CONTACT LENSES TODAY

October 3, 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.

Upcoming Meeting to Focus on CL Dropouts
This year's (also the 21st) Cornea, Contact Lenses and Contemporary Vision Care Symposium, sponsored by the University of Houston College of Optometry, will take place between December 3 to 5, 2004 in Houston. The highlight is an Alcon-sponsored roundtable discussion billed as "Texas Shoot Out on Contact Lens Drop Outs," which will bring together experts in the problem of contact lens dropouts. Contact Lens Spectrum Editor Joseph T. Barr, OD, MS, FAAO will serve as the moderator. This discussion will include short, rapid-fire presentations focused on specific issues such as practice impact, comfort and dryness, contact lens and therapeutic management of dropout candidates and new ways to measure the wettability of a contact lens. Anyone interested in attending this year's meeting can find out more by calling (713) 743-1900 or by searching the University of Houston Web site at http://www.opt.uh.edu.

CLToday Links to Unabridged FCLCA
At the request of our readers, we are publishing the full text of the Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act (FCLCA). http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/06jun20041800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/pdf/04-14969.pdf

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New MPS for Soft Lenses from Sauflon
Sauflon announced the launch of its new All In One Lite No Rub multipurpose contact lens solution, which will replace the company's current multipurpose solution. Sauflon says All In One Lite No Rub will be available beginning next month and will be packaged as 3.9 oz bottles for a three-month supply. According to a Sauflon spokesperson, patients can use the solution on all forms of soft contact lenses as a no-rub solution.
Sauflon CEO Adam Kronstat also stated that the company will unveil additional new products and innovative practice management initiatives in the coming months.

Reaching Lagado Corporation
Anyone interested in accessing more information on Lagado Corporation or its ONSI-56 rigid silicone hydrogel contact lens (a list of authorized laboratories or lens properties) should visit http://www.lagado.net.

Clarification
Last week, we reported on the Naturalens DIS by Key Distributed Products International (KDPI). Unfortunately, we need to make one correction: The DIS contains six base curves (fitting curves) that accommodates the range from 42.00 to 45.00 (three diopters -- not six, as we reported). This three diopter range of six fitting curves is available in .10mm steps and will, according to KDPI, accommodate approximately 80% to 85% of normal corneal requirements for properly fit GP contact lenses, allowing for the immediate dispensing of the product to patients at the time of their visit.

Abstract: Reducing Myopia with Ortho-k
A 13-year-old boy who had been receiving ortho-k treatment in his left eye only since 1999 participated in a retrospective study on the effects of ortho-k. Researchers presented the changes in the axial length, the unaided visual acuity and the refractive error during a two-year period. In 1999 (when the boy was 11), he was fitted with an ortho-k lens in his left eye. His refractive errors were OD -0.25 -0.75 x 168 and OS -2.50 -0.50 x 170 before beginning ortho-k wear. He made yearly visits in 2001, 2002 and 2003 to the researchers' clinic, where they assessed logMAR visual acuity, refraction, ocular health and axial length. In 2003, the boy's unaided visual acuity was OD 0.40 logMAR and OS -0.04 logMAR and the axial length in his left eye had increased slightly (0.13mm). The right eye experienced a significant increase in axial length (0.34mm) with a corresponding increase in spherical equivalent refractive error (0.75D). According to the researchers, this case suggests that ortho-k wear in the eye undergoing treatment may have slowed myopia progression in a boy undergoing unilateral ortho-k treatment.
Cheung SW, Cho P and Fan D. Asymmetrical Increase in Axial Length in the Two Eyes of a Monocular Orthokeratology Patient Optometry & Vision Science 2004 Sept;81(9):653-656.

Editor's Commentary: Complete Lens Care Matters
In a recent article by Rosenthal, et al. (Contact Lens & Anterior Eye, September 2004) note:
- Elimination of both the rubbing and rinsing steps is a concern -- hundreds of thousands of organisms may be retained on the lens and the disinfection (soaking) step may not kill remaining organisms
- The greater the number of steps in a regimen, the greater the disinfecting efficacy
- Not all products work the same
- The results of this study illustrate the importance of using appropriate regimen steps, especially the rinsing step before disinfection.
New lens care products are better than ever, but we need to give the eye and ocular surface the best chance it can get to resist infection. These study results re-emphasize the importance of careful lens care.

Fitting Tip: Best Correction for Young CL Wearers
As my practice is beginning to add on more youngsters, the subject of contact lenses has come up. I initially don't bring up the subject until the child has possession of working spectacles because otherwise, I find the spectacles never get made. Youngsters want contact lenses -- there's no doubt about that. If the child has no significant amount of astigmatism, I either go with a daily wear lens or with a daily disposable lens, depending on whether both of the child's parent and I feel the child can handle the day-to-day management of the contact lenses.
For astigmats, I go with one of the two- or four-week disposable toric lens designs. I will also closely watch the binocular ranges on these children to see whether they need appropriate spectacles over their contact lenses for situations when they're performing heavy near work.
--Stewart F. Gooderman, O.D., F.A.A.O.
San Francisco, Calif.

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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