Noah was seven years old when an errant paintball smashed into his left eye and sent him from the sidelines of his brothers’ game to the emergency room.

“I remember being very dizzy and I couldn’t stop vomiting,” said Noah. “I had to wait in the hospital for my eye pressure to go down and for all the blood to drain out of my eye.”

Noah later developed a cataract and a detached retina in his left eye; he subsequently underwent successful surgery to repair the traumatic cataract and retinal detachment. In spite of the fact that his traumatic cataract has been removed and his retina has been repaired, he now wears a contact lens and has some permanent double vision.

“Unfortunately this is a common story when you mix sports and the lack of proper eye protection” said Abdhish R. Bhavsar, MD, Noah’s doctor and a clinical correspondent for the Academy. “While Noah was a bystander in this instance, 40,000 people suffer from eye injuries related to sports every year.”

According to Noah’s mom, “Hand and eye coordination is now very difficult for Noah,” and though he loves baseball and tennis he has decided to take up swimming instead. Still, she says, “Noah never lets his spirits down.”

Maura knows all too well how quickly an eye injury like Noah’s can happen. Thirteen years ago at hockey practice in Connecticut, she sustained a serious hit to her eye from a teammate’s hockey stick. The accident left her with years of pain and permanent double vision in her left eye.

“She had the largest break in her eyeball that I had ever seen,” said Joel S. Schuman, MD, Maura’s doctor and clinical correspondent for the Academy. “She required multiple surgeries and we were happy and fortunate that we were able to save her eye.”

After ten surgeries Maura still struggles with her vision, but feels confident about her efforts to change the way people view eye protection and sports. Living in Washington, DC, she now does policy work, a natural outgrowth of the advocacy campaign she undertook after her injury to encourage local schools to mandate protective eyewear for school sports. Within three years after she started the effort, most of the local schools required protective eyewear for their field hockey teams.

“Instead of being taken down by this very serious injury, Maura turned it into a drive to prevent it happening to others,” said Dr. Schuman.

September is Children’s Eye Safety Awareness Month, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology reminds student athletes and school sports programs to get EyeSmart and use appropriate, sport-specific protective eyewear properly fitted by an eye care professional. Most youth sporting leagues don’t require protective eyewear, so parents should take special care to ensure their children’s eye safety. “This is an important way for parents to spare their children unnecessary injury and pain,” says Dr. Schuman.

“I recommend safety goggles for all sporting activities, even when it comes to children playing in their own homes,” said Dr. Bhavsar. “We even put on safety goggles when we play catch with a baseball in our own backyard.”

Learn more about eye injuries, eye diseases, and the names of Eye M.D.s in your area by visiting http://www.GetEyeSmart.org.

About the American Academy of Ophthalmology

AAO is the world’s largest association of eye physicians and surgeons-Eye M.D.s-with more than 27,000 members worldwide. Eye health care is provided by the three “O’s” - opticians, optometrists and ophthalmologists. It is the ophthalmologist, or Eye M.D., who can treat it all: eye diseases and injuries, and perform eye surgery. To find an Eye M.D. in your area, visit the Academy’s Web site at http://www.aao.org.

About EyeSmart™

The EyeSmart Campaign is an initiative of the Academy, with its partner EyeCare America, to raise the public’s awareness of eye diseases, injuries and infections. For more information about the campaign and eye care information, visit http://www.geteyesmart.org.

American Academy of Ophthalmology

NICE has published its final guidance on the use of ranibizumab (Lucentis) and pegaptanib (Macugen) for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This means that the appeals against the final draft guidance on the use of these drugs have not been upheld. The guidance recommends ranibizumab as an option for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration if all of the following apply in the eye to be treated:

- Best possible visual acuity after correction with glasses or contact lenses is between 6/12 and 6/96.

- There is no permanent structural damage to the central fovea (the part of the eye that helps people to see things in sharp detail).

- The lesion size is no more than 12 times the size of the area inside the eye where the optic nerve connects to the retina.

