CONTACT LENSES TODAY

November 28, 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.

CLMA Awards Certificates of Excellence
Based on tolerances established by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI Standard Z80.20 - Contact Lenses), the Contact Lens Manufacturers Association (CLMA) has awarded the following companies with its Certificate of Excellence: ABB Optical; ABBA Optical Inc.; Accu Lens Inc.; Alden Optical Laboratories; Con-Cise Contact Lens Co.; Corneal Design Corporation; Corneal Lens Laboratory; Diversified Ophthalmics, Inc.; Firestone Optics, Inc.; International Contact Lens Lab, Inc.; Lens Dynamics, Inc.; Lensco; Luzerne Optical Labs Ltd.; Parcon, Inc.; Precision Optics; Rooney Optical, Inc.; four Soderberg Contact Lens locations; three Tru-Form Optics, Inc. locations; Valley Contax; Westlens; and Winchester Optical Company.
The CLMA Certificate of Excellence signifies a high degree of manufacturing expertise needed to meet a demanding level of inspection and to produce high-quality contact lenses, which meet or exceed applicable industry standards.
Senju Extends License to ISTA for Dry Eye Drop
ISTA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has licensed exclusive U.S. marketing rights for ecabet sodium from Senju Pharmaceuticals, Co., Ltd. The product is a prescription eye drop for the treatment of dry eye syndrome. The drop is currently in Phase II testing in Japan. ISTA will pay Senju nonrefundable upfront and milestone payments and royalties on product sales. ISTA is responsible, at its expense, for completing all U.S. development activities for the product including clinical trials and the preparation and submission of the New Drug Application to the FDA. ISTA is also responsible for manufacturing and, if the product is approved, marketing and selling it in the United States.
NEW FROM CIBA VISION -- Introducing O2OPTIX The Choice For Daily Wear Or For Occasional Overnight Wear -- Now Approved For Up To 6 Nights Extended Wear. Maximizing oxygen transmissibility may help protect patients from the potential signs and symptoms of corneal oxygen deficiency.
With a remarkable Dk/t of 138, new O2OPTIX delivers more oxygen to the cornea than any other two-week soft contact lens -- more than five times the oxygen transmissibility of the leading soft contact lens. Ideal for daily wear patients and for occasional overnight wear (extended wear for up to six nights).
NEW O2OPTIX -- Breathable Lenses Designed for Healthy Eyes. http://www.cibavision.com
--ADVERTISING
Surgery for AMD Complications Doesn't Improve Vision
According to the results of nationwide clinical trials sponsored by the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, vision doesn't improve substantially for patients who have age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and who undergo surgery to remove lesions of new blood vessels, scar tissue or possible bleeding beneath the retina. The NEI-funded Submacular Surgery Trials (SST) investigated the outcomes of surgery being practiced by retinal surgeons to remove choroidal neovascularization that are linked with AMD and other causes. The journal Ophthalmology published four of a total of six main result papers on the SST. The four papers address surgery for two groups of AMD patients (454 patients who had centrally located lesions that weren't predominantly blood and 336 patients who had more extensive bleeding under the retina).
Abstract: Comparing Overnight Wear of CLs to Daily Wear
To evaluate patients' perceptions of visual quality of life differences in a crossover study with two different modes of contact lens wear, researchers had 74 qualified subjects wear either overnight corneal reshaping lenses (only while sleeping) or daily wear soft lenses (only during waking hours) for eight weeks and then complete the National Eye Institute RQL-42 questionnaire. After a washout period, the subjects wore the alternate mode for eight weeks and again answered the questionnaire. After completing both phases of the study, the researchers asked the subjects to choose which mode they preferred. Of the 45 subjects completing both phases of the study, 32 chose to continue with the CRT lenses and 13 chose to stay with the soft lenses. The researchers concluded that although overall satisfaction scores and vision were comparable between the two modes (RQL-42 scoring for overall satisfaction was 81.33 for overnight corneal reshaping lenses and 74.67 for soft lenses), 71% of the subjects elected to stay with the corneal reshaping lenses.
Lipson MJ, Sugar A, Musch DC. Overnight Corneal Reshaping Versus Soft Daily Wear: A Visual Quality of Life Study (Interim Results). Eye & Contact Lens 2004 Oct;30(4):214-217.
Editor's Commentary: Giving Thanks
In the United States, we celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 25. Families and friends join together away from work and reflect on how much they can be thankful for and many acts of service, care and kindness are part of the day. It's the time of year where we reflect on what we have to be thankful for in the care of our contact lens patients. Thanks to the researchers and the risk takers who invest in wonderful new products. Thanks for the insight of careful practitioners who share their methods with others. Thanks to our staffs who serve our practices, clinics, studies and patients. And special thanks to our readers, who send us contact lens care and fitting tips.
Fitting Tip: Determining What to Change When it Comes to Compliance Issues
Do you think your patients listen to everything you tell them? I doubt it. I often hear (even from family members), "Is it really important that I throw the lenses out every two weeks?" My answer is simple: "Yes!" But do they really listen?
With the increasing complacency of patients and the rising cost of contact lens materials, I think most patients use the standard determinant for lens replacement -- that is, "Whenever they don't feel good." No matter how often you admonish your patients for this comment, they may not all listen. So what's the solution? Of course you need to educate them about the risk of this lens wear behavior, but keep the following in mind: Your patients may not all be compliant and you can't always change their wearing habits. Telling them to decrease wearing time or to replace the lenses more frequently often isn't enough to decrease the risk of contact lens problems. My solution: Switch lens materials to a silicone hydrogel.
We have lenses that are much healthier for today's patients. If they're used to a "monthly" schedule, then try a brand that you trust for this wearing schedule. Do the same for patients who follow a two-week replacement schedule. Offering these alternatives gives much healthier options for our patients -- especially those whom we know aren't compliant. The lesson learned: Don't try to change a patients to ensure improved health; instead change their material.
--Dave Anderson, O.D.
Miamisburg, Ohio
This month at http://www.siliconehydrogels.org, read about therapeutic applications for silicone hydrogel lenses, the accuracy of IOP measurements made through these lenses and the idea of establishing a separate FDA category for silicone hydrogel lenses.
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.
Send your favorite tips to tips@cltoday.com -- if your tip is selected as 'Best of the Month,' you'll receive a free golf shirt (see http://www.CLToday.com for details). Please include your full name, degree or title and city/state/country.
Visit Contact Lens Spectrum ( http://www.clspectrum.com ) for interactive clinical posters, issue archives and discussion forums. Visit Contact Lenses Today for our Best Fitting Tips and Photo Clinic, sponsored by Ocular Sciences.
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Contact Lenses Today and CLToday are registered trademarks of Boucher Communications, Inc. ©2004 Boucher Communications, Inc.
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