CONTACT LENSES TODAY
February 20, 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.
PBA to Research Financial Impact of Vision Loss
In partnership with Johns Hopkins University, Prevent Blindness America (PBA) is launching a national "Cost of Visual
Impairment Research Study" to quantify the actual financial impact that vision loss has on individuals as well as on government and insurance agencies.
According to a PBA representative, the study is in initial planning stages but will commence in the upcoming few months and is expected to take about 18
to 22 months to complete, at which time the findings will be revealed.
AMO Expects to Complete Acquisition of VISX in Q2 2005
Back in November 2004, Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. (AMO) announced its intention to acquire VISX, Incorporated. The
companies were working to complete the merger, which the boards of both companies unanimously approved during the first quarter of 2005. They recently
revised their prediction and announced that they expect to complete the merger during the second quarter of 2005. The combined company will retain the
Advanced Medical Optics name and will be headquartered in Santa Ana, Calif. Says VISX chairman and CEO Liz Davila, "By taking advantage of AMO's global
distribution network, we can expand our laser vision correction business into new markets. At the same time, we can enhance surgeon understanding and
adoption of AMO's new refractive IOL technologies."
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. © JJVCI, 2005.
--ADVERTISING
New Dry Eye Drop Contains Restoryl
Alimera Sciences Inc. recently introduced its multi-dose lubricant eye drop, Soothe Emollient, which features the lipid
restorative Restoryl that works to re-establish the lipid layer of tears. (Restoryl consists of two highly refined mineral oils: Drakeol-15 and
Drakeol-35.) According to the company, unlike ordinary drops, Soothe reduces harmful tear evaporation and seals in essential moisture, giving dry
eye sufferers up to eight hours of relief from discomfort. Soothe is available online only
at http://www.familymeds.com and at various local retailers. To learn more about the company and its new dry eye
product, visit http://www.alimerasciences.com.
CRT-Certifying Seminars to Take Place at SECO and VE East
Paragon Vision Sciences will host certification seminars at next week's Southeastern Educational Congress of
Optometry (SECO) and at next month's Vision Expo (VE) East. If you want to prescribe Paragon CRT, then you must be certified. The SECO seminar
will take place on Friday, February 25 at 10a.m. (http://www.secointernational1.com) and at VE
East on Friday, March 11 at 9a.m. (http://www.visionexpoeast.com).
Abstract:
CLs and Bacteria in Swimming Pools
Scientists have found that wearing a hydrophilic lens while swimming allows accumulation of microbial organisms on or
in the lens, regardless of lens material after testing an association between swimming with contact lenses and subsequent eye infection. In the study,
15 healthy noncontact lens wearers swam for 30 minutes with a silicone hydrogel contact lens on one eye and a hydrogel lens on the other eye. The
researchers removed the lenses and placed them in sterile vials 10 minutes after the subjects left the water. They enumerated microbial growth for
total numbers of colonies and categorized them by species. They compared the numbers of colonies between the two lens groups and with a water sample
taken from the pool. Eight of the 15 subjects returned on different days and wore new lenses for 50 minutes in normal room conditions. Twenty seven
of the 28 remaining lenses worn while swimming (two lenses were lost) showed colonization, principally Staphylococcus epidermidis, which was
also the most common species identified from the water itself. Small numbers of Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus salivarius were
also present in the water and on the lenses. The researchers found no differences between the two lens groups and lenses that were removed after 30
minutes of wear without swimming were mostly sterile, with three of 16 lenses showing just two colonies each. They advise that swimmers wearing contact
lenses should wear tight-fitting goggles and that they should disinfect the lenses before wearing them overnight.
Choo J, Vuu K, Bergenske P,
Burnham K, Smythe J, Caroline P. Bacterial Populations on Silicone Hydrogel and Hydrogel Contact Lenses After Swimming in a Chlorinated Pool.
Optometry and Vision Science 2005 Feb;82(2):134-137.
Editor's Commentary:
Reminders About GP Lenses
GP lenses keep improving, yet we continue to underuse them. GP multifocal designs have been improved in the past few years
from a manufacturing and design standpoint. This gives treating a GP-wearing, early presbyope a high probability of success. Keratoconus lens designs
have been and are being improved. The latest materials that have high to hyper Dks are even better. And if you ask the right questions, you'll find
that many of your successful GP wearers wouldn't mind sleeping with their lenses on once in a while, so the extended wear approved materials are a good
option to refractive surgery -- especially for those who have thin corneas. And remember: GP patients are loyal.
Fitting Tip:
The Real Way to a Win-Win Situation
I respectfully disagree with the last two tips that appeared in CLToday (the February 6 and February 13 editions). Here is
how to make it a win-win situation:
In our office, we constantly promote the idea of purchasing an annual supply of disposable lenses. In particular,
parents of teenagers may be concerned that their teen's prescription will change in less than one year. I tell the parents that my office will not
penalize them if this ends up being the case. I explain that as long as the multi-pack boxes are still sealed and that no ink marks are on them, then
my office will swap the boxes for the patient's revised prescription.
Most of the contact lens sales reps will gladly exchange unopened boxes, so I
believe this latest controversy is a tempest in a teapot and is a non-issue. Also, offering to swap the boxes makes you look like a good guy in your
patients' eyes. --Daniel S. Meltzer, O.D.
Iselin, N.J.
It's Time to Start Planning for the Global Orthokeratology Symposium (GOS)
(July 28 to 31, 2005 in Chicago, Ill. -- for the first time in the U.S.A.)
More than 20 hours of CE courses presented
by a faculty of international experts. Register by April 30, 2005 to save $50 off the full symposium price.
--ADVERTISING
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
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and city/state/country.
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