- There are signs that the condition has been getting worse.

- The cost of ranibizumab beyond 14 injections is met by the manufacturer. The NHS should cover the drug cost of ranibizumab for the first 14 injections in each eye being treated. If people need more than 14 injections per eye, the manufacturer of ranibizumab has agreed to take over the drug cost from the NHS.

- Treatment should be stopped if a person’s vision gets worse and there are changes inside the eye which show that treatment isn’t working.

- Pegaptanib is not recommended for people with wet AMD. Healthcare professionals should not immediately stop prescribing pegaptanib for people who were already taking it when the guidance was issued. These people should be able to carry on taking pegaptanib until they and their healthcare professionals decide that it is the right time to stop treatment.

AMD is one of the leading causes of sight loss. AMD occurs in two forms, dry and wet (neovascular) AMD. Dry AMD is a form of extensive atrophy (wasting) of cells that progresses slowly, whereas the wet form can lead to rapid worsening of vision. There are about 26,000 new cases of wet AMD in the UK each year and the condition usually affects people who are over 50 years old, the risk increasing significantly with age. The condition also affects more women than men. The most commonly cited risk factor for AMD is cigarette smoking; the risk of developing AMD is more than 3 times greater for current and former smokers than for people who have never smoked.

Ranibizumab is given by injection into the eye and works by blocking a substance that causes new blood vessels to grow in the eye (known as vascular endothelial growth factor or VEGF), thereby stopping the bleeding at the back of the eye which causes the wet form of AMD.

Andrew Dillon, NICE Chief Executive, said: “Lucentis is an expensive drug, costing more than ￡10,000 for each eye treated. But that cost needs to be balanced against the likely cost savings. AMD results in reduced quality of life and increased risks of illness, particularly in relation to accidents - especially falls - and psychological ill-health. Studies have also demonstrated that patients with visual impairment tend to have longer hospitalisations, make greater use of health and community care services and are more likely to be admitted to nursing homes. It has been estimated that the costs related to sight impairment for patients treated with Lucentis are around ￡8000 cheaper than for patients who receive best supportive care over a 10 year period. Our guidance means that patients who are suitable for this treatment will have the same access to it, irrespective of where they live.”

About NICE

1. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is the independent organisation responsible for providing national guidance on the promotion of good health and the prevention and treatment of ill health.

2. NICE produces guidance in three areas of health:

- public health - guidance on the promotion of good health and the prevention of ill health for those working in the NHS, local authorities and the wider public and voluntary sector

- health technologies - guidance on the use of new and existing medicines, treatments and procedures within the NHS

- clinical practice - guidance on the appropriate treatment and care of people with specific diseases and conditions within the NHS.

3. As part of its interventional procedures (IP) work programme NICE has today also issued guidance on the implantation of miniature lens systems for advanced age-related macular degeneration this month.

- The independent advisory committee acknowledges evidence shows this procedure can improve both vision and quality of life in the short-term; however, there currently is not enough long-term evidence on how well it works and how safe it is. Therefore the committee has recommended the procedure be used with special arrangements for clinical governance, consent and audit. This means that clinicians must ensure that the patient understands what is involved and agrees to the treatment, and the results of the procedure are recorded for further study. The committee also highlighted the importance of careful patient selection, including a detailed assessment to enable them to predict the patient’s ability to process visual stimuli following the operation.

- The IP programme makes recommendations about whether interventional procedures used for diagnosis or treatment are safe enough and work well enough for routine use. It does not make recommendations to the NHS about whether or not they should fund procedures. Decisions as to which procedures are available are taken at a local level are dependent on facilities and expertise available, as well as local governance arrangements.

- The IP guidance on implantation of miniature lens systems for advanced age-related macular degeneration and further information can be found on the NICE website-http://www.nice.org.uk/IPG272.

http://www.nice.org.uk

View drug information on Lucentis.

