CONTACT LENSES TODAY

August 10, 2003

Contact Lenses Today® is edited by Dr. Joseph T. Barr and the staff of Contact Lens Spectrum. This week CLToday® reaches nearly 10,000 readers in 74 countries.

Scam Hits South Carolina ODs
Scammers call, visit, e-mail and fax us -- it's becoming an unfortunate part of life. Such is it for ODs in South Carolina. The South Carolina Optometric Association (SCOA) and the American Optometric Association (AOA) have sent out alerts to its members warning them of a new scam. According to Claire Holley, Executive Director of the SCOA, a woman has called two different optometrist's offices and told the staff that she's with the AOA calling on behalf of the AOA-PAC chairperson to raise money for the South Carolina Optometric Association Political Action Committee (SCOAPAC). "The woman doesn't identify herself and asks the staff what they think about 1-800 Contacts' business practices," says Ms. Holley. The caller then tells the staff that an extra pledge from the doctor would go toward upcoming SCOA legislative efforts. Says Holley, "The staffers ask if they can call the caller back after speaking to the doctor, but the caller won't provide any information and says that she'll call them back. But she hasn't." That's one reason why Holley thinks that the purpose of this scam is to get information, not money.
If you receive a call that sounds like this scam, call Lance Plunkett, JD, Counsel, director of the State Government Relations Center for the AOA at (314) 991-4100 x 234 so he can track the details of this scam.

FDA Grants Priority Review to Inspire's Dry Eye Tx
Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Inc. recently revealed that the FDA granted Priority Review for its New Drug Application (NDA) for diquafosol tetrasodium ophthalmic solution. The 2% sterile solution will be dosed q.i.d. Inspire submitted its NDA for the dry eye treatment on June 27, 2003 and with the designation of Priority Review, the target date for initial FDA action will fall within the next six months. Inspire will turn the license over to Allergan, Inc. at the time the license is approved but will have the option to copromote and sell the product on its own. Inspire plans to have its sales force ready for a potential first quarter 2004 launch of diquafosol.

Alcon's Opti-Free Express brand is teaming up with Vision Council of America (VCA) to generate public awareness of the importance of eye exams for school age children as part of the Check Yearly. See Clearly. Campaign. Alcon's Optometric Sales Representatives will distribute a special Opti-Free Express brand Back to School program that contains co-branded educational and promotional materials for eyecare professionals to use to help educate parents. In addition, a free, educational poster is available from the August issue of Optometric Management.
--ADVERTISING

Gel Formulation May Improve Cataract Surgery
Dr. Arthur Ho and colleagues have developed a polymer gel formulation, which they propose to use to improve cataract surgery in elderly patients. Rather than replacing the patient's natural lens with an intraocular lens, a surgeon would replace it with the gel -- in possibly only 15 minutes, says Dr. Ho. If the Australian scientists find the new treatment safe and effective, then they'll consider targeting a younger base of patients who are starting to need reading glasses.

New Category of Drugs Provide Hope for Battling AMD
Pennsylvania-based Genaera Corp. has released results from a small, early-stage trial of squalamine for treating wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The drug, which is administered intravenously, demonstrated improvement or no deterioration of vision in 97% of the 40 patients. Squalamine is an anti-angiogenesis that works by cutting off nutrients to the abnormal blood vessels that grow beneath the retina. After reviewing the early data from squamaline, Dr. William Li, president and medical director of the Angiogenesis Foundation, says that it shows that anti-angiogenesis can not only preserve vision in patients who have AMD, but it can also restore their vision.

Abstract: ICLs Better Than LASIK?
Researchers recently compared the results of LASIK and implantable contact lenses (ICL) in correcting moderate to high myopia. They looked at 559 LASIK eyes and 210 ICL eyes. These series were concurrently operated on with 8.00D to 12.00D of preoperative myopia and were examined at one day, one week, one month, six months and one year postoperatively. The mean baseline myopia was slightly higher in the ICL group and the researchers collected refractive data prospectively in both series. The researchers found that every index of best corrected visual acuity, uncorrected visual acuity, predictability of refraction and stability of refraction that they studied favored the ICL over LASIK. At the six-month follow-up both the loss and gain of two or more lines were better with the ICL. Also, efficacy outcomes with the ICL were better with predictability of the ICL (90%) than with LASIK (76%). The researchers concluded that the ICL was safer and more effective than LASIK and appears to be a more viable alternative to corneal refractive excimer surgery in treating moderate to high myopia.
Sanders, DR; Vukich, JA. Comparison of Implantable Contact Lens and Laser Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis for Moderate to High Myopia. Cornea 2003 May;22(4):324-31.

Editor's Commentary: Getting Spectacle Wearers to Try CLs
It never ceases to amaze me that many great contact lens wearers say they hate glasses and would never consider surgery, yet on the other hand, many people who wear glasses say they would never put a contact lens in their eye. I still think we need a safe medicine or natural product to decrease these spectacle wearers' inhibitions about putting something in their eyes. Let us know if you have any ideas.

Fitting Tip: Keeping Dry Eye Patients in Their Lenses
Many treatments for dry eye keep a patient successfully wearing contact lenses. They include replacing lenses more frequently, using an optimum contact lens material, regularly instilling artificial tears and even punctal plugs, drinking eight glasses of water each day and taking supplements such as flaxseed oil. But what is most often overlooked is a patient's use of his contact lens solution. First, ascertain proper compliance with the directions written inside the box. Secondly, switching to another care system including nonpreserved solution such as UltraCare, PureEyes or AOSept has made a big impact on my patients. Patients welcome a more complicated care system if it allows them to wear contact lenses once again.
--Susan J. Gromacki, OD, MS, FAAO
Ann Arbor, Mich.

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