In September’s Contact Lens Spectrum, Editor Jason Nichols, OD, MPH, PhD, FAAO, presents his Top Ten List of Lens-Related Topics for 2010. Although in no particular order, #2 reads, “Care solutions—forthcoming regulatory changes.” That is, if and when the United States Food and Drug Administration will revise its premarket testing and labeling recommendations for soft contact lens care products. The contact lens-related keratitis outbreaks were recorded over three and four years ago, respectively, and we are still waiting with much anticipation to hear what the FDA will decide. Although it may seem like a long time to wait, know that the FDA has been working diligently since that time. In the wake of the outbreaks, the FDA posted a new Consumer Update, “Ensuring Safe Use of Contact Lens Solution.” Last revised in June, 2009, it includes recommendations such as rubbing and rinsing contact lenses. 

The FDA is also weighing all of the information it gathered at the Department of Health and Human Services, FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Ophthalmic Devices Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee’s hearing on contact lens care products, held on June 10, 2008; and at its workshop, “Microbiological Testing for Contact Lens Care Products,” held on January 22-23, 2009. Although Dr. Nichols admitted that he has not yet learned of a timetable for these changes, they will be forthcoming and will certainly make an impact on lens care practices and on the contact lens care industry in the years to come.

Read more:
1. http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers...
2. Nichols JJ. 2010 Top Ten List of Lens-Related Topics. Contact Lens Spectrum. 2010;24(9).
3. Gromacki SJ. Reporting on the FDA Microbiology Workshop. Contact Lens Spectrum. 2009:23(4):23.  
4. Gromacki SJ. FDA Begins to Take Action Regarding Lens Care—Part 3. Contact Lens Spectrum. 2009:23(2); 27. 
5. Gromacki SJ. FDA Begins to Take Action Regarding Lens Care—Part 2. Contact Lens Spectrum. 2008:22(12);22.  

In my last column, I mentioned the 6th International Conference on the Tear Film and Ocular Surface: Basic Science and Clinical Relevance held Sept. 24-26 in Florence, Italy, with a promise of future discussion of relevant, cutting-edge topics related to the ocular surface. The meeting did not disappoint; the volume of quality information was expansive and the information thought provoking.

To summarize, over 400 paper and poster presentations on ocular surface-related topics were presented covering the following areas: glycobiology and mucins, update on the 2007 DEWS workshop, presentation of the International Meibomian Gland workshop, Sjogren's syndrome, the tearome, ocular surface defense, ocular surface regeneration and surgical reconstruction, contact lens/ solution interactions with the ocular surface, and advances in imaging and new technology.

A highlight of the meeting was an "experts" seminar in which presentations delineating the difficulties in designing and implementing dry eye studies were discussed by an international panel of regulatory experts. The session will be transcribed and published as a "white paper" with the hope that industry, researchers, and regulatory agencies can come to a common ground relative to the therapeutic approval process in ocular surface disease, including innovative or new endpoints, timelines, and trial replication. All in all, it was an excellent meeting, which had something of interest for scientists and clinicians alike.

The company reports that RevitaLens Ocutec MPDS provides high microorganism kill rates; removes proteins from the lens surface; effectively kills Acanthamoeba and Fusarium; reduces corneal staining; and minimizes risk of eye complications.

Abbott plans to begin retail shipment of RevitaLens Ocutec this October. The product also has CE Mark approval in Europe.

ABB Concise’s quarterly Contact Lens Price Monitor, now in its fifth year, provides research to help eye care practitioners understand the dynamics of pricing soft contact lenses using annual supply discounts.

Every quarter ABB Concise surveys 200 randomly selected offices from its account base of over 15,000 to get average pricing of all major brands of soft contact lenses. It also monitors the pricing of mass merchandisers and online merchants.

For more information, please contact ABB Concise or visit www.abbconcise.com.

Representative Gene Green, Texas, Co-Chair of the Congressional Vision Caucus, provided the opening remarks at the congressional briefing, held September 29, which included presentations by several eye doctors, researchers and government representatives on the detrimental and largely preventable impact of UV on eye health, and the importance of wearing eyewear such as sunglasses and photochromic lenses that block 100 percent of UVA and UVB rays to reduce exposure. Presenters also explained that the groups at highest risk for UV-related eye disease are often the least aware of the need for protection. High-risk groups include Hispanic Americans, African Americans, and Asian Americans, as well as women, older Americans and children. In addition, presentations provided insights into the financial impact of UV-related eye disease on individuals, employers and the nation as a whole.

Specific action urged includes: inclusion of UV eye protection messages in current and future government-funded education programs on related topics, such as eye and overall health or sun protection; research on the impact of UV on the eye as a topic of consideration for future government-funded efforts; and heightened awareness of role of vision wear in enhancing eye health and safety, as well as overall quality of life and productivity.

