CONTACT LENSES TODAY
January 16, 2005
Contact Lenses Today® is edited by Dr. Joseph T. Barr and the staff of Contact Lens Spectrum. This week CLToday®
reaches more than 10,000 readers in 74 countries.
BCLA Launches Program for 2005 Conference
The British Contact Lens Association (BCLA) will offer special symposia and new features to make its 2005 Clinical
Conference and Exhibition (also its 29th conference) even more popular than ever. The lecture program will feature special sessions on ortho-k,
myopia and practice management, plus a roundtable discussion on contact lens materials by Professor Brien Holden. Six new workshops will run during
the conference, which will include photographic and poster competition and, for the first time, a picture quiz. Conference delegates booking before
March 3, 2005 will save on registration fees and those registering online will receive an additional discount. To find out more,
call +44 (0) 207-580-6661 or visit http://www.bcla.org.uk.
Program Helps Those Suffering from AMD Deal with Life
Researchers reported the results of their six-month follow up of an age-related macular degeneration (AMD) self-management
program consisting of health education and enhancement of problem-solving skills in improving quality of life as shown by measures of mood and function
in the January issue of Archives of Ophthalmology. Two hundred and fourteen older adult volunteers (mean age = 80.8 years) who have
ADVANCE™d AMD were randomly assigned to a 12-hour, self-management program (n = 82), a series of 12 hours of tape-recorded health lectures (n = 66) or a
waiting list (n = 66). At the six-month follow up, participants in the self-management program reported significantly less emotional distress (P = .008),
better function (P = .05) and increased self-efficacy (P = .006) compared with control subjects.
Eye Care Professionals Embracing ACUVUE® ADVANCE™ with
HYDRACLEAR™ Report Rapid Practice Growth
Eyecare professionals that have quickly begun using ACUVUE®
ADVANCE™ Brand Contact Lenses with HYDRACLEAR™ as their lens of choice report the new lens has fueled practice growth, improved referral and retention
rates, and strengthened relationships with patients. In a survey of 150 ECPs who participated in a market test on ACUVUE®
ADVANCE™ with HYDRACLEAR™, 86% agreed that the lens contributed to the growth of their contact lens business, with as many reporting that it increased
new patient referrals (85%) and played a role in the growth of their overall practice (87%). The ECPs who proactively recommended ACUVUE®
ADVANCE™ to their patients saw their practices grow an average of 10 percent, compared to an average of only five percent among those who did not
proactively recommend it.
Offering your patients the opportunity to experience all-day comfort with ACUVUE®
ADVANCE™ will help you strengthen these relationships while helping build your practice.
ACUVUE® Brand Contact Lenses are indicated for vision correction. Eye problems including corneal ulcers, can
develop. Some wearers may experience mild irritation, itching or discomfort. Lenses should not be prescribed if patients have an eye infection, or
experience eye discomfort, excessive tearing, vision changes, redness or other eye problems. Consult the package insert for complete information.
Complete information is also available from VISTAKON by calling 1-800-843-2020 or by
visiting http://www.ecp.ACUVUE.com.
ACUVUE®, ACUVUE®
ADVANCE™, HYDRACLEAR™ and VISTAKON are trademarks of Johnson & Johnson Vision
Care, Inc. C JJVCI, 2005.
--ADVERTISING
Imperial Optical Offers CL Rebate Program
Imperial Optical, Inc. last month launched its "I Care About Eyecare" contact lens rebate program. As part of the
campaign, contact lens wearers who have their eyecare professional order their one-year supply of contact lenses from Imperial Optical will qualify
for a $20 mail-in rebate from Imperial Optical. (This rebate is in addition to any other manufacturer-sponsored rebate programs.) The rebate program
is available through February 28, 2005 and contact lens wearers interested in
participating can visit http://www.imperialoptical.com/icaec.aspx.
Clarification of Menicon and ClearLab Agreement
Menicon Co., Ltd. would like to clarify that the license agreement with ClearLab
International (a subsidiary of 1-800 Contacts) allows it to develop, manufacture and market certain disposable lenses in Japan only. This
agreement is strictly limited to the Japanese market and will not affect in any manner Menicon's operations in the United States and its existing
relationships with U.S. contact lens practitioners.
