Lower rates of failure and reoperation make the Baerveldt tube shunt cost-effective, despite being more expensive than trabeculectomy, a new study shows. Medscape Medical News
Month: February 2014
American Glaucoma Society (AGS) 24th Annual Meeting
Read clinically focused news coverage of key developments from AGS 2014. Medscape Ophthalmology
Abingworth announces final closing of £225M ($375M) fund
Abingworth, the international investment group dedicated to life sciences and healthcare, today announced the final closing of its £225m ($375m) fund, Abingworth Bioventures VI (ABV VI). ABV VI, Abingworth’s 10th life sciences fund, exceeded its target of £200 million and invests in life sciences and healthcare both in Europe and the US.
Study Suprachoroidal shunt with topical travoprost reduces IOP
WASHINGTON — Early study findings suggest that implantation of a suprachoroidal stent significantly reduces IOP and medication burden in phakic patients with open-angle glaucoma, according to a presenter here. In this study of the suprachoroidal shunt implantation with travoprost, there were substantial reductions in pressure, with all eyes achieving a pressure of 18 mm Hg or lower at 1 and 2 years, and most eyes achieving 15 mm Hg at 1 and 2 years,” Jonathan S. Myers, MD, said at the American Glaucoma Society meeting.
Speaker: Cataract surgery, goniosynechialysis together increase IOP control in angle closure glaucoma
WASHINGTON — Cataract removal and goniosynechialysis work together to lower IOP in patients with angle closure glaucoma and significant synechiae, possibly avoiding further surgery, a speaker said here. Even though phacoemulsification alone may result in significant widening of the anterior chamber angle, combining goniosynechialysis with the cataract surgery could achieve better IOP control while also avoiding a trabeculectomy, Marlene R. Moster, MD, told colleagues at the American Glaucoma Society meeting.
MIGS gains wider acceptance among glaucoma specialists
Thomas W. Samuelson, MD, discusses the wider acceptance of minimally invasive glaucoma procedures during the American Glaucoma Society meeting in Washington, DC. He also discusses surgical pearls for iStent implantation.
BLOG: #BobCostasPinkeye
Admit it. You were more than a little bit interested in poor Bob Costas and his pink eye. Heck, if you were anything like me, it’s all your non-eye doc friends wanted to talk to you about. Maybe you even tweeted about it with a fancy hashtag. Guilty on that one, personally. But more than any of that, weren’t you fascinated by not only the whole spectacle (pun intended), but also about how and why it got to be such a big deal?
New corneal layer important for intraocular pressure maintenance
UK researchers have found that a newly discovered layer of the human eye is an important part of the structural tissue that helps to maintain intraocular pressure and thus may play a role in the development of glaucoma.
New ACA Insurance Causes Headaches in Some Doctors’ Offices
Sheila Lawless is the office manager at a small rheumatology practice in Wichita Falls, Texas, about two hours outside of Dallas. Kaiser Health News
CMS Vows Flexibility on EHR Hardship Exemptions
Doctors who do not meet stiffer meaningful use requirements in 2014 may be able to avoid a penalty if their software vendor is the problem, but the ICD-10 deadline will not be extended, CMS has said. Medscape Medical News
STAAR reports revenue growth for fourth quarter, full year
STAAR Surgical reported revenue of $18.9 million for the fourth quarter, a 15% increase from the corresponding quarter in 2012, according to a press release. GAAP net loss was $876,000, or $0.02 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter, compared with …
Positive preliminary results reported in phase 1b re-treatment trial of QLT091001
Clinically meaningful improvements in visual fields and visual acuity have been reported in preliminary results from a phase 1b clinical trial of repeated treatments of oral QLT091001 in subjects with Leber congenital amaurosis or retinitis pigmentosa,…
FDA, AGS workshop yields consensus recommendations
WASHINGTON — Panels of glaucoma specialists concurred here that only 1 year of follow-up is needed to assess safety endpoints in studies of minimally invasive glaucoma surgery devices. “The overwhelming majority of complications are going to occur promptly, so yes, I think a year is enough,” panelist George L. Spaeth, MD, said, agreeing with all other panelists at the joint workshop of the American Glaucoma Society and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration convened to advance the science of MIGS device implantation. The FDA is “listening carefully,” Malvina B. Eydelman, (Read more...)
FDA clears Victus for corneal incisions
The Victus femtosecond laser platform has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the creation of corneal incisions, according to a press release from Bausch + Lomb. The cuts or incisions can be created in the cornea of…
UAB launches pilot program to detect earlier stages of glaucoma
Glaucoma is a silent disease. It does not hurt, symptoms are slow to develop, and most people do not notice any loss of vision until it is too late. A project by ophthalmologists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham will examine whether a partner…
Ranibizumab Treatment for Neovascular AMD
Are there risk factors for being a ‘reduced responder’ to ranibizumab treatment for AMD, and if so, what should clinicians be aware of? BMC Ophthalmology
Glaucoma filtration device, trabeculectomy similarly successful at 2 years
A glaucoma filtration device and trabeculectomy yielded similar clinical and visual results at 2 years, according to a study. The prospective randomized multicenter trial included 120 eyes of 120 patients; 59 eyes were treated with the Ex-Press device …
Wavefront-guided PRK, wavefront-optimized PRK yield similar visual symptoms
Visual symptoms were similar after wavefront-guided PRK and wavefront-optimized PRK, but patients reported fewer symptoms after wavefront-optimized treatment, according to a study. The prospective randomized study included 142 eyes of 71 patients. One …
VIDEO: Is the toric IOL misaligned? Case studies and techniques
Allergan reports 14.6% growth in net product sales for fourth quarter
Allergan reported $1.66 billion in total product net sales for the fourth quarter, which constitutes a 14.6% increase over total product net sales for the corresponding quarter in 2012, according to a press release. Total specialty pharmaceuticals net sales increased 14% compared with the fourth quarter of 2012, and total core medical devices net sales increased 17% over the prior year’s fourth-quarter numbers. Allergan also reported $1.04 in diluted earnings per share attributable to stockholders, which is less than the $1.05 in diluted earnings per share attributable to stockholders reported (Read more...)