CONTACT LENSES TODAY

November 23, 2003

Contact Lenses Today® is edited by Dr. Joseph T. Barr and the staff of Contact Lens Spectrum. This week CLToday® reaches nearly 10,000 readers in 74 countries.


House Passes Two CL Bills
The House recently passed the "Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act" (H.R. 3140) by a voice vote. The bill, which Representative Richard Burr (R-NC) introduced in May, contains significant changes and mandates that eyecare providers give patients a contact lens prescription following an exam, along with meeting certain prescription fulfillment needs of contact lens dispensers.

Congress also passed the plano contact lens bill, H.R. 2218, which amends the "Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act" to recognize and regulate both corrective and non-corrective contact lenses as medical devices, regardless of their intended use. Representatives Henry Waxman (D-Calif) and John Boozman (R-Ark) introduced this bill in the House in May after reports of serious ocular injury resulting from unsupervised use of the lenses. Senators Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) and Ted Kennedy (D-Mass) introduced the Senate companion bill, S 1747.

FDA Approves Crystalens for Marketing
Eyeonics, Inc. has received FDA approval to market its accommodating intraocular lens (IOL), the Crystalens, which according to the company, allows patients to focus automatically and seamlessly at all distances. Unlike standard IOLs, the Crystalens restores vision at all distances and in most cases eliminates the need for glass and contact lenses for everyday tasks, says the company. The National Institutes of Health reports that 20.5 million Americans over the age of 40 suffer from cataracts, which means significant market potential for this product.

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Pfizer Reveals Research Results, Helps Fight Blindness
Pfizer Inc. recently revealed research suggests that Macugen, a drug that Pfizer and Eyetech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is developing, is an effective treatment for age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In a late-stage trial of 1,168 patients, the drug, which blocks abnormal blood vessel growth in the eye, was 27% more effective than placebo at limiting vision loss in patients who had the wet form of AMD. Seventy percent of Macugen patients achieved the trial's goal of limiting vision loss to no more than three lines of visual acuity compared to 55% of the placebo group.

In other Pfizer news, the company has announced that it will provide a free antibiotic (Zithromax, primarily used to treat respiratory tract infections in children) to treat about 90% of the 150 million people affected with trachoma-related blindness in Africa and Asia. Over the last five years, Pfizer has provided eight million doses of Zithromax to the International Trachoma Initiative and after seeing the success of that initial program, the company decided to donate 135 million more doses of the drug over the next five years.

Abstract: Antimicrobial Activity of CL Solutions Varies
Researchers reported on the effect of organic soil on the antimicrobial activity of four commercially available multipurpose contact lens care solutions used in no-rub regimens as determined by a modified International Organization for Standardization 14729 Stand Alone Test procedure. They performed testing with organic soil consisting of a mixture of heat-killed yeast cells and heat-activated bovine serum or these components added separately. The researchers mixed the organic soil with the challenge microorganisms before adding them to the solution; added to the solution after adding the challenge microorganisms; or added to the solution before adding the challenge microorganisms. The researchers concluded that the type of organic soil used and the method of addition of organic soil to the lens care solution may affect antimicrobial activity as deteremined by the primary criteria of the International Organization for Standardization Stand Alone test procedure. They also stated that the overall reduction in antimicrobial activity depends on the solution and the organism.
McGrath, D; Costanzo, SP; Manchester, RJ; Kaiser, JJ; Norton, SE; McCormick, PJ. Comparative Antimicrobial Activity of No-Rub Multipurpose Lens Care Solutions in the Presence of Organic Soil. Eye & Contact Lens 2003 Oct;29(4):245-249.


Editor's Commentary: Opinions on the New CL Laws
The good news is that plano cosmetic lenses are now going to be regulated like other contact lenses. The challenging news, however, is that we will be providing CL prescriptions to all of the contact lens patients we see, which is good for the patient's wallet. Now we will have to work even more vigorously to make sure that our patients return to us for contact lens care and to replace their lenses. In the end, I still believe that most patients most of the time will purchase their lens supplies from their eyecare practitioner.

Fitting Tip: Worth a Thousand Words
I've found that when explaining a condition, a course of action in fitting or the concept of CRT/ortho-k, nothing beats having a picture as a reference. To quickly bring up clinical pictures of contact lens fittings, corneal conditions, corneal maps, etc. on my laptop in the lane makes it easier and faster to allow the patient to understand my analysis and advice. CDs such as "Photo Atlas" from the Contact Lens Society of America are an inexpensive tool and resource from which to draw. It's also helpful for staff to either reference or study for certification testing. Using the laptop in the lane also lends an air of technology in practice to enhance patients' understanding and ability to make a more educated decision regarding their vision correction management.
--Keith W. Harrison, FCLSA
Toronto, Ontario, Canada


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