HONOLULU — Osamah Saeedi, MD, discusses his research regarding the velocity of ocular erythrocytes at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting here. The new technique involves labeling red blood cells with fluorescent dye to measure their speed, which could help understand diseases such as glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy, he said.
Author: Healio ophthalmology
Quarterly anti-VEGF dosing for AMD improves vision in some patients
HONOLULU — A subset of patients receiving anti-VEGF treatment for neovascular age-related macular degeneration respond to treatment with less-than-monthly dosing, according to a poster presented here at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting.
David A. Eichenbaum, MD, and colleagues compiled data from a group of studies that looked at dosing frequency of Lucentis (ranibizumab, Genentech) or Eylea (aflibercept, Regeneron) for these patients and concluded that half of them maintained or gained vision when dosed every 12 weeks (quarterly).
Studies included PIER,
Avedro lands $25 million financing round
Avedro announced in a press release it has received a commitment of $25 million in financing led by Lilly Asia Ventures, with participation from existing investors OrbiMed Advisors, InterWest Partners and HealthQuest Capital.
“This new funding brings together an exceptional syndicate of investors who are committed to helping us achieve [our] goal,” Reza Zadno, PhD, CEO of Avedro, said in the release. “It will allow us to accelerate adoption of the only FDA-approved cross-linking treatment and the development of our next-generation corneal remodeling applications.”
As
VIDEO: SD-OCT provides biomarkers for predicting DME treatment
HONOLULU — At the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting here, Dinah Zur, MD, discusses how spectral-domain OCT can help individualize treatment of diabetic macular edema by providing predictive biomarkers.
OCTANe partners with CEDARS/ASPENS for OTS 2018
OCTANe has partnered with the CEDARS/ASPENS Society for its annual Ophthalmology Technology Summit, which will be held Friday, June 29, at the Fashion Island Hotel in Newport Beach, California.
The meeting will bring together leading ophthalmology technologists, researchers, clinicians and entrepreneurs for a 1-day forum to showcase innovations and foster partnerships. Events at OTS 2018 will focus on ophthalmic technologies, unmet clinical needs and business opportunities, according to a press release.
Allergan CEO Brent Saunders will deliver the keynote presentation.
“Our collaboration
Many unknowns surround medical marijuana
NEW ORLEANS — Though physicians in more than two dozen states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and Guam have laws that allow medical marijuana’s use, there is still a lot of uncertainty over its medicinal value, according to a speaker at the ACP Internal Medicine Annual Meeting.
“There are very little scientific data to support the approximately 50 indications where medical marijuana could be used in the 29 states where marijuana is legal,” Charles V. Pollack, Jr., MA. MD, director of The Lambert Center for the Study of Medicinal Cannabis and (Read more...)
VIDEO: Capillary perfusion deviation mapping can detect early diabetic retinopathy
HONOLULU — Single-scan capillary perfusion deviation mapping using OCT imaging can assist in identifying and scaling early diabetic retinopathy, according to Richard Rosen, MD, who presented a paper on the subject at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting here.
VIDEO: Capillary prefusion deviation mapping can detect early diabetic retinopathy
HONOLULU — Single-scan capillary perfusion deviation mapping using OCT imaging can assist in identifying and scaling early diabetic retinopathy, according to Richard Rosen, MD, who presented a paper on the subject at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting here.
Rho kinase inhibitor added to glaucoma treatment options
HONOLULU — Once daily netarsudil is an “excellent addition” to glaucoma treatments, Janet B. Serle, MD, said at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting here. The treatment is now available in the U.S.
The rho kinase inhibitor netarsudil 0.02% (Rhopressa, Aerie Pharmaceuticals) lowers IOP and is well tolerated, she told Healio.com/OSN, explaining a poster presentation of the ROCKET 2 study.
The once daily administration addresses compliance and the novel mechanism acts by enhancing outflow at the tissue that is altered in glaucoma — the trabecular
Topical treatment for DME tolerated in first-in-human trial
HONOLULU — Safety and tolerability objectives were met in a phase 1/2 first-in-human study of topical SF0166, a topical ophthalmic solution candidate for treatment of diabetic macular edema, a speaker said here.
