, "There is a growing body of literature indicating that if you disturb oxygen levels in the eye--including after cataract surgery--the risk of developing glaucoma increases."

John says that mutations in the TDRD7 gene could cause a double jeopardy for childhood glaucoma. "First, they cause cataract, and cataract extraction may raise oxidative stress in the ocular drainage tissues. Second, they impair the formation of protective stress granules in response to oxidative stress."

In an indication of the paper's landmark status, Science is publishing the report together with a Perspective article on the study's implications for RNA granule research. Lachke, now an instructor in medicine, comments, "This is a good example of a 21st century collaboration, with major contributions by multiple groups, including basic and clinical researchers across multiple continents."

Jackson Research Scientist Richard Smith, M.D., a former eye surgeon now in the John lab, describes pediatric cataracts as "a very difficult problem to deal with" in the clinic. "The surgical techniques have gotten better," he says, "but a lot of these kids get cataracts shortly after birth, a period with substantially increased glaucoma risk following cataract extraction." Smith notes that while pediatric cataracts are relatively rare in the United States (occurring in about one in every 30,000 births), they are a major problem in other parts of the world, notably the Middle East. "In Saudi Arabia about one in 2,500 babies is born with juvenile cataracts," Smith says.

Glaucoma accounts for about 10 percent of all blindness, with about 4 million cases in the United States. The eye disease, which has no cure, is generally associated with raised pressure within the eye, called intraocular pressure, which damages the optic nerve. Earlier this month the John lab reported that they identified early stages of glaucoma in mice, and successfully blocked the disease in some of the mice by targeting some of the molecular events in those early stages.

Notes:

Funding for the research came from the National Eye Institute, The Barbara and Joseph Cohen Foundation, and the Dubai Harvard Foundation for Medical Research, Kuwait University, the American Heart Association and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Dr. John and his collaborator Gregory Hannon of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory received support from Kathryn W. Davis.

The Jackson Laboratory is a nonprofit biomedical research institution based in Bar Harbor, Maine. Its mission is to discover the genetic basis for preventing, treating and curing human diseases, and to enable research and education for the global biomedical community.

Lachke et al.: Mutations in the RNA Granule Component TDRD7 Cause Cataract and Glaucoma. Science, March 25, 2011

Source:
Joyce Peterson
Jackson Laboratory

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Neuropsychologist Proves That Some Blind People "See" With Their Ears

2011-04-08T02:19:00.000-07:00

Main Category: Psychology / Psychiatry
Also Included In: Neurology / Neuroscience; Eye Health / Blindness
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Dr. Olivier Collignon of the University of Montreal's Saint-Justine Hospital Research Centre compared the brain activity of people who can see and people who were born blind, and discovered that the part of the brain that normally works with our eyes to process vision and space perception can actually rewire itself to process sound information instead. The research was undertaken in collaboration with Dr Franco Lepore of the Centre for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognition and was published late yesterday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The research builds on other studies which show that the blind have a heightened ability to process sounds as part of their space perception. "Although several studies have shown occipital regions of people who were born blind to be involved in nonvisual processing, whether the functional organization of the visual cortex observed in sighted individuals is maintained in the rewired occipital regions of the blind has only been recently investigated," Collignon said. The visual cortex, as its name would suggest, is responsible for processing sight. The right and left hemisphere of the brain have one each. They are located at the back of the brain, which is called the occipital lobe. "Our study reveals that some regions of the right dorsal occipital stream do not require visual experience to develop a specialization for the processing of spatial information and are functionally integrated in the preexisting brain network dedicated to this ability."

The researchers worked with 11 individuals who were born blind and 11 who were not. Their brain activity was analyzed via MRI scanning while they were subjected to a series of tones. "The results demonstrate the brain's amazing plasticity," Collignon said. Plasticity is a scientific term that refers to the brain's ability to change as a result of an experience. "The brain designates a specific set of areas for spatial processing, even if it is deprived of its natural inputs since birth. The visually deprived brain is sufficiently flexible that it uses "neuronal niche" to develop and perform functions that are sufficiently close to the ones required by the remaining senses. Such a research demonstrates that the brain should be more considered as a function-oriented machine rather than a pure sensory machine".

The findings raise questions regarding how this rewiring occurs during the development of blind new born babies. "In early life, the brain is sculpting itself on the basis of experience, with some synaptic connections eliminated and others strengthened," Collignon noted. Synaptic connections enable our neurons, or brain cells, to communicate. "After a peak of development ending approximately at the age of 8 months, approximately 40% of the synapses of the visual cortex are gradually removed to reach a stable synaptic density at approximately the age of 11 years. It is possible that that the rewiring occurs as part of the maintenance of our ever changing neural connections, but this theory will require further research," Collignon said.

