Bausch & Lomb (B&L) has hired two health industry veterans to lead its regional business operations, effective immediately. John H. Brown is named President, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Corporate Vice President. David N. Edwards is named President, Asia Pacific, and Corporate Vice President.
     Mr. Brown most recently served as global President and Chief Executive Officer of California start-up, Integrated Biosystems, Inc., and as President, North America, for STEDIM, S.A., the French acquirer of Integrated Biosystems. Prior, he was Chief Executive Officer for Covance's Biotechnology Services business. From 1980 through 1997, Mr. Brown held positions of increasing responsibility with CIBA-Geigy Corporation. In 1988, he became Senior Vice President of its U.S. Pharmaceuticals Division, responsible for managing its consumer products and generics subsidiaries. Mr. Brown holds an M.B.A. from Harvard University, and a Bachelor's degree in engineering from Princeton University. He is based in London.
     Mr. Edwards was most recently President, Europe, Middle East and Africa, for Johnson & Johnson's Lifescan diabetes care business. Prior, he held positions as Managing Director, Asia Pacific, for Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, based in Singapore; and as Managing Director and Vice President, Marketing, for McNeil Consumer Nutritionals Europe. He has also served in senior marketing roles with the National Basketball Association Europe, with Nestle at its world headquarters in Switzerland, and at its local units in Italy and the U.S. Mr. Edwards holds an M.B.A. from Thunderbird, the American Graduate School of International Management, and a Bachelor's degree in business administration from Gonzaga University. He is based in Hong Kong.

Metro Optics new soft contact lens, RevitalEyes, has been given clearance by the FDA for post refractive surgery vision correction. According to the company, RevitalEyes has been highly effective in clinical case studies, providing exceptional visual acuity to patients with unsatisfactory refractive surgery results.
     RevitalEyes is manufactured in GMA/HEMA (Hioxifilcon B) 49% water content material and is fit diagnostically. The diagnostic kit consists of three diagnostic lenses and a simple four step fitting procedure. Metro Optics custom manufactures each RevitalEyes lens to the patient's exact spherical, cylinder, and axis prescription and the diagnostic lenses are replenished free of charge with each use. In business for over 35 years, Metro Optics is a privately held company which manufactures both GP and soft contact lenses out of its Austin, Texas facility. 
     RevitalEyes lenses and diagnostic are available now.  For more information, call 800-223-1858 or visit www.metro-optics.com.

Research suggests that many toric contact lens wearers are not satisfied with their visual performance. Make your patients' experience satisfying with new ACUVUE® OASYS™ Brand Contact Lenses for ASTIGMATISM. The latest in toric lenses combines HYDRACLEAR® Plus for all-day comfort with Accelerated Stabilization Design for crisp, clear vision. To learn more, go to jnjvisioncare.com. 
Important Safety Information
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Blanchard Contact Lens, Inc. is pleased to announce the addition of Patrick M. Breen to its consultation staff. Mr. Breen holds a Bachelor's degree in business from the University of Buffalo, a Master's degree in education from the State University of New York at Buffalo, is ABO - NCLE certified and a Fellow of the Contact Lens Society of America. Previously Pat held the position of professor at Erie Community College teaching all phases of contact lens fitting and design for over 31 years. His focus at Blanchard emphasizes his proficiency in fitting specialty GP lens applications for presbyopia, irregular corneas, keratoconus, post surgical and scleral lens designs. Pat has lectured extensively on numerous contact lens topics and has published many contact lens related articles during his contact lens career.

Come late summer, some 10 to 20 percent of Americans begin to suffer from ragweed allergy, or hay fever. In addition to symptoms of sneezing, stuffy or runny nose, allergic reactions involving the eyes are a major distraction for many allergy sufferers. To help eye allergy sufferers better understand and handle the condition, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) is offering a free educational brochure, Eye Health and Allergies. The brochure can be viewed or downloaded at www.aafa.org. 
     The brochure, originally released last Spring (see Contact Lenses Today, May 11, 2008), is supported by 1·Day Acuvue Moist brand contact lenses and includes allergy season advice for the nation's 40 million contact lens wearers, a group for whom eye allergies can cause distinctive troubles.
     Eye Health and Allergies is a free publication. If you would like to order a set (50 brochures) for your office, please e-mail your request to eyeallergybrochure@rprny.com. Make sure to include your name and complete address, including zip code.

Contact Lens Spectrum and the Health Care Conference Group will host the Global Specialty Lens Symposium (GSLS), January 15-18, 2009, at Bally's Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. The GSLS will include presentations on the latest techniques and technologies for the successful management of ocular conditions using today's specialty contact lenses. Truly an international meeting, GSLS will provide insights of experts from around the globe and hands-on access to the most current products available. The program will be accredited for continuing education under COPE, NCLE and JCAHPO, offering 17+ credit hours.  
     Those interested in submitting free papers or posters should note that the submission deadline is September 1, 2008. Visit www.GSLSymposium.com for more information or to register for this unique meeting. Companies interested in exhibiting should contact Sean Casey at 732-483-4302 or sean.casey@wolterskluwer.com.
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Prevent Blindness America announced that Brenda J. Luckritz, Vice President of Public Affairs for Novartis Corporation, Richard C. Elias, Senior Vice President, Optical and Specialty Materials for PPG Industries and CEO of Transitions Optical, Inc., and Richard A. Meier, President and COO of Advanced Medical Optics (AMO) were elected to the Prevent Blindness America Board of Directors on July 26 at the 2008 Summer Board Meeting in Chicago.
     At Novartis, Luckritz is responsible for the creation of alliances with independent think tank organizations and policy-shaping groups. She brings to the organization more than 25 years of experience in a variety of fields, including marketing, economic development and legislative affairs. 
     Elias is currently responsible for PPG's Optical and Specialty Materials reporting segment, which comprises the optical products business, including Transitions Optical, and PPG's silicas business. He has had a role with Transitions Optical since the company was founded, serving as Vice President of Marketing and Sales, and later as President.
     Meier is responsible for AMO's cataract and eye care businesses, as well as global operations and global service organizations. Additionally, Meier served as CFO at AMO from 2002-2007. Prior to joining AMO, he was Executive Vice President and CFO of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International and was Senior Vice President at Schroder & Co. Inc., an investment banking firm.

