CONTACT LENSES TODAY

May 12, 2002

Contact Lenses Today® is edited by Dr. Joseph T. Barr and the staff of Contact Lens Spectrum. This week CLToday® reaches 8,406 readers in 74 countries.


B&L Sponsors NFL Training Camp
Bausch & Lomb is the title sponsor of the Buffalo Bills’ summer training camp located on the campus of St. John Fisher College near Rochester. B&L will provide vision screening to youths who attend the training camp as part of the college’s Clean Body Clean Mind program.
Study Reports Effects of GP EW
Researchers at the School of Optometry, University of California, Berkeley, measured the effect of hypoxia and eye closure on epithelial permeability to fluorescein during rigid lens extended wear. They found that corneal epithelial permeability increases with hypoxic dose, and overnight rigid lens wear impairs epithelial barrier function. Results appear in the April issue of Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science.
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Quick, Turn Off the Light!
Lack of exposure to darkness may be a risk factor for myopia, according to a study published in the April issue of Ophthalmology. Researchers who assessed 179 third-year law students say their data may support the hypothesis that a daily period of darkness may be important for proper refractive development.
First Human Trials: Retinal Chip Shows Promise
Six retinitis pigmentosa patients who had artificial silicon retinas implanted for up to 21 months can now see light and, in some cases, shapes and faces, say researchers reporting at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) meeting. The retinal microchip, developed by Optobionics Corp., Wheaton, Ill., contains solar cells designed to replace the function of the retina’s light-sensing cells.
FDA Looks at Impact of DTC Ads
In 1997, the FDA relaxed its rules governing prescription drug advertising directly to consumers. How have consumers -- and their doctors -- responded? Preliminary results of an FDA survey of 943 consumers who’d seen a doctor in the past 3 months found that 69% of those who asked for a specific brand of drug went home with a prescription for that drug. Only 5% said a drug ad prompted a doctor visit.
Editor's Commentary: ARVO and Turning Off the Lights
From what I heard from one paper and one poster at the ARVO meeting, I believe that custom aberration-correcting contact lenses are more likely to have an impact in the next few years than custom-ablation refractive surgery. I believe this because as Cynthia Roberts, Ph.D., has said, "The cornea is not a piece of plastic," and wound-healing must be taken into account.

Regarding the story above about law students, light and myopia, my friends in myopia research will be pointing out some flaws in these studies.


Fitting Tip: Not All Aspherics Are the Same
My friend Chris Snyder, O.D., M.S., from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, says he’s heard some practitioners refer to multifocal aspheric lenses for presbyopia as “aberration correcting.” In fact, most aspheric multifocals for presbyopia would make aberrations worse. Specially designed, front-surface aspheric soft (and some GP) contact lenses that reduce spherical aberrations may help some patients see better, but they’re not “multifocal” in the sense that they correct presbyopia, meaning they don’t have enough power shift to provide an “add.” --The Editor
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