CONTACT LENSES TODAY

December 7, 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.

Vistakon Launches Acuvue Advance with Hydroclear
Vistakon launched its new silicone hydrogel contact lens at the American Academy of Optometry meeting in Dallas last week. The lens has a Dk/t of 85 and fits like the Acuvue 2 lens. It contains Hydroclear throughout to make it hydrophilic, therefore, the lens isn't surface treated. The Acuvue Advance provides improved late-day comfort and has a daily wear indication, according to Vistakon.

Silicone Hydrogel Post-Market Study
CIBA Vision revealed the latest findings from the post-approval study of the Focus Night & Day contact lens that's underway in the United States, and will track the experiences of 5,000 or more wearers for the span of one year. To date, 138 clinical practices and 6,245 patients have enrolled. Of these patients, nearly 86% successfully completed the first three months. Approximately 6% of the wearers have discontinued. Interim analysis of the data supports the need for eyecare practitioners to continue to educate wearers to always wash and rinse their hands before handling lenses and to take extra care of the lenses when swimming. The initial data also support that patients who have previously experienced ocular health issues may not be suitable as extended wear contact lens candidates.

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Take Advantage of CLES Education Courses
The Contact Lens and Eyecare Symposium (CLES) offers more than 100 hours of fully accredited continuing education courses. To register for the meeting, which will occur January 21-25, 2004, call (866) 515-CLES or visit http://www.cles.info.

Abstract: Analyzing Differences Between Tolerant and Intolerant CL Wearers
In a study of 38 subjects (20 of whom were successful contact lens wearers and 18 of whom had discontinued contact lens wear because of discomfort), the researchers set out to determine whether intolerance to contact lens wear is attributable to clinical or protein characteristics of the tear film. They analyzed baseline tear film (no lens wear) with a range of clinical measurements and protein analyses and determined comfort after six hours of lens wear. They then determined differences in tear film characteristics between subject groups. The researchers found that tear volume (meniscus height and phenol red thread test) and tear stability (noninvasive tear break-up time) were significantly reduced in intolerant wearers (p<0.05) and that intolerant wearers reported a greater number of symptoms than did tolerant wearers (p<0.05%). They associated tolerance with clinical but not protein characteristics of the tear film.
Glasson, J; Stapleton, Fiona; Keay, Lisa; Sweeney, Deborah; Willcox, Mark DP. Differences in Clinical Parameters and Tear Film of Tolerant and Intolerant Contact Lens Wearers. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science 2003 Dec;44(12):5116-5124.

Editor's Commentary: Old Lenses Are Better? I Don't Think So
I read some comments recently by contact lens wearers who reported 30 years of PMMA daily contact lens wear and how they loved their old B and B3 series B&L Soflenses because they were the "only lenses you couldn't see on [their] eyes." While 30 years of apparently uncomplicated PMMA contact lens wear is tribute to these patients' corneal physiologies and immune systems and having your lenses be invisible is nice, I think that today's most recent more biocompatible lens materials and designs are the way to go. We need to keep educating our patients that better options are available.

Fitting Tip: Show Them How It's Done
In trying to relieve tense patients, I find it easier if I apply the lens for the first-time wearer, then check his vision, along with the movement of the lens. When I return the patient back into the contact lens office, he's much more at ease with removing and applying the lenses knowing that they feel great and that he can see without his glasses.
--Tee Jackson, NCLE
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