Now in its 28th year, the Alcon Research Institute (ARI) recognized seven outstanding researchers who have dedicated their lives to enhancing the understanding of vision and eye health. These seven doctors, who were nominated by previous winners and selected by ARI’s independent Scientific Selection Committee, will receive $100,000 in unrestricted grant money from the ARI to continue pursuing their research into the underlying causes of eye disease. They also will be recognized at the ARI’s biennial symposium in 2009, where they will present their research to all of the members of the ARI.

“The Alcon Research Institute is proud to recognize the career achievements of the world’s leading researchers in ophthalmology,” said Dr. Stanley Chang, chairman of the Alcon Research Institute, and Edward Harkness professor and chair of Ophthalmology, Columbia University. “The impressive accomplishments and contributions of these current winners to the preservation, restoration and enhancement of vision carry on the long-standing tradition of excellence in scientific and medical investigation of the many previous award winners.”

The 2008 ARI Award winners are:

-Vadim Y. Arshavsky, Ph.D. for his paradigm-shifting work into the behavior of G-Proteins and photoreceptors in an effort to understand humans’ response to light. Dr. Arshavsky is a graduate of Moscow State University and is currently professor of Ophthalmology and Pharmacology and scientific director, Department of Ophthalmology, Duke University, Durham, NC.

-Emily Y. Chew, M.D. and Frederick L. Ferris, M.D. who were jointly instrumental in designing, developing and executing the Age-Related Eye Disease Study, with results that could prevent the development of age-related macular degeneration in more than 300,000 people in the next five years. Dr. Chew is a graduate of the University of Toronto and serves as deputy director, Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Research at the National Eye Institute/National Institute of Health. Dr. Ferris is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins Medical School and currently is the director of Epidemiology and Clinical Research at the National Eye Institute/National Institute of Health.

-David R. Copenhagen, Ph.D. for his extensive body of work studying visual system development. Dr. Copenhagen is a graduate of and has continued his career at the University of California where he is now a professor and vice chair in the Department of Ophthalmology.

-Reza Dana, M.D. for his significant contributions in the area of corneal transplants. Dr. Dana completed his education at Johns Hopkins and Harvard Universities and is now a professor in the Harvard Department of Ophthalmology, director, Cornea Service at Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary and senior scientist at Schepens Eye Research Institute.

-Elizabeth C. Engle, M.D. for her extensive research into the genetics of ocular defects. Dr. Engle is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and is currently associate professor in Neurology at Harvard Medical School, investigator at Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Senior Research Associate in Ophthalmology at Children’s Hospital Boston.

-Simon W. John, Ph.D. for his distinguished career and groundbreaking research directed to understanding the underlying causes and potential treatments of glaucoma. Dr. John is a graduate of McGill University, is a Professor at The Jackson Laboratory, Research Assistant Professor at Tufts University School of Medicine, Investigator at Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a member of the Graduate Faculty at the University of Maine.

In addition to the unrestricted grants, the awardees will join an impressive list of previous ARI winners to participate in a biennial symposium next year that will review, evaluate and discuss cutting edge research into the causes and treatments of eye disease.

About the Alcon Research Institute

The Alcon Research Institute (ARI) supports global advancements in eye health by honoring those who make outstanding research contributions to the vision sciences. The goal of the ARI is to further the study of eye health by fostering ongoing dialogue and partnerships within the vision research community around the world. As it has for 28 years, the ARI annually identifies exemplary leaders in ophthalmic research and honors them with this prestigious award and unrestricted grants to fund their ongoing research. Since its inception in 1981, the ARI has granted almost $21 million to 235 researchers in support of their research into eye disease and ophthalmology. The nominees are put forth independently by former winners and voted on by an independent committee, made up solely of ARI members.

Alcon Research Institute

Barnet PCT is routinely forcing patients in its care to either pay for sight saving treatment or go blind, says the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB).

