CONTACT LENSES TODAY
April 2, 2006
Contact Lenses Today® is edited by Dr. Joseph T. Barr and the staff of Contact Lens Spectrum. This week CLToday® reaches more
than 12,000 readers in 74 countries.
The Global Orthokeratology Symposium presents "Fundamentals of Corneal Reshaping"
— a newly formatted educational experience for 2006. Held in conjunction with the Southern California College of Optometry, this 2-day
course designed for the novice or new orthokeratology practitioner will focus on patient selection, corneal topography, choosing a design — plus "live" fitting and
next-day follow-up with actual patients. Go to www.GOS2006.com for more information.
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CooperVision Fights Restrictive CL Legislation
Contact lens manufacturer, CooperVision announced it has retained legal council and lobbyists in part of an intensive lobbying campaign to
defeat the contact lens legislation proposed by 1-800 Contacts in various states. In a recent press release, the company says the language of the legislation is ambiguous
and does not define standards such as “commercially reasonable” and “nondiscriminatory manner.” CooperVision also says these bills would limit the choices available to
O.D.s and unfairly subjects manufacturers to civil and criminal liability for legitimate commercial practices.
The company asserts the belief that manufacturers should
continue to have the right to determine which distribution channels and business partners are best for the competitiveness of the industry and for patients. More
information about the campaign and the legislation is available on the company’s website at http://www.coopervision.com.
FDA Approves SynergEyes Post Surgical Lens
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval for SynergEyes to market its SynergEyes PS hybrid contact lens for daily-wear in the correction of post-surgical and post-traumatic refractive errors. The company plans to introduce the lens during the third quarter of this year. It will also
introduce the SynergEyes KC for keratoconus and the SynergEyes M for presbyopes this year.
B&L Cooperates in Infection Investigation
Reports of an outbreak of Fusarium keratitis in contact lens wearers using Bausch & Lomb’s (B&L) ReNu multipurpose solution
products began in February.
The company has been working with the Singapore Ministry of Health to determine the cause of the infection. The Ministry has found no definitive link between any particular
product and the outbreak and authorities in Hong Kong and China have reported that independent testing of ReNu confirmed the products are sterile. The company also
collected and tested a number of samples, all of which were found to be highly effective in biocidal efficacy against
Fusarium species. B&L is currently working to collect
and culture Fusarium isolates from patient samples to determine whether they are different from the strain used in standard biocidal efficacy testing.
An isolated number
of cases have now been reported in the U.S. At this time, B&L does not have enough information to assess whether there are unusual trends in any other regions. The company
is working with the C.D.C. to investigate and track the incidence of these infections around the world.
A Lens for Comfort from Dryness
Are some potential contact lens wearers frightened away from contact lenses after witnessing friends or family who experience lens discomfort
in dry, challenging environments? Do some of your contact lens dropouts long to return to the convenience and crisp vision of lens wear, but are afraid to try again
because of the discomfort that ended their previous attempts at lens wear? The latest breakthrough in the ULTRA COMFORT SERIES™, ACUVUE® OASYS™ Brand
Contact Lenses with HYDRACLEAR™ Plus, offer exceptional comfort, wettability and crisp vision to these potential and former lens wearers. With ACUVUE®
OASYS™ Brand Contact Lenses, many of these patients can successfully return to or begin contact lens wear.
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AOA’s Eighth Caring for the Eyes of America
The American Optometric Association (AOA) has released the eighth annual edition of
Caring for the Eyes of America. The report contains data
from recurring surveys on consumer trends, third-party/managed care participation rates, ophthalmic market share, optical dispensing and optometric income. Statistics are
also offered on frames and lenses, materials, treatments, labs, income from contact lenses
and more. The reports will be available at a reduced price for AOA members until
May 15th.
VSP Teaches Kids about Healthy Vision
Vision Service Plan (VSP) will bring ten doctors into Chicago public schools to launch its “Doctor in the Classroom” program, which is
designed to teach students about the importance of eye health. Curriculum will demonstrate easy ways to keep eyes healthy and details the signs that a student may have a
vision problem. The goal is to encourage kids to take care of their vision and instill positive habits. The Chicago Public Schools Office of Specialized Services supports
the program and hopes students will take lessons home to their parents.
Art Optical Celebrates 75 Years
2006 marks the 75th year of service for contact lens manufacturer, Art Optical. Charles J. Anastor founded the company as a spectacle lens
maker in 1930. The now-exclusive GP manufacturer is held by his son, Thomas E. Anastor. Despite great success with standardized lens designs, the company’s key strength
continues to be custom lens design. Art Optical sees viable growth opportunities in the custom lens segment and international market.
Abstract:
GP Lenses Best for Corneal Perforations
A recent study aimed to evaluate and compare rigid gas permeable contact lenses
with spectacles in visual rehabilitation following perforating
corneal injuries. Visual outcome following repair of this kind of injury may not always be optimal due to the presence of irregular keratometric astigmatism. Researchers
fit 40 eyes that had undergone repair for perforating corneal injuries, with or without lens aspiration, with rigid gas permeable lenses for visual rehabilitation.
Twenty-four (60%) required aphakic contact lenses.
Best-corrected visual acuity measured >6/18 on the Snellen acuity chart was achieved in 10 eyes (25%) with spectacle
correction and 37 eyes (93%) with contact lens wear. All patients showed an improvement of at least two lines over spectacle acuity when wearing contact lenses. The
researchers conclude that GP lenses are a better means of rehabilitation in eyes with irregular corneal topography due to scars caused by perforating corneal
injuries.
Titiyal JS, Sinha R, Sharma N, et al. Contact Lens Rehabilitation following Repaired Corneal Perforations. BMS
Ophthalmol. 2006 Mar14;6(1):11.
Editor's Commentary:
More on GPs
Our abstract this week inspires me to be redundant. I am sorry for that. My most-memorable, recent patient was a post-trauma patient who was
wearing a large lenticular GP lens. It's amazing that our first choice in these post-surgical, post-traumatic, post-infective (healed) cases of irregular astigmatism is a
GP lens (not to mention keratoconus). Yet, for so many normal eyes that have with-the-rule astigmatism, we proceed directly to a soft toric lens. I'm not knocking our
great new toric soft lenses, but it would be desirable for all of us to talk to our patients more often about GPs, and not just when their cornea is a wreck.
Fitting Tip:
More Filter Options
Regarding last week’s tip, for several years Boston Lens Manufacturers has offered hand-held yellow filters in Europe and the U.S. So call
your wholesaler and see if they will provide them. It may save you a trip to your photography store.
John Schilperoort,
The Netherlands
Best of the Month
Dr. Laney Brown, submitted the “Best Fitting Tip of the Month” for March. Her tip, “Pearls For GP Lenses,” can be seen in the, March 19, 2006
edition of CLToday.
This month at http://www.siliconehydrogels.org/, consider the impact that lens care products can have on comfort; compare
the characteristics of lysozyme deposition on various contact lens materials; and compare the corneal staining characteristics of various lens-solution combinations.
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 T-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 and issue
archives. Visit Contact Lenses Today for our Best Fitting Tips.
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