Dr. Scott Geller was the first ophthalmologist in the United States to use a laser to treat eye floaters. He was trained by Dr. Franz Fankenhauser of Switzerland, probably the first ophthalmologist to use his YAG laser in doing work in the vitreous.Whe…
Category: Blogs
Using Lasers to Treat Vitreous Floaters: Laser Vitreolysis
About twenty years ago, in the early 1990s, while in southern Florida to give a presentation, I came across an ad in the local newspaper about a clinic in Ft. Myers, FL that was using a laser to treat floaters. I called the doctor, Scott Geller, MD, an…
Iluvien and the Future of Ophthalmic Drug Delivery Systems
I was recently sent a news release from Alimera Sciences, who have filed an NDA requesting priority review for its Iluvien sustained release drug delivery system for treating diabetic macula edema, which if granted could result in an action letter gran…
A New Laser-based Diagnostic to Detect Malignant Breast Cancer Tumors
It has been some time since I last addressed a medical laser application not connected with ophthalmology on this site. As many of you who visit this Journal regularly know, the vast majority of my consulting time was spent in ophthalmology, including …
Avastin/Lucentis Update 41: The Story Behind the Invention of Avastin and Lucentis
Several months ago, I received a request from a university student writing a paper about Lucentis and Avastin. She asked about the references I had used in my first writeup on the two drugs. I sent her a copy of the reference and she used several quote…
Ellex 2RT Updated Clinical Results: ARVO 2010
Following up on my April 19th writeup (ELLEX 2RT Retinal Regeneration Laser: An Update – First Clinical Results), a report on the first clinical results from the trials being undertaken in London, here are the first results of some key pilot studies …
Avastin/Lucentis Update 40: Lucentis is Approved for Treating Macular Edema in Retinal Vein Occlusion
According to an announcement from Genentech, Lucentis has been approved by the FDA for treating macular edema following retinal vein occlusion (RVO)Here is Genentech’s news release:FDA Approves Genentech’s Lucentis (Ranibizumab Injection) for the Tr…
Menu – Part 16: Updates for April to June 2010
Since the last menu posting in late March, I have added three updates on Avastin vs. Lucentis; five updates on AMD topics; one CATT update; and two new postings. One new posting is an update on the Ellex 2RT treatment, including the first clinical resu…
Avastin/Lucentis Update 39: And the Controversy Continues
This article was published in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal. It again illustrates how Medicare operates with one hand tied behind its back.Medicare Eye Study Finds Untapped SavingsWSJ, June 17, 2010By Alicia MundyMedicare could save more than $500 …
CATT Study Update 11: More on the Story Behind the Story of the CATT Study
As we await publication of the first results of the CATT Study, probably sometime early next year, I found another interesting account of the “story behind the story” of how the CATT Study became a reality. Just published by the Health Care Reform …
AMD Update 12: Artificial Retina Created From Human Embryonic Stem Cells
As reported by Medical News Today, UC Irvine scientists have created an eight-layer, early stage retina from human embryonic stem cells, the first three-dimensional tissue structure to be made from stem cells. It also marks the first step toward the de…
AMD Update 11: Potential Breakthrough Drug Delivery System for AMD
Earlier last week, I was reading a report on Dr. Robert Langer’s keynote address from the recent ARVO meeting held in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, “The Future of Regenerative Medicine in Ophthalmology”, and thought that his idea of a prototype microchip o…
Avastin/Lucentis Update 38: The Controversy Continues “Across the Pond”
It seems that the Brits also want to use Avastin instead of Lucentis in treating AMD, and the UK’s cost-effectiveness body of NICE (the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) is taking the first steps to appraise the off-label use of …
Avastin/Lucentis Update 37: The Controversy Continues – Genentech “Paid to Play”
As I read the news release from the NEI/NIH yesterday morning, about the one-year results of the clinical trial evaluating the combination use of Lucentis with pan-retinal laser therapy to treat diabetic macular edema, prior to posting it online, and l…
Combination of Lucentis Plus Pan-Retinal Laser Achieves Vision Gain in Diabetic Macular Edema
A news release from the NEI/NIH describes how researchers have shown that the combination of retinal lasers used with Lucentis are more effective in improving vision in the treatment of diabetic retinopathy that either lasers or drugs alone. The study