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Alcon Introduces Systane Balance Lubricant Eye Drops for Dry Eye Patients with Meibomian Gland Dysfunction
Alcon, Inc. announced the launch of Systane Balance Lubricant Eye Drops, the newest lubricant eye drop in the Systane family of products. Patients with Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD) are unable to adequately prevent the evaporation of tears, resulting in dry eye symptoms. According to the company, Systane Balance is a scientifically engineered product that contains HP Guar, borate, sorbitol, propylene glycol and Alcon's exclusive LipiTech System, a unique emulsion technology of mineral oil and an anionic phospholipid. Systane Balance is designed to restore the lipid layer and the natural tear film to allow for relief of dry eye symptoms.
The company reports that doctors observed an association between the use of Systane Balance and better tear film stabilization as well as an improvement in the thickening of the lipid layer. Patients reported minimal blur after instilling the eye drops.
Systane Balance is widely available without prescription at major retailers in the United States and will become available in Latin America later this year.
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Safigel Signs First U.S. Distributor Agreement with Optical Distributor Group
Safigel has signed an agreement with Optical Distributor Group (ODG) for distribution of its Safigel 1-Day daily disposable contact lenses. ODG will distribute Safigel lenses to eyecare practitioners, who will also have the option of having ODG ship directly to their patients. Safigel has been selling contact lenses in Europe for the past five years under the Safe-Gel brand name.
Safigel contact lenses have the same natural bio-polymer, sodium hyaluronate (HA), used in many leading dry-eye drops incorporated into the lens matrix. According to the company, the Safigel 1-Day contact lens remains continually hydrated because of the hydrophilic properties of the hyaluronate gel. Every one molecule of HA in the lens attracts 3,000 molecules of water, creating natural tears on both sides of the contact lens, according to Safigel.
Safigel 1-Day is manufactured in methafilcon A with a reported Dk/t of 40 at -3.00D, a UV inhibitor, and an aspheric front surface. Parameters include 8.6mm base curve; 14.0mm diameter; powers from -0.50D to -6.00D in 0.25D steps, -6.00D to -8.00D in 0.50D steps, +0.50D to +2.00D in 0.25D steps, and +2.50D to +4.00D in 0.50D steps; and center thickness of 0.08mm at -3.00D.
For more information, visit www.safigel.com.
GPLI Symposium to Focus on Fitting Presbyopes
The Gas Permeable Lens Institute (GPLI) and the Contact Lens Manufacturers Association (CLMA), in conjunction with the Southern California College of Optometry (SCCO), are co-sponsoring a special clinical symposium, GP Lens Specialty Practice: Today and Tomorrow. The one-day symposium, which offers eight hours of continuing education (COPE approval pending), will be held on Sunday, December 12, 2010, at SCCO in Fullerton, California.
Prescribing for the presbyope, both multifocal and monovision solutions, is the focus of the morning presentations which are highlighted by video Grand Rounds GP multifocal case studies. The afternoon includes sessions on toric fitting and prescribing for the irregular cornea with additional video Grand Rounds.
As guest speaker, Ed Bennett, OD, MSEd, FAAO, will present on toric prescribing and take part in the Grand Rounds. The SCCO faculty speakers include Annie Chang, OD; Julie Schornack, OD, MEd; Dawn Lam, MSc, OD; Brooke Messer, OD and Tim Edrington, OD, MS from the Stein Family Cornea and Contact Lens Service.
Visit www.scco.edu/ce or call 714-992-7809 for further information and registration.
Global Specialty Lens Symposium, January 27-30, 2011, Paris Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas
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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Wharton School and The Vision Care Institute to Host Webinar Tailored for Female Optometrists
The Aresty Institute of Executive Education at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and The Vision Care Institute, LLC, announced that they will host a Chief Executive Optometrist Webinar exclusively for female optometrists. This online learning offers both new and established female optometrists executive-level education designed to help them achieve higher levels of success in their practices.
Scheduled for Thursday, October 28, 2010 at 8:00 PM ET, the one-hour "Strategic Leadership and Empowering Women ODs" webinar explores the transformative power of leadership traits and presents insights into how doctors can apply them to enhance their practice.
The webinar will be presented by Dafna Eylon, PhD, senior fellow at the Wharton School, and Ann M. Hoscheit, OD, FAAO, FAARM, founding partner of Summit Eye Associates in Gastonia, NC, and is available at no cost to participants.
For more information and/or to register, please visit www.chiefexecutiveoptometrist.com.
New Design of B+L PreserVision AREDS 2 Formula Released
Bausch + Lomb (B+L) released a redesign of its PreserVision Eye Vitamin AREDS 2 Formula. The new, smaller soft gel is dosed twice per day, two pills per dose. B+L chose to redesign the pills based on customer feedback, making the product smaller in size. The product was voluntarily recalled in July 2010 due to concerns over the pill's original size.
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.
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