Peter Mulvie, 84, of Golders Green, is just one of several patients being supported by RNIB in their bid for treatment from Barnet PCT (Primary Care Trust). He is blind in his left eye and has the aggressive eye disease wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD) in his right eye. Wet AMD can lead to blindness in as little as three months if left untreated.

Mr Mulvie, a grandfather of six, said: “My eyesight is getting worse by the day but Barnet PCT has totally ignored my application for treatment. I live on my own but I might be forced into a care home if I don’t get treatment. I am sick with worry that Barnet is letting me go blind and I will never see my grandchildren again.”

Wet AMD can be treated through anti-VEGF drugs, including Lucentis. Most PCTs in London - including Camden, Brent and Harrow - fund Lucentis for all who need it. Yet Barnet PCT carries out an extremely restrictive funding policy which means it has one of the worst records on funding treatment for wet AMD in the capital.

Barbara McLaughlan, Campaigns Manager at RNIB, said: “Barnet PCT is putting Mr Mulvie into an appalling situation by forcing him to choose between spending his life savings on treatment and going blind. RNIB is committed to eliminating avoidable sight loss - that’s why we are backing all wet AMD patients in Barnet to get sight saving treatment immediately and without question.”

RNIB supported three pensioners in their bid to get sight saving treatment from Warwickshire PCT in July. Following the case at the High Court, an agreement was reached between the PCT and Lucentis manufacturer Novartis. Other PCTs have since reached their own agreements with Novartis and are now funding wet AMD patients.

Barbara McLaughlan said: “Barnet PCT has previously said that it will not fund because they cannot cap the costs of treatment. The Warwickshire agreement means that argument is no longer valid. It should change its cruel and heartless policy now.”

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence’s (NICE) most recent draft guidance, issued in April 2008, announced that all PCTs in England will soon have to fund the sight-saving drug Lucentis for patients with wet AMD. NICE’s final and legally binding guidance on anti-VEGF treatments is currently at the appeal stage and should be published later this year.

In England, more than two-thirds of PCTs are already providing sight-saving treatment to wet AMD patients who need it. Others still carry out unacceptably restrictive funding policies. Licensed anti-VEGF drugs have been proven to successfully halt the condition, while Lucentis can improve sight in 30-40 per cent of patients.

RNIB and the Macular Disease Society run an advocacy service called Action for AMD Treatments. Any patient needing help accessing licensed anti-VEGF treatments should call RNIB’s Helpline on 0845 766 9999 or the Macular Disease Society Helpline on 0845 241 2041.

Notes

1. AMD is the leading cause of sight loss in the UK and wet AMD can lead to blindness in as little as three months if left untreated. Each year 26,000 people in the UK develop wet AMD and approximately a quarter of a million people in the UK are thought to have the condition. People need prompt treatment if they are to minimise the risk of permanent sight loss.

2. Two anti-VEGF treatments are licensed for use in the UK: Macugen, marketed by Pfizer, was licensed for use in May 2007, and Lucentis, marketed by Novartis was licensed for use in January 2007.

3. Anti-VEGF treatments target VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor), a protein involved in the formation of new blood vessels. In the eye, high levels of VEGF can cause proliferation of blood vessels and fluid leakage. The number of times patients require treatment with an anti-VEGF drug varies - some patients require injections for two years or more.

4. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is currently appraising Macugen and Lucentis. Until NICE issues final guidance, the Department of Health says it has ‘made it clear to PCTs that funding for treatments should not be withheld simply because guidance from NICE is unavailable’. The appraisal began in February 2007.

5. Every day another 100 people will start to lose their sight. There are around two million people in the UK with sight problems. RNIB is the leading charity working in the UK offering practical support, advice and information for anyone with sight difficulties. If you, or someone you know, have a sight problem, RNIB can help. Call the RNIB Helpline on 0845 766 9999.

6. RNIB and The Macular Disease Society launched an AMD advocacy service called Action for AMD Treatments. Any patient needing help accessing licensed anti-VEGF treatments should call RNIB’s Helpline on 0845 766 9999.

