CONTACT LENSES TODAY

June 27, 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.


B&L to Support Research in Vision Technology
Bausch & Lomb has announced a partnership with the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology to sponsor this year's The Eye in The Chip biennial scientific conference, which explores the latest advances and theoretical applications of technology to restore sight and to provide coping solutions for visual impairment. The Eye in The Chip 2004 will run from June 24 to 26 at the Westin Hotel at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. For more information, visit http://www.eyeson.com.
OSI Presents Biomedics 55 Premier Contact Lens
Ocular Sciences, Inc. has introduced Biomedics 55 Premier, a disposable contact lens that reduces spherical aberration in both the lens and the patient's eye. Eyecare practitioners will most likely not need to refit patients wearing the current Biomedics product because adjustments to the optical design of Biomedics 55 Premier have been made only on its anterior surface. Biomedics 55 Premier incorporates patented technology in its unique rounded edges, providing patients with greater wearing comfort, according to the company. Ocular Sciences is launching the lens in the United States and in Canada.
New ReNu May Improve Dryness Symptoms in CL Wearers
Bausch & Lomb previewed its new ReNu with MoistureLoc Multi-Purpose Solution at the recent American Optometric Association Congress. According to the company, ReNu with MoistureLoc is the first and only multi-purpose solution that may improve comfort in patients experiencing contact lens dryness. Bausch & Lomb plans to officially launch its new product in September 2004.
LOW Dk/t DISPOSABLE LENSES: DINOSAURS?
Five years after the launch of gas permeable lenses in the late 1970s, PMMA lenses were fitted on a rapidly declining minority of rigid contact lens patients. When will low Dk/t soft contact lenses become extinct?

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Kelman to Replace Keefer 
Replacing Phil Keefer as of July 1, Naomi Kelman will become president of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care's Vistakon, Americas, operation.
Gelflex Receives Patents for Translating Bifocal
In addition to receiving FDA approval for its Triton Translating bifocal lens, Gelflex Laboratories has now been granted U.S. and Australian patents for the lens. The design is similar to an executive bifocal spectacle lens and has two optic zones -- one for near and one for distance vision. According to the company, the lens is fully stabilized on the eye, which allows for the necessary astigmatic correction to be incorporated in the lens.
AMO Says blink Contacts Drops Refresh Like Natural Tears
Last week at the American Optometric Association's 107th Annual Congress, Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. (AMO) announced the launch of blink Contacts rewetting drops. Available this summer, blink Contacts contains OcuPure, a peroxide-free, non-sensitizing, preservative that dissipates when exposed to light and is fortified with five essential electrolytes found in natural tears. In clinical trials, 86% of patients indicated improved lens wearing comfort with blink Contacts, and 73% reported improved vision quality. To learn more, go to http://www.amoeyecare.com.
Glaucoma Medications Shown to Delay or Prevent Glaucoma in Black Americans
According to a study published in the June issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, daily glaucoma medications can delay or prevent the onset of glaucoma in black Americans who are at high risk for developing the disease. The researchers reported that 8.4% of black Americans who used the eye drops developed primary open-angle glaucoma, compared with 16.1% of those who didn't receive eye drops.
Abstract: Early Ortho-k Wear Flattens Posterior Corneal Surface
Researchers in Australia monitored 19 young myopic subjects who wore reverse-geometry (RG) ortho-k lenses every night for one month to investigate changes in corneal thickness and the radius of curvature of the posterior corneal surface. The researchers evaluated central and midperipheral corneal thickness, topography, subjective refraction and posterior corneal radii within two hours of the subjects waking, prelens wear and on four occasions postlens wear during a one-month period. They used a mixed-models approach to analyze the data and found that refractive error reduced from -2.28 to -0.01 DS within one month. They also noted a significant thinning of the cornea between one (p=0.03) and two (p=0.0048) weeks of post lens wear. The researchers believe that their findings suggest that in addition to the significant topographic flattening of the anterior corneal surfaces, there's also a significant flattening of the posterior surface during the early adaptive stages of ortho-k lens wear.
Owens H, Garner LF, Craig JP, Gamble G. Posterior Corneal Changes with Orthokeratology Optometry & Vision Science 2004 Jun;81(6):421-426.

Editor's Commentary: Will Silicone Hydrogels Become the Standard?
We had super-high-Dk silicone lenses for continuous wear and GP contact lenses with high Dk for extended wear and even super-high-Dk for continuous wear over the past 20 years. These lenses are safer for daily wear too. Most of these lenses were and are not used in 90% of cases, usually because of initial discomfort. Now we have high- and super-high-Dk silicone hydrogel contact lenses for daily and extended wear with even more to come. They either have great initial comfort or adaptation is rapid. Will they become the standard, the lens of choice, even if they cost a little more? Or will they be pigeonholed into the problem solver and continuous wear-only categories? Your patients' corneas are wondering what you will do.
Fitting Tip: Clarifying GP Misperceptions
Some of the misperceptions about GP multifocal and bifocal lens designs is that they are much more challenging to fit and less initially comfortable than spherical lens designs. With today's designs, that's not true. For any multifocal design to be successful, little movement is important; therefore, initial comfort is actually better. Aspheric multifocal designs are also actually easier to fit than spherical designs and, if well centered, provide good vision at a variety of distances. We have benefited from improved design and manufacturing technology that have resulted in better optical quality and the availability of higher add powers.
--Edward S. Bennett, OD, MSEd
St. Louis, Mo.

See You At the Global Orthokeratology Symposium (GOS) Next Month
(July 22-25, 2004 Toronto, Canada)
More than 20 hours of CE courses presented by a faculty of international experts.
http://www.gos2004.com

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.
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