CONTACT LENSES TODAY
June 4, 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.
VSP Provides Grant for Eye Exhibit
Vision Service Plan (VSP) has provided a grant to fund a new Adjustable Eye exhibit at the Health Museum in Houston that allows visitors to
explore the mechanics of the eye through hands-on experiments. The exhibit compliments existing eye displays in the museum’s Amazing Body Pavilion such as the King
Kong-sized retina, the Comparative Eye Anatomy Organ Dissection program and programming called, “Seeing is Believing.” The company has also teamed with the museum to
develop fun and interactive educational materials designed to teach young people about vision and eye health.
Correction
There was a typographical error in the abstract presented in last week’s CLToday (May 28th). The abstract is reprinted correctly below.
CLToday regrets the error.
ABSTRACT: Multifocal Vs. Monovision for Low-Astigmat Presbyopes
Researchers at the Ohio
State University’s College of Optometry in Columbus recently conducted a crossover study of 38 patients to assess visual performance and patient satisfaction with two
presbyopic soft contact lens modalities. Patients were randomized into either multifocal (Bausch & Lomb SofLens Multifocal) or monovision (SofLens 59) lenses for one
month. Researchers measured performance with high- and low-contrast visual acuity and satisfaction with the national Eye Institute Refractive Error Quality of Life
(NEI-RQL) Instruments questionnaire. They also recorded patients’ final lens preference.
Patients maintained at least 20/20 binocular vision with
both multifocal and monovision under high-contrast conditions at distance and near. Under low-contrast conditions, patients loss less than one line of acuity from BCVA
with either modality. Under low-contrast conditions at near, multifocal wearers lost five to six letters of acuity versus two letters for monovision wearers. Patients
reported worse clarity of vision, more symptoms and an improvement in their appearance with contact lens wear on the NEI-RQL. The majority patients (76%) preferred
multifocal contact lenses compared with monovision (24%). Researchers conclude this preference is likely due to the excellent visual acuity of the SofLens multifocal
with less compromise in stereoacutiy than monovision.
Richdale K, Mitchell GL, Zadnik K. Comparison of multifocal and monovision soft contact lens corrections in
patients with low-astigmatic presbyopia. Optom Vis Sci. 2006 May;83(5):266-73.
VISTAKON® has begun airing national TV advertising in
support of their exciting new contact lens, ACUVUE® ADVANCE™ Brand Contact Lenses for ASTIGMATISM, and to help increase patient visits. One
advertisement — titled “Twins” — targets a younger audience and is geared towards first time contact lens wearers with astigmatism. The other — “A Day in the Life” —
was created to appeal to a broader, more mature audience, including current toric wearers and dropouts. The commercials are to air on stations such as FOX, WB, MTV, and
USA. Tune in!
--ADVERTISING
Global Keratoconus Congress 2007
Mark your calendars for the first-ever Global Keratoconus Congress to be held January 26-28, 2007 in Las Vegas. The Global Keratoconus
Congress is an assembly of experts in the field of patient care, teaching and research. They will share the latest information on this chronic sight-threatening condition
that affects one in 2,000 people. Attendees will learn about the latest approaches to contact lens fitting, surgical techniques, clinical research and appropriate
third-party reimbursement for medically necessary contact lens care. Manufacturers and laboratories that support the care of these patients will assist in demonstrating
the usefulness of their latest products and treatments. More information will be coming soon.
Abstract:
Soft Lenses for Keratoconus
Researchers at the University of Minho’s Department of Physics in Portugal and the University of Santiago de Compostela’s Department of
Surgery in Spain recently described their experience with a new soft contact lens design. The Soft K lens has a thick, fenestrated design to fit patients with mild to
moderate corneal distortion and fitting problems or physical intolerance to GP lenses. Researchers fit three eyes of two 25-year-old patients with mild keratoconus with
the Soft K lenses. Both objective and subjective measurements showed participants had improved comfort and quality of vision compared with other, previously worn lenses.
One patient, a professional soccer player, reported the Soft K satisfied his need for stable correction and constant full-field-of-view. Researchers observed no
physiological complications. They conclude that this new lens is a good option to consider in patients with mild to moderate keratoconus and good correction of slight
to moderate irregular astigmatism with good tolerance.
Gonzales-Meijome JM, Jorge J, de Almeida JB, Parafita MA. Soft Contact Lenses for Keratoconus: Case Report.
Eye Contact Lens. 2006 May;32(3):143-7.
Editor's Commentary:
Mistakes Frustrate Me
I've edited thousands of pages of Contact Lens Spectrum and
CLToday within the past decades. I'd hate to estimate the number of words. I don't like excuses. I don't like hearing them and I don't like making them. I don't
even like explaining mistakes. It frustrates me to no end. Last week we let the word monovision replace the word multifocal and an unprecedented number of readers alerted
us
to the mistake. This is rare. Usually it's just one reader or two, and fortunately these kind of major blunders are rare.
We were pleased so many
people noticed our blunder because it means they are reading what we print (in e-mail, Internet, whatever you want to call it), which of course is good news. The fact is,
we did a lousy job of editing last week, and we apologize. Our publisher asked why so many people were concerned. I think the reason so many people reacted is that this
is a hot topic. And it is interesting that the multifocal won out. I've been using a center distance multifocal on my right (dominant) eye and a center near on my left eye
over the past weeks for sports. It’s the best combination I've found yet.
Again, we are sorry for our error. We always make a big deal about
correcting these and we will continue to do so, no matter how bad it makes us look. We'll also try to prevent them as we always do.
Fitting Tip:
Contact Lenses for Golfers
As a presbyopic golfer myself, I am constantly looking for the best lenses to help my golfing patients. I have found that the Unilens C-Vue
multifocal is a great lens for sports-related activities. For those patients over age 50, I use a low add in the dominant eye and a high add in the non-dominant eye with
about 80-90% success. It is even more successful for those patients who have trouble putting with a bifocal, which is an almost impossible task. I always offer multifocal
contacts to presbyopic patients now, especially those who are becoming more hyperopic at distance and struggling with just readers. They will be grateful to you forever
and send lots of referrals!!
Peggy Dixon, O.D.
Wyomissing, Pa.
Dr. Carrie S. Gaines, submitted the “Best Fitting Tip of the Month” for May. Her tip, “Removing Larger Diameter GP Lenses,” may be seen in the, May 28, 2006 edition of
CLToday.
