CONTACT LENSES TODAY
September 4, 2005
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.
NEI Commits to Research Collaboration with India
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced the United States and India have signed a Statement of Intent to expand vision research.
The Secretary of the Department of Biotechnology in India and the Director of the NIH in the U.S. signed the agreement, which represents an increased commitment to joint
collaboration on eye disorders. The National Eye Institute (NEI) has been working with India since the 1980s. With funding through an agreement with the NEI, the
Association for Research and Vision in Ophthalmology arranged two Indo-U.S. workshops on this topic earlier this year. The World Health Report 2003 reports eye disorders
are responsible for 3.1% of the global burden of disease, behind diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and perinatal conditions. More than one million people
in the U.S. and more than 12 million in India are blind.
DVD Designed to Aid in Infant Eye Development
Visual Development Foundation (VDF), a team of optometrists, ophthalmologists, artists and musicians, has developed a DVD to promote visual
maturation in infants and toddlers. The BabyEyes DVD is a multimedia presentation designed to stimulate visual and mental development in children up to three years old.
VDF says the visual aspects were designed by eye care professionals to take advantage of the latest vision research. VDF also offers
Through My Baby’s Eyes, a free
guidebook to help parents understand and participate in their child’s visual development. Visit http://www.babyeysdvd.com.
B&L MaxSight Available in the U.S., Europe
Nike MaxSight sport-tinted contact lenses by Bausch & Lomb are now available in the U.S and Europe. The lenses are designed to aid visual
performance by selectively filtering specific wavelengths of light to enhance key visual elements, while reducing glare in athletic settings. The grey-green tint is
designed for sports played in bright sunlight such as golf and running. The amber tint is designed to aid in fast moving ball sports like tennis, soccer and football.
Both tints come in plano or prescription and are indicated for daily wear.
B&L also announced two educational web sites are available for patients and practitioners.
The first, http://www.sofportrevolution.com, offers information on the
SofPort IOL and http://www.PureVision.com provides details on the company’s PureVision contact lenses.
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
Menicon One-Day Lens Launches in Japan
Menicon Co. has launched the new Menicon 1day daily disposable soft contact lens in Japan, the second largest contact lens market next to the
U.S. Menicon 1day is made of Ocufilcon D material and is manufactured by liquid edge molding technology to produce a lens the company says provides stability and smooth
edges. This is the company’s first-ever daily disposable contact lens.
Vision Care Institutes Open in Asia
The Vision Care Institute (TVCI) of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Inc. has opened the first Vision Care Institutes in Asia with facilities
in Seoul, Korea and Taipei, Taiwan. TVCI will focus on innovative education techniques to upgrade the skills of eye care professionals in the region. In Taiwan, only 40%
of opticians receive formal contact lens training and education. The Vision Care Institute currently has locations in Brazil, Korea and Taiwan and plans to open similar
educational facilities in other countries as well.
Heidelberg Launches HRT3
The new Heidelberg Retinal Tomograph (HRT) 3 from Heidelberg Engineering is an enhanced version of the company’s flagship product. Like
it’s predecessor, the HRT3 produces a topographical map of a patient’s optic nerve. It also incorporates new features in direct response to consumer feedback. These
include the Fast Check Glaucoma Probability Score, an analysis of the statistical probability of glaucoma using ethnic-specific databases. The HRT3 also monitors a
patient’s condition over time, comparing baseline images with follow-up exams and highlighting areas of statistically significant progression.
Abstract:
Risk Factors for Corneal Infiltrates
Researchers at the University of Manchester’s Eurolens Research department aimed to identify risk factors for the development of corneal
infiltrative events with contact lens wear. They examined a series of symptomatic contact lens patients who presented to a hospital clinic in a one-year period. They
measured the severity of any CIE and asked subjects to fill out a questionnaire to acquire general and lens-specific information. They found the following factors were
associated with an increased risk of developing a CEI: lens type and wearing schedule (extended wear hydrogel lenses were found to have the greatest risk), male gender,
smoking, absence of relevant ocular and general health problems and late winter months (greatest risk in March). Shorter time delays in hospital attendance were
associated with an increase in the severity of keratitis. The overall predictive value of these factors for a given patient is low, however. The researchers conclude
that while the findings were limited, the risk factors for the development of contact lens keratitis highlight general associations that may assist in the management
of contact lens wearers.
Morgan PB, Effron N, Brennan NA, Hill EA, Raynor MK, Tullo AB. Risk factors for the development of corneal infiltrative events
associated with contact lens wear. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2005 Sept; 46(9):3136-43.
Editor's Commentary:
Risk Factors to Keep in Mind
Our abstract this week indicates something you probably already know but reminders are always valuable, especially when they translate
into better patient care. Extended wear (overnight wear) of hydrogel lenses increases the risk of corneal infiltrative events, as does male gender, smoking and late
winter months. Other studies also indicate swimming and previous history of acute red eye from contact lens wear as risk factors. Some have suggested winter is worse
due to dryness indoors. Quiz your patients on history of these factors and caution them about overnight wear risks, especially if they have an associated history.
Remember to ask how frequently they sleep with their lenses on. Extended wear can be great for many patients but others may be at higher risk.
Fitting Tip: Another Point of
View
With all due respect to Dr. Press' opinion and expertise, I do not agree that transferring a lens from one eye to the other, even if you
disinfect it, is the wisest option for differentiating a contact lens-related issue from an infection or secondary cause of ocular irritation. A better solution would be
to discontinue contact lens wear in the irritated eye for some time and allow the eye to heal. If the problem reoccurs when the patient resumes contact lens wear, you'll
be likely to blame the contact lens. If there is a high level of suspicion for the lens as the culprit, and the lens is disposable, replace it immediately. By
transferring the lens, you may inoculate the other eye with a viral or staph pathogen. I never allow patients to transfer lenses between eyes, even if the Rx is the same,
to reduce the chance of spreading pathogens. Even if you tell the patient to do it once, you'll put it in their head that it's an okay thing to do, which it is not.
Anonymous O.D.
This month at www.siliconehydrogels.org http://www.siliconehydrogels.org, review potential adverse responses to the daily
wear of silicone hydrogels, with a focus on contact lens-induced papillary conjunctivitis, and read about one practice’s success with silicone hydrogel bandage lenses in
a patient with epithelial basement membrane disease and corneal erosion.
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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