CONTACT LENSES TODAY

August 22, 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.


The LifeStyle GP Company Loses its President
The LifeStyle GP Company of Lakewood, Colo., regrets to announce the recent death of its President, David J. Dougherty, after a brief illness. Mr. Dougherty was an industry veteran who previously held top management and ownership positions at Salvatori Contact Lenses and Flexlens, LLC., among other companies. Robert A. Smart, head of LifeStyle GP manufacturing, will assume day-to-day management responsibilities on an interim basis until the company names a successor.

Soft K Now Indicated for Post-Refractive Surgery Enhancement
The recently FDA-approved Eni-Eye Soft K contact lens (xylofilcon A) for keratoconus is now also indicated for post surgical visual enhancement and for the correction of irregular astigmatism caused by natural or post-surgical conditions. According to Accu Lens, Inc. Vice President of Operations Keith Parker, the Soft K lens provides eyecare practitioners with an effective alternative for patients who suffer from unacceptable post-refractive surgery outcomes. Call the company at (800) 525-2470 for more information.

Zadnik Donates Share of Award to AOF
Bausch & Lomb equally distributed a total of $150,000 in donations to vision-related, nonprofit organizations chosen by the five 2004 honorees of its Visionaries Recognition Award. The company has made a donation to the American Optometric Foundation on behalf of Karla Zadnik, OD, PhD, FAAO, who was one of the award recipients. The company honored Dr. Zadnik for her tireless efforts to expand the field of optometry in both research and in patient care.

CORNEAL OXYGEN DEFICIENCY -- a common cause of patient complaints about contact lenses.
Healthy corneas need oxygen -- lots of it. But 94% of wearers of low-Dk/t, two-week lenses report experiencing at least one of the following symptoms: Eyes dry out, irritation, redness, blurry vision and end-of-day discomfort -- all symptoms potentially related to corneal oxygen deficiency.*
Prescribe the daily wear soft contact lens with the highest available oxygen transmissibility -- new O2OPTIX™ from CIBA Vision.
O2OPTIX – Breathable Lenses Designed for Healthy Eyes (http://www.mycibavision.com)
* CIBA Vision data on file, 2003.

--ADVERTISING

Dear Abby: Beware AMD
National Eye Institute Director Dr. Paul Sieving wrote a letter to Abigail Van Buren, which appeared in the August 15, 2004 "Dear Abby" column. In his letter, Dr. Sieving wrote about age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and encouraged anyone suspecting that they have a vision problem to see an eyecare professional. To view the letter, go to http://www.dearabby.com.

CNV in CL Wearers
To investigate the effects of subjective symptoms of eye dryness and lifestyle factors on corneal neovascularization (CNV), researchers had 181 Japanese adults complete a self-administered questionnaire related to sex, age, lens material (GP or hydrogel) and subjective dryness. They found a positive trend between the degree of weekly contact lens use and the severity of CNV. The researchers concluded in the April 2004 issue of Eye & Contact Lens that the prevalence of CNV in the setting of their study seemed to be higher than that in previous studies, indicating that a regular eye checkup is of paramount importance for eye care. Specifically, ocular symptomology of eye dryness with the information of contact lens use may be carefully explored in future research.

Latinos Suffer From Eye Disease More Than Other Ethic Groups
In the August issue of Ophthalmology, researchers reported that Latinos suffer from eye disease more than other ethnic groups but that many are unaware. They based their findings on results from the five-year Los Angeles Latino Eye Study, which the National Eye Institute and the National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities (part of the National Institute of Health) funded, with additional support from Research to Prevent Blindness. The Latino population, now reported to be the nation's largest ethnic minority group, was found to have high rates of early age-related macular degeneration and one in five had cataracts. Half of those who had more than one cataract was visually impaired. Also, 50% of the study participants who were diabetic had diabetic retinopathy and many who were diagnosed were unaware they had either disease.

Abstract: Predicting Successful GP Wear
Researchers evaluated the relationship between ocular discomfort in the initial wearing of GP contact lenses and the time required to adapt to GPs as measured by using the visual analogue scale (VAS). They prescribed GP lenses for 89 patients (178 eyes) who had myopia or myopic astigmatism and no history of wearing contact lenses. Four patients dropped out of lens wear after one week because of ocular discomfort. VAS scores were significantly lower in successful wearers (those who adapted to regular full-time GP wear) than in dropouts at one week, although their VAS scores weren't different at one day. The average time required to adapt to GP lens wear was 23.0 ±22.1 days for the 85 successful wearers. According to the researchers, their results indicate that the VAS score might be useful for predicting successful GP use and the adaptation time required by successful wearers.
Fujita H, Sasaki S, Ohno-Matsui K, Tanaka T, Baba T, Mochizuki M. Japanese Journal of Ophthalmology 2004 Jul-Aug;48(4):376-379.


Editor's Commentary: Lens Wear at the Beach
On vacation last week, my bifocal contact lenses were great. Each year, I report on how much I enjoy reading a book at the beach while wearing my soft bifocal lenses. This year, it's Battle Ready, by Tony Zinni and Tom Clancy. I do note that when I go back to the condo for lunch, it's harder to read in the lower light. But in the sun, my distance and near vision are just fine. Of course I always remove my lenses and disinfect them before my nap.

Fitting Tip: GP Fitting Made Easier
Don't hesitate to piggyback a GP lens over a silicone hydrogel for patients who can't get adequate acuity with a soft contact lens or adequate comfort with a GP lens. Simply perform your fitting over the front surface of the hydrogel as if it were the front of the cornea, and trouble shoot the fit as you would with any other GP fit.
--Scott Kenitz, O.D.
Hartford, Wis.


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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