Month: May 2013

Preterm Birth and Later Retinal Detachment: A Population-Based Cohort Study of More than 3 Million Children and Young Adults – Corrected Proof

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Objective: Ophthalmologic complications after preterm birth are common. Small studies show an association between retinopathy of prematurity and later retinal detachment. There are no population-based studies of preterm birth and risk of retinal detachment, which was the objective of the current investigation.Design: Nationwide Swedish cohort study based on population registries.Participants: Of 3 423 697 subjects born in Sweden, 1 271 725 were born between 1973 and 1986 (i.e., before the national screening program for retinopathy of prematurity started), and 2 151 972 were born between 1987 and 2008. The participants were followed up from 1 year of age until 2009.Methods: Unadjusted and adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for (Read more...)

Long-term Changes in Visual Acuity in an Older Population over a 15-Year Period: The Blue Mountains Eye Study – Corrected Proof

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Purpose: To describe the change in visual acuity (VA) and incidence of visual impairment (VI) in an older population over a 15-year period.Design: Population-based cohort.Participants: Of the 3654 participants of the Blue Mountains Eye Study (BMES) baseline examination from 1992 through 1994, 1149 were re-examined during the 15-year follow-up between 2007 and 2010.Methods: Best-corrected VA by means of subjective refraction was measured with a logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution chart using Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study methods at each examination.Main Outcome Measures: Unilateral VI was defined as VA worse than 20/40 and blindness was defined as VA worse than (Read more...)

Bausch + Lomb to operate as independent unit after acquisition, officials say

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KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Bausch + Lomb will continue to operate independently, even after Valeant Pharmaceuticals acquires the global ophthalmology business for $8.7 billion, according to company representatives. The agreement for the cash transaction was announced in a joint press release from the two companies May 27.“We are still Bausch + Lomb. We will continue to do all our business as Bausch + Lomb,” Calvin W. Roberts, MD, Bausch + Lomb’s chief medical officer, said in an interview with Ocular Surgery News here. Furthermore, new parent company Valeant has reassured (Read more...)

Diagnostic Potential of Iris Cross-sectional Imaging in Albinism Using Optical Coherence Tomography – Corrected Proof

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Purpose: To characterize in vivo anatomic abnormalities of the iris in albinism compared with healthy controls using anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) and to explore the diagnostic potential of this technique for albinism. We also investigated the relationship between iris abnormalities and other phenotypical features of albinism.Design: Prospective cross-sectional study.Participants: A total of 55 individuals with albinism and 45 healthy controls.Methods: We acquired 4.37×4.37-mm volumetric scans (743 A-scans, 50 B-scans) of the nasal and temporal iris in both eyes using AS-OCT (3-μm axial resolution). Iris layers were segmented and thicknesses were measured using ImageJ software. Iris transillumination grading was graded (Read more...)

BLOG: House Republicans now divided on ‘doc fix’ for SGR

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In a surprising change of direction, Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee released a draft bill to replace Medicare’s sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula for calculating fee-for-service (FFS) payments to physicians.This move follows several months of joint dialogue with the provider community, as well as Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee, through a series of open letters that were released in February and April.

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