“Safety and tolerability were excellent, and there was no evidence of corneal toxicity,” D. Scott Edwards, PhD, said at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting.
Edwards presented data from a randomized, double-masked, multicenter study of 40 patients with DME randomized 1:1 in two arms to receive 1.25 mg or 2.5 mg SF0166 (SciFluor) twice a (Read more...)
VIDEO: OCTA can lead to better understanding of diabetic retinopathy
HONOLULU — At the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting here, Javier Zarranz-Ventura, MD, PhD, FEBO, discusses a large-scale prospective study evaluating the use of OCT angiography in assessing diabetic retinopathy progression.
Targeted laser photocoagulation treats select cases of diabetic retinopathy
HONOLULU — Targeted retinal photocoagulation may be used to treat severe nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy as well as some cases of proliferative diabetic retinopathy, according to a poster presented here.
Pallavi Singh, MD, of Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, New Delhi, and colleagues undertook a nonrandomized, prospective, interventional study of 30 treatment-naive eyes with NPDR or PDR without high-risk characteristics (HRC) treated with targeted retinal photocoagulation over capillary nonperfusion areas.
Areas of treatment were identified with Optos
VIDEO: Dexamethasone inserts show success in eyes with DME
HONOLULU — Repeated dexamethasone inserts are a safe option for diabetic macular edema, especially for treatment-naive eyes, according to an International Retina Group study presented by Catharina Busch, MD, at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting here.
VIDEO: Study finds NovaTears can increase tear film thickness
HONOLULU — At the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting here, Gerhard Garhöfer, MD, discusses a study investigating the effect of NovaTears (Novaliq) on tear film thickness in dry eye patients.
EHRs need overhaul to limit time spent on them
NEW ORLEANS — Electronic health records need to meet clinical needs, not administrative ones, to prevent physicians from spending too much on the technology, according to a presenter at the American College of Physicians Internal Medicine Meeting.
“It’s particularly worrisome that there’s a great deal of dissatisfaction among physicians regarding EHRs, and how much time they spend on them,” Elmer V. Bernstam, MD, associate dean for research at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, told Healio Family Medicine.
“There are many reasons for
VIDEO: ROCKET 2 demonstrates comparable efficacy of Rhopressa, timolol
HONOLULU — The ROCKET 2 trial found once-daily treatment with Aerie Pharmaceuticals’ Rhopressa (netarsudil ophthalmic solution 0.02%) to be comparable with twice-daily treatment with timolol maleate 0.05% while maintaining a similar side effect profile, Janet B. Serle, MD, said at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting here.
Deep learning methods extend physician expertise
HONOLULU — Deep learning methods have great potential to extend the expertise of physicians who diagnose and treat diabetic retinopathy, Rory Sayres, PhD, a researcher for Google, said at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting here.
Sayres and colleagues looked at the impact on accuracy, speed and confidence of physicians when algorithms developed from machine learning methods were applied to assist in grading retinal fundus images for diabetic retinopathy.
Using more than 1,800 images from EyePACS, Sayres and colleagues recruited nine ophthalmologists to read
VIDEO: Brolucizumab treatment frequency predicted by first dosing interval
HONOLULU — The recent HAWK and HARRIER trials of Novartis’ brolucizumab for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration has helped researchers predict which patients will need an 8-week dosing regimen or a 12-week regimen with an almost 90% predictability rate, Pravin Dugel, MD, said at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting here.
Scleral implants may improve near visual acuity in patients with presbyopia
HONOLULU — A subset of patients treated for presbyopia with scleral implants experienced a clinically significant improvement in near visual acuity, according to a poster presented at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting here.
“Preliminary data indicates that VisAbility micro-insert system (Refocus Group) may significantly improve near vision,” Frank A. Bucci Jr., MD, wrote in the poster.
Researchers evaluated visual acuity of a subsample of 20 patients from two centers in a multicenter FDA trial who received scleral implants and were followed for
Aerie launches Rhopressa in US
Aerie Pharmaceuticals announced the launch of Rhopressa in the United States for the treatment of patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension.Rhopressa (netarsudil ophthalmic solution 0.02%) is now available nationally and regionally throu…