Collignon's study received funding from the Fondation de l'Hôpital Sainte-Justine, the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec, the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada, and the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique of Belgium.

Sources: Université de Montréal, AlphaGalileo Foundation.

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Testing Alterations In Night Vision

2011-04-07T21:46:00.000-07:00

This instrument consists of software named Software Halo v1.0, and a computer where the mouse is used as a response button, and a chin cup with a forehead holder to fix the observer's position. Software Halo v1.0 was initially presented as freeware available on LabVisGra's website and at the University of Granada's institutional repository. Nevertheless, it was recently released by the Free-Software Bureau of the University of Granada so, it has become a scientific freeware application.

This software was developed by a group coordinated by Rosario González Anera, receiving technical support of the Granadian company Seven Solutions and of an ophthalmological clinic set in Madrid and named Novovision. The research group was integrated by researchers José Juan Castro, Carolina Ortiz and Aixa Alarcón, and receives fundings from the regional government of Economy, Innovation and Science of the Junta de Andalucía.

Low-Light Conditions

Before the test, researchers fix the observer's position with a chin cup and a forehead holder at an adequate distance from the monitor where the test will be displayed and considering the angular diameter that light stimuli must have. The test is performed under low-light conditions (in a dark room) and, before the test, patients are given some minutes to adapt to darkness.

This test involves showing a bright light stimulus to the subject against a dark background and, progessively showing different peripheral light stimuli - with lower brightness around the central, at random, in different positions and at different distances. Subjects' task is to press the buttom of a mouse every time they detect a peripheral stimulus. Once the test ends, the software makes an estimation of a parameter named "Visual Disturbance Index" that, together with the results graphic, determines the type and intensity of visual disturbance.

This index scores from 0 to 1, so the higher is this index, the stronger is the influence of the halo or any other visual disturbance perceived by the observer. Therefore, the lower is the subject's ability to detect the peripheral stimuli displayed around the main stimulus that causes such disturbances.

One of the advantages of the halometer developed at the University of Granada is that it allows to configure such test parameters as: Special parameters: the radius of the central stimulus and the peripheral stimuli can be modified. Furthermore, the number of semi-major axes where the peripheral stimuli will be displayed can be fixed, as well as the maximum radius - maximum distance between these stimuli-, and the number of stimuli per semi-major axe. Temporary Parameters: the software allows to set some exposure time for adaptation to darkness and to the brightness of the central stimulus. Furthermore, others parameters as the exposure time to the stimulus and the time elapsed between a stimulus and the next one can also be set. The software also allows to set the color and brightness of central and peripheral stimuli, and the weight and number of times each peripheral stimulus is shown. This test has been tried with different observer groups consisting of people operated on cataract or submitted to refractary eye surgery, with normal observers and patients with different eye pathologies as AMD (Age-related Macular Degeneration) and unilateral keratitis. The results obtained showed that, in the case of patients with keratitis, the visual disturbance index for the healthy eye was found to be lower than that for the unhealthy eye, and even lower under binocular vision conditions. However, visual disturbance indexes proved to be higher in the case of patients operated on cataracts, showing a higher influence of halos and, therefore, lower detection capacity. Patients operated with LASIK refractory eye surgery also presented high vision disturbance indexes in comparison to normal observers. The results obtained with this halometer and the new software have been presented in different national and international conferences as the IX Reunión Nacional de Optica, Galice and the Wavefront Confress 2009. Furthermore, a research article has been published in the international journal Applied Optics describing the results obtained with patients operated on for refractory eye surgery. It has also been recently admitted for publication in the prestigious scientific journal Journal of Biomedical Optics, where the results obtained with patients with different eye pathologies are described.

This press release is available in French and Spanish.

Source:
José Juan Castro
University of Granada

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Fish Oil Omegas Now Fight Women's Vision Loss

2011-04-07T18:10:00.000-07:00

Editor's Choice
Academic Journal
Main Category: Eye Health / Blindness
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It has long been known and recommended that we all include more omega-3 fatty acids in our diets. Maybe you follow the Mediterranean Diet that has a great reputation for providing these essential elements or you just love your fish and get what your body needs from the sea. No matter what source you use, this week more support for this eating behavior has justified the movement. It has now been proven that women who get lots of omega-3 fatty acids are less likely to develop age-related macular degeneration (AMD), an eye disease affecting millions of older adults in the U.S.

AMD is caused by abnormal blood vessel growth behind the retina or breakdown of light-sensitive cells within the retina itself, both of which can cause serious vision impairment. Some 1.7 million Americans have severe vision loss due to the disease, making it the leading cause of blindness in older adults.

Researchers looked at all food sources of the important fatty acids, the risk of AMD was 38% lower in women with the top one-third DHA intake compared to those with the bottom one-third intake. For those who got a lot of EPA, the risk was 34% smaller.