Plan now to attend the Global Specialty Lens Symposium in January 2011. With an expert international faculty and a CE-accredited agenda, the 2011 GSLS will include insightful presentations by experts in the field, hands-on demonstrations of cutting-edge products as well as scientific papers and posters. Look for more detailed information in future issues of Contact Lens Spectrum and online at www.GSLSymposium.com.
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Optos is participating in the World Sight Day Challenge by making a donation to Optometry Giving Sight for each optomap retinal screening image taken on World Sight Day, October 14. To learn more about Optos and optomap images please visit www.optos.com.

There is still time to get involved. Take the World Sight Day Challenge and receive your free practice kit by registering today at www.givingsight.org or by calling 1-888-OGS-GIVE in the U.S. or 1-800-585-8265 ext. 4 in Canada. Optometry Giving Sight guarantees that 85% of all donations go directly to programs that give sight to those most in need. It currently funds projects in more than 18 countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia.

CooperVision announced the first round recipients of $25,000 in Gear Up Grant funding. The prizes were awarded as part of the company's Contact Sports initiative designed to help young athletes and teams from across the country get the athletic equipment they need to succeed while promoting the importance of eye health.

The ten winning teams will each receive $2,500 in grant funds and each athlete on the team who needs corrective lenses will receive a year supply of CooperVision contact lenses. The winners are: Lake High School Volleyball Team, Toledo, OH; Dryden High School Varsity Girls Swim Team, Dryden, NY; Illinois Valley High School Soccer Team, Selma, OR; Woodstream Christian Academy Varsity Basketball Teams, Bowie, MD; Victor Senior High School Blue Devils Marching Band, Victor, NY; Manvel High School Girls Soccer Team, Manvel, TX; Orlando Thunder Water Polo Club, Orlando, FL; Grover Cleveland High School Boys Soccer Team, Buffalo, NY; Blue Wave Aquatics Swim Club, Elkhart, IN; and Kahuku High School Girls Volleyball Team, Kahuku, HI.

CooperVision recently launched a new round of the program to award an additional $25,000 in Gear Up Grants. New submissions are being accepted through September 30 at www.mycontactsports.com. Voting will begin on October 18, and all who vote are automatically entered to win a year supply of CooperVision contact lenses. The next ten winners will be announced in early December, 2010.

This month at www.siliconehydrogels.org: the results of the 2009 International Contact Lens Prescribing Survey, the impact of UV-absorbing silicone hydrogel lenses, fitting silicone hydrogels for patients with sub-optimal endothelial cell function, and our synopsis of silicone hydrogels at the 2009 American Academy of Optometry meeting.

Scleral lenses are the focus of the annual GP issue of Contact Lens Spectrum this month. One feature article focuses on a series of cases in which mini-scleral lenses greatly improved the quality of life of several patients. In this article, Drs. Jack Hartstein, Michael Lipson, Michael Ward and Christopher Gilmartin provided cases pertaining to successful management of patients with keratoconus, severe dry eye, post-penetrating keratoplasty, and corneal dystrophy.

A second feature article pertains to the applications and fitting of corneoscleral (Jason Jedlicka, OD), mini-scleral (Stephen Byrnes, OD), and full scleral (Lynette Johns, OD) lens designs. This article originated from a presentation by the authors at the 2010 Global Specialty Lens Symposium in Las Vegas.

In addition, the GP Insights column by Dr. Gilmartin pertains to mini-scleral fitting and evaluation. Plus, a new feature article for the GP issue is "GP Annual Report 2010." This article provides an overview of new lens designs and developments in the GP industry as well as a look into the future of GP lenses with the assistance of the GP Lens Institute Advisory Committee.

Please watch your mail for this special October issue of Contact Lens Spectrum.

Researchers set out to determine the efficiency of several protein extraction or precipitation treatments used in proteomic analyses.

Tear samples were taken from each eye of 40 normal subjects using glass microcapillaries. Tear volume was measured followed by storage at -86 degrees C. Lotrafilcon B contact lenses were fitted and worn for 14 days, followed by removal and storage at -86 degrees C. Tear samples from each eye within a subject were randomly assigned to either one of four chemical treatments (acetone, trichloroacetic acid, urea, and trifluoroacetic acid/acetonitrile [TFA/ACN]) or no chemical treatment in groups of 10. Contact lens samples were subjected to the same treatments as tear samples for each subject, with a second treatment preceding the first. Protein concentrations were quantified by Bradford assay.

For tear samples, a significant reduction in total protein was observed when subjected to any of the four treatments studied compared with those samples left untreated. A positive relationship was noted between protein concentration and tear volume for treated, untreated, and combined tear samples. For contact lens samples, there was a significant reduction in the amount of deposited protein removed when comparing acetone, trichloroacetic acid, and urea with TFA/ACN. A second extraction from contact lenses assigned to the urea and TFA/ACN groups yielded a significant amount of additional protein compared with the amount removed initially.

The researchers concluded that tear samples subjected to any of the evaluated chemical treatments provided significantly less protein than untreated samples. For contact lenses, TFA/ACN extraction provided the highest yield of available protein out of the four treatments evaluated.

Powell DR, Thangavelu M, Chandler HL, Nichols KK, Nichols JJ. Evaluation of Extractants and Precipitants in Tear Film Proteomic Analyses. Optom Vis Sci. 2010