Royal National Institute of Blind People

View drug information on Lucentis; Macugen.

Abnormalities of the retina, the light sensitive tissue at the back of the eye, are associated with an increased risk of death from heart disease, finds research published ahead of print in the Heart.

A higher than normal risk was found in people without diabetes, a disease that is known to boost the risk of coronary artery disease, the findings show.

The Australian researchers assessed the presence and severity of retinal disease (retinopathy) among almost 3000 adults, using retinal photos. Two hundred of these participants had been diagnosed with diabetes.

In all, 57 of those with diabetes had retinopathy, a prevalence of just under 29%. One in 10 of those without diabetes also had it.

The research team then tracked the number of people dying from coronary heart disease over a period of 12 years, during which time the death toll was 353.

People with diabetes and moderate retinopathy were more than six times as likely to die of coronary heart disease as those without retinopathy, after adjusting for other influential factors.

And those without diabetes were 50% more likely to die of coronary heart disease if they had retinopathy, equivalent to the same level of risk conferred by a diagnosis of diabetes alone.

This finding is important, say the researchers: one in 10 of the population without diabetes has retinal disease, which can be detected by proper eye examination.

The links between retinopathy and coronary heart disease are not clear, say the authors. Retinopathy may signal generalised microvascular disease and inflammation, leading to the artery hardening characteristic of ischaemic heart disease, they suggest.

Retinopathy predicts coronary heart disease mortality
Online First Heart 2008
doi: 10.1136/hrt.2008.146670
Click here to view article online

Heart

Heart (formerly British Heart Journal) is an international peer review journal that keeps cardiologists up to date with advances in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease. Topics covered include coronary disease, electrophysiology, valve disease, imaging techniques, congenital heart disease (fetal, paediatric and adult), heart failure, surgery, and basic science. Each issue contains an extensive continuing professional education section (Education in Heart) and JournalScan highlighting important papers from outside the cardiology literature.

British Heart Journal

Volunteers Are Part Of Global Problem Solving And Have The Thrill Of Experiencing and Contributing To Change on the Highest Level. With The Assistance of Volunteers Like You, Unite For Sight Has Restored Sight To 15,958 Patients and Provided Eye Care to 600,000

How Do I Apply? The application as well as complete details about Unite For Sight’s international opportunities are available at http://www.uniteforsight.org/volunteer-abroad

Who Is Eligible To Volunteer Abroad?: Volunteers are 18 years and older, and there is no upper age limit. Volunteers range from undergraduate/college students to medical and optometry students, public health students and professionals, business students, filmmakers and photographers, nurses and nursing students, social workers, physician’s assistants, teachers and educators, opticians, optometrists and ophthalmologists.

Unite For Sight welcomes volunteers who may not have previous health or eye care experience. Volunteers receive all necessary training from Unite For Sight so that they are able to assist eye doctors with community eye outreach programs. Unite For Sight also welcomes volunteers to participate as photographers and filmmakers.

What Do Volunteers Do?:

- Hands-On Clinical Service: Assist eye doctors in rural villages, refugee camps, and slums in Ghana, India, and Honduras

- Community-Based Outreach Programs: Local eye doctors and Unite For Sight volunteers work together to provide eye care for patients living in extreme poverty

- Effective and Sustainable: Volunteers are immersed in effective, sustainable international health and development programs

-See Results: Volunteers immediately see the joy on patients’ faces when their sight is restored after years of blindness.

- Entrepreneurial Volunteering: Volunteers are encouraged to be proactive and entrepreneurial to develop their own projects and programs that dovetail with Unite For Sight’s outreach programs

What Do Volunteers Say?: Hundreds of volunteer narratives, volunteer diaries, as well as videos of alumni volunteers and partner eye doctors, are available on the Unite For Sight website: http://www.uniteforsight.org/volunteer-abroad

You may also be interested in the Unite For Sight 6th Annual Global Health Conference at Yale http://www.uniteforsight.org/conference Join 2,500 conference participants and more than 200 featured speakers for a weekend conference about global health, international development, social entrepreneurship, and public health. Keynote addresses by Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, Dr. Sonia Sachs, Dr. Susan Blumenthal, and Dr. Harold Varmus. Register today to secure the lowest rate.