Imagine not being able to work or look after your family simply because you don't have access to an eye exam and a pair of glasses.
Take the World Sight Day Challenge
         ...and give sight - and hope - to people in need.
Register at www.givingsight.org or contact 1-888-OGS-GIVE / usa@givingsight.org.
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Researchers from New South Wales and Australia investigated the influence of three lubricants of varying viscosity, on post-insertion and six hours comfort with contact lens wear. Comfort and associated symptoms of dryness were assessed in 15 experienced contact lens wearers. Subjects wore a low Dk lens in one eye and a silicone hydrogel in the other and participated in four separate trials involving no lubricant (baseline), saline, and two commercially available lubricants of differing viscosity. The in-eye lubricants were used immediately following lens insertion and every two hours post-insertion for a six hour wear period.
     Post lens insertion comfort was significantly better for both lens types when lubricants or saline were used compared with no lubricant use. After six hours lens wear, comfort was influenced by lens type and not by in-eye lubricant or saline use. Also after six hours lens wear, less dryness sensation was reported for silicone hydrogel lenses when using lubricants but not saline.
     Researchers stated that although lubricant use does help reduce dryness symptoms with silicone hydrogel lens wear, there appears to be minimal longer-term benefit to comfort. Furthermore, increased lubricant viscosity did not lead to improved longer-term comfort.
Ozkan J, Papas E. Lubricant effects on low Dk and silicone hydrogel lens comfort. Optom Vis Sci. 2008 Aug;85(8):773-7.

In last week's Editor's Commentary we asked for reader feedback on recommended replacement schedules.  We received comments from across the globe, here are some of them. Your thoughts are welcome. Write to us at tips@cltoday.com. 

I found Dr. Carla Mack's comments regarding contact lens replacement schedules interesting. I've known and respected Carla for a long time and our different views on this topic highlight the fact that many excellent doctors struggle with this issue. When it comes to daily disposable lenses I also do not advocate more than a single use. Most of my patients who wear lenses this way do so because they have no desire to care for their lenses or they only use them occasionally. Either way, the essence of the convenience of this modality is lost with repeated wear of the lens.
     When it comes to two week replacement lenses, however, I always tell my patients to try a monthly replacement schedule. I really can't come up with a compelling reason not to. The contact lens industry is filled with examples of identical products being labeled and marketed differently with different replacement cycles. Two weeks is a replacement time chosen by manufacturers during the FDA trial process. ... So for me, it is about what I'm trying to accomplish for my patients with frequent replacement lenses. We want relatively clean lenses that are free of deposits and protein build up and we want the convenience of spare lens availability. To me, monthly replacement accomplishes this just as well as two week replacement no matter how the lens replacement cycle is marketed. Patients find it much easier to get in the habit of replacing their lenses each month and it seems to make them more compliant with doing so.
     I tell all of my patients to try a monthly replacement cycle and to discard their lenses sooner if they become less comfortable in the third or fourth week of wear. Unless a patient suffers from GPC or severe allergies, I very rarely find that they need replacement every two weeks, and it is not in their best interest to instruct them to do so.
Brad Sutton, O.D., F.A.A.O.
Clinical Associate Professor
IU School of Optometry
Clinic Director
Indianapolis Eye Care Center 

Recommending a wear schedule that is longer than the manufacturer's recommended replacement may well lead to a confusing message to the patient who assumes that the manufacturer out there is adopting fleecing tactics and gets prompted to delay replacement even further.
Narendra Kumar, BAMS, PGCR
Editor, Optometry Today, India

Eye care practitioners should be left to take the responsibility of prescribing the type of lenses that fit the patient's needs and the frequency of replacement according to the environment (climate of the area, conditions of the place of work, etc.). Contact lens manufacturers ... should give practitioners the right to choose the lenses proper for our patients and to recommend the individual modality for each one personally. Why don't we draw a parallel to the already established practice of pharmaceutical companies which give the doctor the freedom to prescribe and include on all inserts "as recommended by your physician."
     I have been fitting contact lenses for the last 45 years or so and have followed the evolution since its birth. Every wearer is an individual has special needs and all lenses have to be prescribed individually for every one of our patients as directed by us and not dictated by the manufacturer.
Adolfos Kannetis
President Cyprus Optical Association
Limassol, Cyprus    

This week we had a patient who was disgruntled due to our professional fees. No matter how infrequent, this is never pleasant. The doctor and staff involved had all followed established protocol in discussing our fees but the patient still felt misinformed. As with any busy practice, we could have left the situation at that and just assumed that the patient was overly sensitive and having a bad week. Our staff, however, chose to look at this circumstance more closely. They will be meeting this week to discuss and look for ways to improve our practice communication with patients to make these infrequent situations even more infrequent.
Carla Mack, O.D., M.B.A., F.A.A.O.