CONTACT LENSES TODAY

September 12, 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.

Study Says CL Implants Effective for Myopia Correction
According to a Staar Surgical-sponsored study printed in the September issue of Ophthalmology, implantable contact lenses are a safe and effective way to correct moderate to high myopia. The researchers inserted the Staar myopic implant in 526 eyes of nearly 300 people who had myopia ranging from -3.0D to -20.0D through a tiny incision. Three years later, nearly 60% of the patients had 20/20 or better visual acuity and nearly 95% had 20/40 or better. Patients reported that symptoms of double vision, glare, halos or difficulty driving at night either decreased or remained unchanged. Less than 1% of patients said they were dissatisfied.
New Lens Good for Practice, Practitioners Report
Last week at Vision Expo West International in Las Vegas, Vistakon, a division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., shared the results of a market test of 150 eyecare practitioners regarding Acuvue Advance Brand Contact Lenses with Hydraclear. Eighty six percent of the survey respondents agreed that the lens has contributed to the growth of their contact lens business, with 85% reporting that it has increased new patient referrals and 87% reporting that it played a role in the growth of their overall practice. Vistakon introduced the lens six months ago and in that time, the company says that the lens has become the preferred lens of nearly two-thirds of the eyecare practitioners surveyed.
Save Patients Time by Offering Daily Convenience
1-DAY ACUVUE® Brand Contact Lenses offer wearers the convenience of a daily disposable lens with excellent comfort and easy handling. They are also a great option for the fall allergy season. In fact, 1-DAY ACUVUE® performs better on a day-to-day basis . . .
  • 2 out of 3 Allergy Sufferers agreed that 1-DAY ACUVUE® lenses provided improved comfort over their habitual lens.
  • 1-DAY ACUVUE® is preferred 2.5 to 1 for overall comfort over any other daily disposable.
  • 1-DAY ACUVUVE® is also preferred 4 to 1 for the longest comfortable wearing time over any other daily disposable brands.
  • 1-DAY ACUVUE® lenses are unsurpassed for overall handling among daily disposable brands.
    Offer your patients the comfort and convenience they are looking for by providing them with 1-DAY ACUVUE® Contact Lenses, which remain the only daily disposables in the U.S. with UV blocking, visibility tint and the inside-out mark.
    Learn more by visiting http://www.ecp.acuvue.com.
    --ADVERTISING
    Zinc Linked to RP
    Dartmouth Medical School researchers recently found that the amount of zinc in the body can determine whether a key protein for vision functions normally. An inability to successfully bind zinc to rhodopsin (a light receptor protein in the eye) can trigger retinitis pigmentosa (RP). A Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center news release dated August 18, 2004 reported on this discovery. The research appears as the "Paper of the Week" in the August 20 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry and is the first confirmation that zinc is present and plays a significant role in the normal folding and functions of rhodopsin, and if defective, leads to RP.
    Cooper Promotes Vertex Lenses with MINI Cooper Giveaway
    Back in April, we told you about CooperVision's promotion to help raise awareness for the company's newly named Vertex Toric line of contact lenses. For every six-pack of Vertex Toric contact lenses ordered between May 1, 2004 and July 31, 2004, CooperVision automatically entered eyecare practitioners in a drawing to win a 2004 MINI Cooper. On September 3, Jason Rich, OD, of Warsaw, Ind. received the first of the two planned giveaways. CooperVision says it will hold another drawing on or around November 15, 2004 to give away the second MINI Cooper (for Vertex Toric lenses ordered between August 1, 2004 and October 31, 2004).
    Accu Lens to Manufacture Boston Products
    Accu Lens has added Boston lens and lens care systems to its product portfolio. For more information, call (800) 525-2470 or visit http://www.acculens.com.
    Abstract: CL Wear After Open Globe Injury
    Between 2000 and 2003, researchers fit contact lenses unilaterally for visual rehabilitation in 13 patients after open globe injury and reported on the results. There was unilateral aphakia in three patients, a high or irregular astigmatism after penetrating or keratoplasty in eight patients and a traumatic aniridia in two patients (one of which was combined with aphakia). The researchers fit 11 rigid contact lenses with different designs of the front and back surface as well as two iris-print lenses. They achieved a good visual rehabilitation in 11 patients (86%) with an increase of visual acuity up to nine lines while obtaining a good contact lens tolerance. One patient wearing an iris-print contact lens couldn't tolerate the contact lens because of its thickness and weight and in another patient, fitting wasn't possible because of the complicated corneal condition. The researchers didn't observe severe contact lens complications at any time and they concluded that in addition to operative procedures for visual rehabilitation after open globe injuries, the use of contact lenses is another possible procedure for refractive correction.
    Grunauer-Kloevekorn C, Habermann A, Wilhelm F, Duncker GI, Hammer T. Klinische Monatsblatter fur Augenheilkunde 2004 Aug;221(8):652-657.
    Editor's Commentary: Don't Forget the CL Lubricants
    When we first dispense trial soft lenses to patients to try contact lenses for the first time before finally prescribing them, don't forget to thoroughly explain lens care and even from the beginning, provide contact lens lubricants. These new drops are better than ever and help to keep the lens hydrated and clean and to wash away debris. Regular use of these drops may prolong contact lens wear. These new drops have special agents that either help to remove protein from the lens or dissolve lipids from the lens and allow for coating the lens for prolonged comfort and safety. Don't forget to use them from the beginning.
    Fitting Tip: Fitting the Young With CLs
    My first choice for young contact lens wearers is GP lenses followed by daily disposable soft lenses followed by overnight orthokeratology. We don't know the long-term effects of overnight orthokeratology, having seen effects of old style ortho-K in young children in the 80s, I'd rather be cautious than sorry.
    Having given my opinion, when my son needed contact lenses at age 12, I couldn't convince him to even try GP lenses beyond a lens trial. He has worn daily disposable soft lenses now for 11 years.
    --P. Sarita Soni, OD, MS
    Bloomington, Ind.
    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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