At Retina 2016, William F. Mieler, MD, tracks back through the literature to explore the question of how cataract surgery impacts progression of age-related macular degeneration.
Author: Healio ophthalmology
PUBLICATION EXCLUSIVE: Cost Containment: Getting the Lead Out
“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”– Antoine de Saint-ExuperyIt is hard to get and stay lean. In any year, roughly one out of every seven Americans goes on a diet. And the number of people who desire to lose weight is even greater than the number of people who actually undertake a weight loss program.
Headlines from OSN New York 2016
The 25th annual OSN New York meeting was held last week, with a program designed for comprehensive ophthalmologists. The 3-day meeting included presentations on techniques and technology for cataract surgery, improving IOL outcomes and refractive surge…
Higher axial length, spherical equivalent associated with uncorrectable visual impairment
Subjects with higher axial length and spherical equivalent were more likely to develop uncorrectable visual impairments, according to a study. The cross-sectional study included 15,693 subjects of European descent culled from large population studies conducted in the Netherlands. Subjects had axial lengths ranging from 15.3 mm to 37.8 mm and spherical equivalent ranging from –25 D to +14 D. Axial length was greater than 26 mm in 819 individuals, and spherical equivalent was –6 D or worse in 796 individuals.
PUBLICATION EXCLUSIVE: Ophthalmologists explore new and pending optical concepts for enhancing vision in presbyopic patients
Corneal inlays, or more specifically presbyopic inlays, are gaining traction as another viable option to improve vision.Over the past 18 months, the FDA has approved the first two of these inlays: the Kamra (AcuFocus) in April 2015 and the Raindrop (Re…
Ophthotech reports $60.9 million loss in third quarter
Ophthotech reported a net loss of $60.9 million, or $1.71 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2016, whereas a net loss of $39.6 million, or $1.14 per diluted share, was reported in the third quarter of 2015.The company spent $10.4 million more o…
VIDEO: Signs, symptoms of dry eye disease improve with use of cryopreserved amniotic membrane
NEW YORK ― At the OSN New York meeting here, Thomas “TJ” John, MD, reports results of a randomized controlled study testing the use of cryopreserved amniotic membrane in cases of dry eye disease. The study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that cryopreserved amniotic membrane, which is rich in nerve growth factors, would promote corneal nerve regeneration and, through its anti-inflammatory properties, would also improve overall ocular surface health.
Glaukos completes patient enrollment in initial phase of standalone iStent inject trial
Glaukos has finished enrolling patients in the first phase of its FDA investigational device exemption trial for the standalone version of the iStent inject trabecular micro-bypass stent, according to a company press release.The iStent inject, designed…
LASIK flap complications infrequent but can lead to aborted procedures
NEW YORK — Abandoned LASIK flap procedures due to complications are uncommon, but a second surgery can still result in positive outcomes for patients if surgeons optimize timing and their surgical technique, a speaker said here. “The good news is even when we experience these significant complications at the time of LASIK elective procedures, we can tell our patients that we can still get them good outcomes. While we have to wait a little bit longer for microkeratome flaps to maybe stabilize, the nice thing that we looked at with (Read more...)
Ocular Therapeutix reports lower net loss in third quarter
Ocular Therapeutix reported a net loss of $9.6 million, or $0.39 per share, in the third quarter compared with a net loss of $11.5 million, or $0.47 per share, in the third quarter of 2015, according to a company press release.Total costs and operating…
Valeant to divest Paragon
Valeant Pharmaceuticals has agreed to divest Paragon Holdings I Inc. to restore competition in the gas-permeable button market, according to the Federal Trade Commission.It was alleged that Valeant’s acquisition of Paragon Holdings, which included the wholly owned subsidiaries Paragon Vision Sciences Inc. and CRT Technology Inc., violated Section 7 of the Clayton Act and Section 5 of the FTC Act by lessening competition in the markets for polymer discs, or buttons, used to make orthokeratology, large-diameter scleral and general vision correction contact lenses.
Preoperative dry eye, ectasia risk factors can determine if PRK or LASIK is optimal
NEW YORK — Both PRK and LASIK are effective refractive surgery procedures, but patients with preoperative dry eye and those who are at high risk for ectasia may be better candidates for PRK, according to a speaker here. “LASIK and PRK are both excellent options for refractive surgery, and they provide excellent results. However, whatever criteria you use, the [residual stromal bed] or the [percent tissue altered], whatever that minimum number is, it’s important to not exceed that with a planned LASIK procedure, and if so, you should perform a (Read more...)
Valeant announces Q3 financial results
Valeant Pharmaceuticals announced its third quarter 2016 financial results, which included total revenues of $2.48 billion, compared with $2.70 billion in the third quarter of 2015, according to a press release.The decrease of 11% was the result of dec…
STAAR Surgical reports net loss in third quarter
STAAR Surgical reported a net loss of $1.8 million, or $0.04 per share, in the third quarter, which is equal to its net loss in the third quarter of 2015, according to a company press release. STAAR’s net sales were up 7% to $20.1 million, which was attributed to ICL revenue and unit growth, as well as IOL revenue growth. This was offset by lower sales of injector parts and a delay in orders from Canada for the EVO toric lens.
IOP reduction, medication elimination noted after implantation of two iStent inject devices
Patients with open-angle glaucoma had an IOP reduction in phakic eyes with the elimination of medication through 18 months after undergoing standalone implantation of two iStent inject devices, according to a study. Researchers included 57 phakic eyes …
VIDEO: Patient follow up key in treating dry eye disease
NEW YORK ― At the OSN New York meeting here, John A. Hovanesian, MD, discusses the importance of following up with dry eye patients to learn which of the many new modalities for treating dry eye are the most successful.
VIDEO: Treat astigmatism in glaucoma patients at time of cataract surgery
NEW YORK ― At the OSN New York meeting here, Savak “Sev” Teymoorian, MD, discusses the need to treat astigmatism in glaucoma patients at the time of cataract surgery.
SVOne comparable to traditional refractive error measures
The SVOne provides measurements of spherical equivalent refractive error in both children and adults that are not significantly different from those of other standard clinical procedures, according to researchers in Optometry & Vision Science. Researchers compared the findings of the SVOne (Smart Vision Labs) with retinoscopy, subjective refraction and two commercially available autorefractors in a pediatric population.
Spark Therapeutics reports $32.6 million loss in third quarter
Spark Therapeutics reported a net loss of $32.6 million, or $1.07 per basic and diluted share, in the third quarter compared with a net loss of $16.9 million, or $0.70 per basic and diluted share, in the third quarter of 2015, according to a company pr…
pSivida brings on Deb Jorn as executive vice president of corporate and commercial development
Deb Jorn has joined pSivida as its executive vice president of corporate and commercial development, according to a company press release.Jorn, who began her career at Merck and previously worked at Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Bausch + Lomb, Schering-Plough and Johnson & Johnson, will report directly to the company’s President and CEO Nancy Lurker in the newly created position.