For the 29th year, the Alcon Research Institute (ARI) has selected six doctors to receive awards for their outstanding research contributions in the field of ophthalmology and vision science. These newly added members of the ARI were nominated by previous winners and will receive awards of $200,000 in unrestricted grant money from the ARI to continue their research into the underlying causes of eye disease and will present their research at the 2011 symposium.
     The 2009 ARI Award winners are:
      - Robin Ali, PhD for his extensive body of work studying the effects of gene therapy on visual function.
      - Brenda L. Gallie, MD for her distinguished career and research into the genetic causes of retinoblastoma.
      - Gregory S. Hageman, PhD for his significant contributions to the study of age-related macular degeneration.
      - Mark S. Humayan, MD, PhD for his groundbreaking research in the development of a retinal prosthetic device.
      - Robert W. Massof, PhD and Eli Peli, MSc, OD who will share an award for their impressive research on low vision rehabilitation.
     Over the past 28 years, 241 scientists have been honored with the ARI Award, with grants totaling approximately $22 million provided to winners for the advancement of vision research. The ARI aims to further the study of eye health and create ongoing partnerships with vision researchers around the world.

Novagali Pharma, a French pharmaceutical ophthalmic company, announced successful completion of a new Phase II clinical study with Cyclokat, its formulation of Cyclosporine. The results demonstrate statistically significant improvement with signs and symptoms in patients suffering from moderate-to-severe dry eye syndrome.
     For this dry eye clinical trial, Novagali worked with Ora, Inc., a leading global clinical research and development organization located in Andover, MA. This phase II, multi-centre, randomized, double-masked, vehicle controlled study of 132 patients evaluated the safety and efficacy of Cyclokat applied once-a-day over three months. Cyclokat demonstrated significant treatment effect on multiple efficacy variables for both signs and symptoms at month one and month three. These findings confirm potential clinical interest of Cyclokat for the treatment of dry eye syndrome.
     "We are very enthusiastic about the results of this new trial demonstrating efficacy on both dry eye signs and symptoms," said Jerome Martinez, CEO of Novagali. "These are promising results which make us confident in the success of our ongoing Phase III which outcomes are expected Q4 2009."
     For more information on Novagali Pharma visit www.novagali.com.

UltraVision announced the opening of its new KeraSoft Clinic in the heart of Mayfair, London. Located within the John de Carle Practice, its principal purposes are to help patients with irregular corneas and to train practitioners to use the latest contact lens technologies now available.
     Lynn White, MSc, FCOptom, who co-founded and heads the KeraSoft Clinic, has devoted herself over many years to helping patients suffering with Keratoconus, PMD and Irregular Corneas. Lynn has experienced these challenges all over the world and is dedicated to help as many patients as she can both directly and indirectly through training professional colleagues. White also visits practices to give tutorials in fitting. 
     UltraVision's Chief Executive, J. Keith Lomas, said, "UltraVision is extremely proud to be opening the first dedicated clinic for our products, which will not only help patients achieve the vision and comfort they deserve, but also provide training and support for practitioners wishing to develop their specialist contact lens practices."

As of February 2009, a total of 19,987 consumers have either registered for Acuminder or the Acuminder Facebook application, complimentary online services offered by Vistakon, Division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., to help improve contact lens compliance and eye health. 
     According to Vistakon, email is the most preferred method of reminder for consumers with more than 70 percent of registrants requesting an e-mail reminder to change their contact lenses. Acuminder users can receive reminder messages via e-mail, cell phone text messages, widgets, and/or alerts in their Facebook newsfeed. Research conducted by Vistakon shows that bi-weekly contact lens wearers using Acuminder reported a marked improvement in their contact lens behavior; the average number of days between lens changes decreased from 19 days to a near-perfect compliance of 15 days.
     Since its launch late last year, nearly 400 practitioners have registered their practice for Acuminder In-Office, a free service that provides eye care professionals an opportunity to sign up patients before they leave the office for Acuminder services including  reminders to schedule an eye examination. To register your practice for Acuminder In-Office, visit www.acuminder.com/doctor.

Athletes, teens, part-time wearers, and those who are solution-sensitive, suffer from allergies or frequently travel are all great 1·DAY ACUVUE® MOIST™ Brand Contact Lens candidates. All these patient types and more can benefit from the long lasting comfort of LACREON™ technology, the convenience of fresh lenses every day and the protection of Class II UV blocking.* Improve the quality of life for more patients by prescribing 1·DAY ACUVUE® MOIST™ Brand. To learn more, go to:
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The Contact Lens Society of America (CLSA) announced the election of Timothy O. Koch, Vice President, Global Professional Services for Contamac, LTD., as the Associate Member Liaison to the CLSA Board of Directors. The election took place at the organization's 54th Annual Education Meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Mr. Koch will serve in this position for two years, through 2010.
     Mr. Koch holds the distinction of being a Fellow of the Contact Lens Society of America, and he represents Contamac as an Associate (Corporate) Member of CLSA. He has been a member of CLSA since 1982. This is his second term on the CLSA Board of Directors, first term as Associate Member Liaison.
     The CLSA is a non-profit educational association of more than 1,500 contact lens specialists working in opticianry, optometry and ophthalmology. For more information on the CLSA, visit www.clsa.info. 

