The Supreme Court has ruled that generic drug manufacturers cannot be sued in state court for potential warning label shortcomings in the generic version of a federally approved drug.In Mutual Pharmaceutical Co. v. Bartlett, the court ruled 5-4, agreeing with the generic drug manufacturer’s contention that federal law pre-empts a New Hampshire law that allowed a strict product liability lawsuit by Karen L. Bartlett.
Month: June 2013
The Absence of Older Keratoconus Patients
Is there validity to the observation that there is a lack of older keratoconus patients? Medscape Ophthalmology
Risk of Choroidal Neovascularization among the Uveitides – Corrected Proof
Purpose: To evaluate the risk, risk factors, and visual impact of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in uveitis cases.Design: Retrospective cohort study.Methods: Standardized medical record review at 5 tertiary centers.Results: Among 15 137 uveitic eye…
Healio.com named Medical Marketing & Media 2013 award finalist
THOROFARE, N.J. — Healio.com, a website for specialty physicians published by SLACK Incorporated, has been announced as a finalist in Medical Marketing & Media’s (MM&M) 2013 Awards for “Best Healthcare Professional Media Brand.” The prestigious awards recognize health care marketing excellence in 23 categories.The gold and silver MM&M award winners will be revealed at a dinner ceremony in New York on Wednesday, Oct. 2.“Healio.com combines content from 18 medical and health specialty areas, which allows us to present a single platform that matches the breadth and depth of general medical (Read more...)
The Ahmed Versus Baerveldt Study: Three-Year Treatment Outcomes – Corrected Proof
Objective: To compare 2 commonly used aqueous drainage devices for the treatment of refractory glaucoma.Design: International, multicenter, randomized trial.Participants: Patients aged 18 years or older with uncontrolled or high-risk glaucoma refractory to maximum medical therapy, many of whom had failed trabeculoplasty and trabeculectomy.Methods: Eligible patients were randomized to an Ahmed-FP7 valve implant (New World Medical, Inc., Rancho Cucamonga, CA) or a Baerveldt-350 implant (Abbott Medical Optics, Inc., Santa Ana, CA) using a standardized surgical technique.Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcome was failure, defined as intraocular pressure (IOP) outside of the target range (5–18 mmHg, with ≥20% reduction from baseline) for (Read more...)
Ciliary Body Medulloepithelioma: Analysis of 41 Cases – Corrected Proof
Purpose: To describe the clinical features, histopathology, treatment, and outcomes of ciliary body medulloepithelioma.Design: Retrospective study.Participants: Forty-one patients with medulloepithelioma.Intervention: Cryotherapy, plaque radiotherapy, …
Ophthalmic Surgery Simulator Training Improves Resident Performance of Capsulorhexis in the Operating Room – Corrected Proof
Purpose: To assess the effect of a Capsulorhexis Intensive Training Curriculum (CITC) on the rates of errant, continuous, curvilinear capsulorhexes (CCCs) during cataract surgery among resident surgeons at a teaching hospital.Design: Retrospective educational interventional case series.Participants and Controls: A total of 1037 consecutive cataract surgeries performed at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center during 4 consecutive academic years were considered. The baseline cohort consists of 434 cataract surgeries performed during the 2 academic years before the intervention. The postintervention cohort consists of 603 cataract surgeries performed during the following 2 consecutive academic years.Intervention: The principal intervention was the introduction of the CITC for (Read more...)
A Prospective Randomized Trial of Intravitreal Bevacizumab Versus Ranibizumab for the Management of Diabetic Macular Edema – Corrected Proof
Purpose: To compare visual acuity and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SDOCT) outcomes associated with intravitreal (IV) bevacizumab vs IV ranibizumab for the management of diabetic macular edema (DME).Design: Prospective randomized trial.Methods: Forty-eight patients (63 eyes) with center-involved DME were randomly assigned to receive 1.5 mg (0.06 cc) IV bevacizumab or 0.5 mg (0.05 cc) IV ranibizumab at baseline and monthly if central subfield thickness was greater than 275 μm.Results: Forty-five patients (60 eyes) completed 48 weeks of follow-up. At baseline, mean ± standard error best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) (logMAR) was 0.60 (20/80) ± 0.05 in the IV bevacizumab group and 0.63 (20/85) ± 0.05 (Read more...)