Abstract:
Study Links Timolol to Bronchial Reactivity
To assess the impact of long-term treatment with topical timolol on bronchial reactivity in healthy individuals,
researchers enrolled 21 otherwise healthy individuals who had primary open-angle glaucoma in a randomized, controlled clinical trial. Eleven patients
underwent three years of topical 0.5% timolol treatment followed by a one-year washout period and 10 underwent primary argon laser trabeculoplasty. They
assessed functional variables and bronchial reactivity (forced expiratory volume in one second and metacholine challenge test results) in both groups at
enrollment and after three and four years of follow up. The researchers recorded a measurable response to metacholine challenge after three years in
six of the 11 otherwise symptom-free individuals treated with 0.5% timolol b.i.d. A detectable response to metacholine challenge was still present in
half of these individuals (three of six) when further washed out for one year from the topical beta blocker. They concluded that healthy individuals who
undergo long-term topical application of a nonselective beta blocker (0.5% timolol) can develop a subclinical increase in bronchial reactivity and this
phenomenon may not be completely reversible on withdrawal of the beta blocker.
Gandolfi SA, Chetta A, Cimino L, Mora P, Sangermani C, Tardini MG.
Bronchial Reactivity in Healthy Individuals Undergoing Long-Term Topical Treatment with Beta Blockers. Archives of
Ophthalmology 2005 Jan;123:35-38.
Editor's Commentary:
When to Present the CL Rx
As you know from my writings in the past, I believe that every contact lens patient deserves a copy of his contact lens
prescription and that full compliance with the new act is proper. But how do you do it? After you recommend a one-year lens supply or after you tell a
patient how much his GPs will cost? Do you give it to the patient immediately after your examination, along with his spectacle prescription? Do you
give them a list of benefits regarding ordering from you instead of over the Internet? We're curious about your best practices.
E-mail us at tips@cltoday.com and let us know how and when you present the contact lens prescription to patients.
Keeping Track of Fitting Guides
If you're in a multi-clinician office and use many different specialty GP and soft lenses, then maybe, like our office,
you're frequently searching for a missing or misplaced fitting guide to check availability of some parameter such as segment height or prism and add
power for a GP bifocal. About once each year, we obtain several copies of the latest fitting guides and have them spiral-bound at a local print shop.
With one spiral "notebook" at each workstation, much of the needed data are right at hand. We also include one or two of the 8 1/2" x 11" multifocal
nearpoint cards available from industry for use when we're fitting presbyopes. In addition, the stiff plastic notebook-sized charts of Corneal
Conditions & Contact Lens-related disease (available from Vistakon, CIBA Vision and CooperVision) not only make these excellent patient-education tools
handy to the clinician, but they serve as a good front and back cover for the notebook.
--Bill Edmondson, O.D., F.A.A.O.
Tahlequah,
Okla.
This month at http://www.siliconehydrogels.org, read about worldwide differences in silicone hydrogel
fitting and wearing patterns, the effectiveness of eye drops when it comes to comfort with these lenses, and possible reasons for the shift in
refractive error reported to occur with contact lens wear.
Report adverse contact lens reactions
here: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/medwatch/ or call (800)
FDA-1088.
Access a reporting form for complications you've seen that were a result of contact lenses dispensed without a valid
prescription at the Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry's (ARBO's) Web
site: http://www.arbo.org/arbo.asp?dt=R&doc=Complications. Complete and send the
form online or print it out and fax it to (866) 886-6164.
Send your favorite
tips to tips@cltoday.com -- if your tip is selected as 'Best of the Month,' you'll receive a free golf
shirt (see http://www.CLToday.com for details). Please include your full name, degree or title and city/state/country.
Visit Contact Lens Spectrum ( http://www.clspectrum.com ) for interactive clinical posters, issue
archives and discussion forums. Visit Contact Lenses Today for our Best Fitting Tips and Photo Clinic,
sponsored by Ocular Sciences.
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