Cold-water oceanic fish oils are rich in DHA. Most of the DHA in fish and complex organisms with access to cold-water oceanic foods originates in photosynthetic and heterotrophic microalgae, and becomes increasingly concentrated in organisms, as they move up the food chain.

Interesting enough, fish do not naturally produce EPA, but obtain it from the algae they consume. It is available to humans from some non-animal sources (e.g., commercially, from microalgae). Microalgae are actually now being developed as a commercial source. Microalgae, and supplements derived from it, are excellent alternative sources of EPA and other fatty acids, since fish often contain other toxins due to human pollution.

William G. Christen of the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston states:

"Other than giving up cigarette smoking or never starting smoking, there are no known ways to prevent AMD. We also looked at the food intake of (just) fish and the data were consistent there."

Christen and colleagues used data from earlier research called the Women's Health Study, in which women 45 years and up had filled out extensive diet questionnaires. It may be a bit too early to recommend that people start supplementing their diet with fish or with fish oil supplements to stave off eye disease only because one can't rule out the possibility that women who got lots of omega-3s were simply healthier people.

After 10 years of study, 235 out of 38,022 women had developed AMD severe enough to damage their vision.

Omega-3 fatty acids are considered essential fatty acids. They are necessary for human health but the body can't make them; you have to get them through food. Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in fish, such as salmon, tuna, and halibut, other seafood including algae and krill, some plants, and nut oils. Also known as polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), omega-3 fatty acids play a crucial role in brain function as well as normal growth and development. They have also become popular because they may reduce the risk of heart disease. The American Heart Association recommends eating fish (particularly fatty fish such as mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna, and salmon) at least 2 times a week.

Source: The Archives of Opthamology

Written by Sy Kraft, B.A.
Copyright: Medical News Today
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Potential Stem Cell Therapy For Age-Related Macular Degeneration

2011-04-07T14:35:00.000-07:00

Main Category: Eye Health / Blindness
Also Included In: Seniors / Aging; Stem Cell Research
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The notion of transplanting adult stem cells to treat or even cure age-related macular degeneration has taken a significant step toward becoming a reality. In a study published today in Stem Cells, Georgetown University Medical Center researchers have demonstrated, for the first time, the ability to create retinal cells derived from human-induced pluripotent stem cells that mimic the eye cells that die and cause loss of sight.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of visual impairment and blindness in older Americans and worldwide. AMD gradually destroys sharp, central vision needed for seeing objects clearly and for common daily tasks such as reading and driving. AMD progresses with death of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), a dark color layer of cells which nourishes the visual cells in the retina.

While some treatments can help slow its progression, there is no cure. The discovery of human induced pluripotent stem (hiPS) cells has opened a new avenue for the treatment of degenerative diseases, like AMD, by using a patient's own stem cells to generate tissues and cells for transplantation.

For transplantation to be viable in age-related macular degeneration, researchers have to first figure out how to program the naïve hiPS cells to function and possess the characteristics of the native retinal pigment epithelium, RPE, the cells that die off and lead to AMD.

The research conducted by the Georgetown scientists shows that this critical step in regenerative medicine for AMD has greatly progressed.

"This is the first time that hiPS-RPE cells have been produced with the characteristics and functioning of the RPE cells in the eye. That makes these cells promising candidates for retinal regeneration therapies in age-related macular degeneration," says the study's lead author Nady Golestaneh, Ph.D., assistant professor in GUMC's Department of Biochemistry and Molecular & Cellular Biology.

Using an established laboratory stem cell line, Golestaneh and her colleagues show that RPE generated from hiPS cells under defined conditions exhibit ion transport, membrane potential, polarized VEGF secretion and gene expression profile similar to those of a normal eye's RPE.

"This isn't ready for prime time though. We also identified some issues that need to be worked out before these cells are ready for transplantation but overall, this is a tremendous step forward in regenerative medicine," Golestaneh adds.

She explains that the hiPS-derived RPE cells show rapid telomere shortening, DNA chromosomal damage and increased p21 expression that cause cell growth arrest. This might be due to the random integration of viruses in the genome of skin fibroblasts during the reprogramming of iPS cells. Therefore, generation of viral-free iPS cells and their differentiation into RPE will be a necessary step towards implementation of these cells in clinical application, Golestaneh says.

"The next step in this research is to focus on a generation of 'safe' as well as viable hiPS-derived somatic cells," Golestaneh concludes.

Notes:

Other authors on the paper include first author Maria Kokkinaki, Ph.D., Department of Biochemistry and Molecular &Cellular Biology, and Niaz Sahibzada, Ph.D., Department of Pharmacology at GUMC.

This work was funded by the National Institutes of Health. The authors report no personal financial interests related to this study.

