CONTACT LENSES TODAY

May 2, 2004

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.

American Academy of Ophthalmology Will Not Educate O.D.s
The Board of Trustees of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) has decided not to allow attendance or participation by optometrists at any educational activity at its Annual Meeting. According to a recent AAO statement, "Unfortunately, non-members have attended these [educational] courses and then used their attendance as arguments to legislatures to expand their scope of practice. The Academy Board believes that using these educational events in such a manner is not in the interest of the public or good patient care." The American Optometric Association (AOA) has responded with its own position statement, which expresses its surprise and disappointment with the AAO's decision. The AOA is not considering instituting a similar policy for its meeting because doing so would implicate legal and ethical issues. Also in its position statement is the following comment: "We are more than willing to share our education programs, all for the goal of providing our patients with the best care possible."

Study Shows Promise for Amblyopia Treatment in Older Children
Many eyecare practitioners believe that eye patching with near visual activities in amblyopic children is ineffective beyond a certain age. However, a new study aims to prove that sentiment wrong. The Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group conducted a pilot study of occlusion therapy in 66 older patients (ranging in age from 10 to 17) who have amblyopia and no other cause for decreased visual acuity. After two months of therapy, the authors reported that 18 of the patients (27%) showed at least a two-line improvement in amblyopic eye acuity. Three patients showed a one-line improvement at two months, with a subsequent improvement of at least two lines with continued treatment. They also found, and reported in the March issue of the American Journal of Ophthalmology, that treatment effect wasn't significantly different between younger patients (10 to < 14 years) and older patients (14 to <18 years).

New Glaucoma Resource is Born
Prevent Blindness America and Allergan, Inc. have partnered to assist eyecare professionals in improving the care and management of glaucoma with their Protect Vision resource. Protect Vision is based on the most current studies and data on glaucoma prevention and therapy. It includes a series of educational advertisements featuring disease prevalence and demographic statistics to underscore the importance of preserving a patient's quality of vision and life. Protect Vision also includes an interactive Web site (http://www.protectvision.org) with links to continuing medical education, news and more.

RELIEF FOR SEASONAL ALLERGY SUFFERERS
An estimated eight million U.S. contact lens wearers exhibit ocular symptoms of allergies. Patients who have seasonal allergic conjunctivitis wearing Focus DAILIES reported fewer days of burning and redness compared to patients wearing a new pair of their usual lenses in a clinical study (CIBA Vision data on file).

Keep your patients in contact lenses with DAILIES. (http://www.cibavision.com)
--ADVERTISING

Sauflon's Redesigned Web Site Offers New Benefits
Sauflon Pharmaceuticals recently unveiled its redesigned Web site, which, according to the company, has been fully revised and expanded to enhance usability and to improve the site visitor's experience. Among some of the site's new features are comprehensive sections for both eyecare professionals and contact lens wearers, and an extended "contact lenses and lens care products" section and detailed information on the Sauflon Patient Retention Program. The company's next goal for its Web site includes enacting online ordering capabilities and providing eyecare professionals with easy access to their account information.
Visit http://www.sauflonusa.com to see the new site for yourself.

CIBA Plans May Media Blitz for Night & Day Lenses
CIBA Vision is planning a prime-time TV blitz during May to promote its Night & Day hyper-oxygen transmissible silicone hydrogel contact lenses. The company expects more than one hundred million U.S. viewers to see the commercial, which will appear during programs such as the "Friends" series finale, the series final of "Law & Order" and the series finale of "NYPD Blue."

National Vision Rehabilitation Association Correction
In last week's edition of CLToday, we have you the wrong e-mail address to send inquiries about the new National Vision Rehabilitation Association. Please direct any questions about the organization or about membership to Lorraine Lidoff at llidoff250@comcast.net. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.

Abstract: Are Children Getting the Vision Correction They Need?
Researchers at the Child Health Evaluation and Research Unit, a Division of General Pediatrics at the University of Michigan, conducted a study to quantify the proportion of children who have corrective lenses (glasses or contact lenses) and to evaluate the association of corrective lenses with age, gender, race/ethnicity, health insurance status and family income. Among their findings, based on the 5,141 children (aged six to 18) in the 1988 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, an estimated 25% of the 52.6 million children had corrective lenses. Girls had greater odds than boys of having corrective lenses (odds ratio, 1.41; p <0.001). Insured children, regardless of race/ethnicity, and uninsured nonblack/non-Hispanic children had similar odds of having corrective lenses. The researchers concluded that the use of corrective lenses suggests that correctable visual impairment is the most common treatable chronic condition of childhood.
Kemper AR, Bruckman D, Freed GL. Prevalence and Distribution of Corrective Lenses Among School-Age Children. Optometry & Vision Science 2004 Jan;81(1):7-10.

Editor's Commentary: Computer Vision Syndrome and CLs
At the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting this past week, a hot topic in the dry eye section was the relationship between tear break-up time and the interblink period. Our contact lens wearers who use computers for long periods of time probably frequently have break up of tears on the front surface of their contact lenses. This then likely leads to blur, irritation and inflammation. We need to make sure that we do everything we can to help these patients. Make sure their eyelids and eyes in general are as healthy as possible. Make sure they and their environment are hydrated. Make sure their diet and supplements are the best they can be and that they avoid drugs (if possible) that may dry their eyes. Use the best lenses, lens care products, cleaners and lens lubricants. Take breaks . . . and blink!

Fitting Tip: Keep Those Lenses Clean
With more frequent replacement of lenses, I fear we have lapsed into a phase of not putting lens care at a high enough priority. New lenses that contain silicone, no matter how good their surface treatments are, need good lens care and cleaning systems. Whether used for daily or occasional overnight use (including CRT or overnight orthokeratology), these lenses need regular (weekly to daily) cleaning with strong surfactants, other chemical systems available from your laboratory, or liquid enzyme cleaning. Make sure your hands are clean when handling the lenses and that lens cases are also clean. You may also want to consider rinsing off the soaking solution and then applying the lens with a gentle-on-the-eye, nonpreserved artificial tear to protect the cornea as well. Although I mention new silicone containing materials here, these tips may be helpful with all lenses.
--Joe Barr, OD, MS
Dublin, Ohio

The Global Orthokeratology Symposium (GOS) Wants YOU to Attend
(July 22-25, 2004 Toronto, Canada)
The only worldwide meeting focused solely on orthokeratology/corneal reshaping.
http://www.gos2004.com
--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. Complete and send the form online or print it out and fax it to (866) 886-6164.

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