Femtosecond laser pretreatment reduces effective phacoemulsification time
Femtosecond laser pretreatment significantly reduced effective phacoemulsification time in eyes undergoing cataract surgery, according to a study.The prospective study included 150 eyes that underwent femtosecond laser pretreatment and 51 eyes that und…
Resuturing scleral flap reverses hypotony from overfiltration after trabeculectomy
Transconjunctival resuturing of the scleral flap was successful in treating hypotony maculopathy after trabeculectomy, according to a study.Several 10-0 nylon sutures on a cutting needle were stitched through the conjunctiva and into the scleral flap, …
OCT shows significant decrease in choroidal thickness from cigarette smoking
Optical coherence tomography showed decreased choroidal thickness attributed to cigarette smoking, according to a study.The study included 17 smokers and a control group comprising 17 nonsmokers.
BLOG: Are you spending too much or too little on marketing? Part 5
For an established, somewhat more vanguard than average general practice, performing a mix of cataract and refractive surgery, here’s a reasonable if highly generic budget apportionment.
DCCT: HbA1c Matters Today, Tomorrow, and 20 Years On
New follow-up data from the landmark Diabetes Control and Complications Trial demonstrate the ongoing benefit from intensive management of type 1 diabetes. Medscape Medical News
Damaging Healthy Eye Cells: New Insights Into Diseases Causing The Loss Of Vision.
There are two major light receptor cells in the mammalian eye: rods and cones. New research by scientists from Duke University have shown that dying cone cells can trigger the demise of healthy rod cells, leading to the loss of vision…
BLOG: Supreme Court ‘pay-for-delay’ ruling hardly decides issue
On June 17, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in FTC v. Actavis, providing some clarity regarding the legal standard courts should apply to so-called “reverse payment” settlements. In these settlements, a brand drug company provides something of value to a generic drug company in order to resolve the parties’ patent litigation and clear the path for the generic product to come to market.
Femtosecond lenticule extraction corrects myopic astigmatism
Femtosecond refractive lenticule extraction corrected myopic astigmatism, but there was a slight trend toward astigmatic undercorrection over time, a study found.The retrospective study included 182 eyes of 113 patients who underwent the ReLEx flex pro…
SD-OCT most sensitive, specific in detection of reticular pseudodrusen in AMD
Spectral domain optical coherence tomography showed the greatest sensitivity and specificity in identifying reticular pseudodrusen in age-related macular degeneration, according to a study.The study included 220 eyes of 114 patients with AMD. All patie…
PDT yields good long-term outcomes for polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy
Photodynamic therapy produced favorable long-term results in patients with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy, but there was a high recurrence rate, according to a study.The retrospective study included 42 eyes of 36 patients with polypoidal choroidal v…
Split cornea donor tissue may be stored up to 1 week before DALK, DMEK
Anterior and posterior donor tissue that was stored up to 1 week before surgery showed no significant endothelial cell loss or complications 1 year after transplantation, according to a study.The retrospective, nonrandomized study included 110 eyes with anterior stromal disease that was suitable for deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty and 110 eyes with endothelial disease that was suitable for Descemet’s membrane endothelial keratoplasty. Best corrected visual acuity, visual and refractive outcomes, endothelial cell density, and complication rates were measured before surgery and at 1 day, 1 week, 4 weeks, and 3, (Read more...)
Pilot Study Has Promising Results For Age-Related Macular Degeneration
There is no cure for age-related macular degeneration, an eye disease that is the leading cause of vision loss and blindness in older Americans…