Source:
Karen Mallet
Georgetown University Medical Center

posted by Gary Serrani on 24 Mar 2011 at 7:20 am

60 minutes had a special on CNBC on Medical Tourism.

Thank God the United States is catching up to what the rest of the world is already doing with Stem Cells.

Let's pray it helps many already suffering and prevent those at risk.

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Stroke Incidence Higher Among Patients With Certain Type Of Retinal Vascular Disease

2011-04-07T10:25:00.000-07:00

Academic Journal
Main Category: Eye Health / Blindness
Also Included In: Vascular; Stroke
Article Date: 14 Mar 2011 - 13:00 PDT window.fbAsyncInit = function() { FB.init({ appId: 'aa16a4bf93f23f07eb33109d5f1134d3', status: true, cookie: true, xfbml: true, channelUrl: 'http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/scripts/facebooklike.html'}); }; (function() { var e = document.createElement('script'); e.async = true; e.src = document.location.protocol + '//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js'; document.getElementById('fb-root').appendChild(e); }()); email to a friend printer friendly opinions

Patients with a disease known as retinal vein occlusion (RVO) have a significantly higher incidence of stroke when compared with persons who do not have RVO, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

"Retinal vein occlusion (RVO) is a retinal vascular disease in which a retinal vein is compressed by an adjacent retinal artery, resulting in blood flow turbulence, thrombus formation, and retinal ischemia," the authors write as background information in the article. "Although RVO is a significant cause of severe visual impairment in adults, it can occur at any age." Older age, diabetes, hypertension and vascular disease are among the risk factors for RVO.

Winifred Werther, Ph.D., then of Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, Calif., now of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Mass., and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study to compare the incidence rates of myocardial infarction (MI, heart attack) and cerebrovascular accident (CVA, stroke) in hospitalized patients with and without retinal vein occlusion. The researchers used a U.S. population-based health care claims database to identify patients with RVO and control patients, matched for age and sex.

Among 4,500 patients with RVO and 13,500 control patients, the researchers found that patients with RVO had an almost two-fold higher incidence of stroke than the age- and sex-matched controls.

"Event rates for CVA were 1.16 and 0.52 per 100 person-years for RVO and controls, respectively," the authors report.

In contrast, event rates for heart attack were similar in the patients with RVO and the control patients.

"Although men and patients younger than 65 years with RVO had a 1.6- and 1.9-fold higher risk of MI, respectively, compared with controls, there were no statistically significant differences in MI rates between patients with RVO and controls when they were stratified by sex or age," the authors write.

They conclude that "these data suggest that physicians and patients should be aware of the possible increased risk of CVA but not of MI in patients with RVO."

Arch Ophthalmol , 2011;129[3]:326-331.

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ORange Wavefront Aberrometer Proves Successful In Determining Refraction In Cataract Patients Who Previously Had LASIK Surgery

2011-04-07T06:21:00.000-07:00

Main Category: Eye Health / Blindness
Also Included In: Medical Devices / Diagnostics
Article Date: 21 Mar 2011 - 4:00 PDT window.fbAsyncInit = function() { FB.init({ appId: 'aa16a4bf93f23f07eb33109d5f1134d3', status: true, cookie: true, xfbml: true, channelUrl: 'http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/scripts/facebooklike.html'}); }; (function() { var e = document.createElement('script'); e.async = true; e.src = document.location.protocol + '//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js'; document.getElementById('fb-root').appendChild(e); }()); email to a friend printer friendly opinions

WaveTec Vision, the leader in wavefront-guided custom cataract™ surgery, announced today that its ORange® intraoperative wavefront aberrometer has been shown to be more predictable in determining refraction in the post-refractive eye, than any other post-LASIK formula currently available.

"Following LASIK, patients expect a lifetime of quality uncorrected vision. Unfortunately, these same patients are the most difficult to predict the optimal IOL power when they develop cataracts"

Wavefront custom cataract aberrometry with ORange is a breakthrough in modern cataract surgery. The technology has been clinically proven to increase accuracy and improve refractive outcomes: 73 percent of procedures are within 0.5D of intended target, versus 58 percent with traditional cataract surgery using standard method biometry.

"Following LASIK, patients expect a lifetime of quality uncorrected vision. Unfortunately, these same patients are the most difficult to predict the optimal IOL power when they develop cataracts," Eric Donnenfeld, MD said. "WaveTec's ORange, in my experience and now documented in studies, is the best technology to improve refractive outcomes and overall patient satisfaction in post LASIK eyes."

A patented diagnostic breakthrough, ORange allows cataract surgeons - for the first time - to measure refraction during surgery, so they can precisely predict and customize how their patients will see following the procedure.

The new post-LASIK coefficients which are part of the recently released ORange v2.6 software upgrade, will greatly improve post operative cataract refractive outcomes for patients having undergone previous corneal refractive surgery.

Source:
WaveTec Vision

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