Lensco announced the promotion of Grant Parsons to Director of Manufacturing and Consultation. Mr. Parsons has 30 years experience in contact lens design manufacturing and fitting consultation. Grant's experience has allowed him the honor to study under such prominent industry experts as the renowned Dr. Leonard Bronstein, Bob Stone, and Dr. J.R. Reynolds. Eventually this led to a partnership between Grant and Bob Stone forming Contact Lens Research Laboratory, where Grant held the Vice President position until 1996, when Lensco acquired the company.
     Grant's many accolades include consistently receiving the Seal of Excellence from the Contact Lens Manufacturing Association, which is indicative of the high level of manufacturing expertise and quality assurance that Grant and his team at Lensco achieve. 

Global Specialty Lens Symposium
January 28-31, 2010 · Bally's Hotel & Casino Las Vegas, NV
With an expert international faculty and a CE-accredited agenda, the 2010 GSLS will include insightful presentations by leaders in the field, hands-on demonstrations of cutting-edge products and valuable continuing education credits. This comprehensive specialty lens symposium offers COPE, JCAHPO and NCLE accreditation* for 17+ hours as well as free papers, posters, manufacturer forums and exhibits. Nearly 500 participants, including 350 eye care professionals from 28 countries, attended the meeting in 2009 and praised the course content, meeting management, exhibits and venue. Plan now to join us in 2010!
     Look for more detailed information in future issues of Contact Lens Spectrum as well as online at www.GSLSymposium.com.
*Approval pending
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In this paper researchers reported on the early presentation, cause, and successful medical management of combined Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) and infectious crystalline keratopathy (ICK). The authors conducted a retrospective review of 111 AK patients diagnosed and managed at the University of Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary between June 1, 2003 and November 30, 2008 for an additional diagnosis of infectious keratitis.
     Of five AK patients with microbiologic evidence of an additional bacterial keratitis during their active AK treatment, concomitant ICK developed in three patients. All patients were examined within three weeks of their AK diagnosis and were found to have characteristic signs and symptoms consistent with ICK. Bacterial culture results at the time of AK diagnosis were negative in two patients, but subsequent culture results were positive for Streptococcus oralis. Initial culture results demonstrated light growth of methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus in the remaining patient, who had received partial antibiotic treatment. Topical corticosteroids were used before diagnosis in two patients and were in use in only one patient after AK diagnosis. All infections resolved with medical therapy alone. One patient later required penetrating keratoplasty for visual rehabilitation.
     The authors concluded that in patients with AK, ICK can develop early and without either the use of corticosteroids or a preexisting epithelial defect, inconsistent with previously suggested mechanisms and major risk factors for secondary infection. Combined AK and ICK may exhibit increased pathogenicity with the onset of severe, often new, pain and acceleration of localized tissue loss and resultant scarring. Although early recognition and aggressive medical treatment were successful in resolving the combined infections in the reviewed cases, Acanthamoeba coinfection, and perhaps endosymbiosis, should be considered in the evaluation and clinical management of AK, especially in those cases progressing atypically. Further research is needed to understand the precise mechanism of the introduction of coinfectious pathogens and their role in the pathogenicity of AK.
Tu EY, Joslin CE, Nijm LM, Feder RS, Jain S, Shoff ME. Polymicrobial Keratitis: Acanthamoeba and Infectious Crystalline Keratopathy. Am J Ophthalmol 2009. 

I recently did a review of multifocal lens designs and it strikes me as to how significant the improvements in materials and designs have been over the past several decades. Our annual survey, published in each January issue of Contact Lens Spectrum, has shown that, while many of you still fit monovision contact lenses, multifocal lens fitting has increased significantly over the past several years. Indeed, I expect to see multifocal lens fitting surpass monovision lens fitting in the next few years.
Jason J. Nichols, OD, MPH, PhD, FAAO

This month at www.siliconehydrogels.org: incorporating Acanthamoeba testing into the MPDS licensing process; prescribing silicone hydrogels for post-RK patients; variability in corneal swelling with different silicone hydrogel lenses; and part 2 of our 2008 BCLA update.