Volunteer Abroad in all, Winter, Spring, or Summer: http://www.uniteforsight.org/volunteer-abroadGhana, Honduras, India

Unite For Sight

The American Optometric Association (AOA) reminds parents that good vision is critical for many classroom tasks - from reading books or seeing a blackboard to viewing a computer screen. Without healthy vision, students can face unnecessary challenges not only in the classroom, but also to their mental, physical, social and emotional well being.

A comprehensive eye examination for students is one of the most important “to-dos” as children head back to school, and yet it is often overlooked. Without an eye exam, many children will suffer from undetected vision problems, and some may even be misdiagnosed as having a learning disorder.

The AOA’s 2008 American Eye-Q® survey, which assesses public knowledge and understanding of a wide range of issues related to vision and eye health, showed that 87 percent of respondents were unaware that one in four children have a vision problem.

“Ten million school children in America have vision conditions that can negatively affect learning,” said Dr. Leonard Press, optometrist and the AOA’s Vision & Learning Specialist. “Many parents rely on vision screenings in school to check for eye problems, but that isn’t enough. Comprehensive eye exams are necessary to detect problems that a simple screening can miss, such as eye coordination, moderate amounts of farsightedness and astigmatism.”

According to the AOA, vision screenings are not diagnostic, and therefore, typically identify only a small portion of the vision problems in children. Below are essential elements an optometrist will check for during a comprehensive eye examination to help ensure learning is maximized through good vision.

-Visual acuity is measured at several distances so students can comfortably and efficiently read, work on the computer and see the chalkboard.

-Focusing or accommodation is an important skill that is tested. Eyes must be able to focus on a specific object, and to easily shift focus from one object to another. This allows the child to move visual attention from a book to the chalkboard and back.

-Visual alignment and ocular motility are evaluated. Ideally, the muscles that aim each eye converge so that both eyes are aimed at the same object, refining depth perception.

-Binocular fusion (eye teaming) skills are assessed. These skills are critical to coordinate and align the eyes precisely so the brain can fuse the pictures it receives from each eye into a single image.

-Eye tracking skills are tested to determine whether the child can track across a page accurately and efficiently while reading, and can copy material quickly and easily from the chalkboard or another piece of paper.

-Testing preschoolers’ color vision is important because a large part of the early educational process involves the use of color identification.

-Eye-hand-body coordination, critical for handwriting, throwing a ball or playing an instrument, and visual perception, used to interpret and understand visual information like form, size, orientation, texture and color perception, are important visual functions that are reviewed.

-Overall eye or ocular health is determined by examining the structures of the eye.

If these vision skills are lacking or the eyes are not functioning properly, it can lead to headaches, fatigue and other eyestrain problems. Parents should be aware of symptoms that may indicate that a child has a vision or visual processing problem. Be sure to tell an optometrist if a child frequently:

-Loses his or her place while reading;
-Avoids close work;
-Holds reading material closer than normal;
-Tends to rub his or her eyes;
-Has headaches;
-Turns or tilts head to use one eye only;
-Makes frequent reversals when reading or writing;
-Uses finger to maintain place when reading;
-Omits or confuses small words when reading;
-Consistently performs below potential.

Studies indicate that 60 percent of children identified as “problem learners” actually suffer from undetected vision problems. According to the AOA’s American Eye-Q® survey, only 39 percent of adults understand that behavioral problems can be an indication of vision problems.

Early detection and treatment provide the very best opportunity to treat and correct vision problems to help children see clearly. The AOA recommends that a child’s first eye exam take place at six months of age. Unless problems are detected, the next exam should be at age three, and then every two years once a child begins school. Unfortunately, the Eye-Q® survey showed that 57 percent of children did not receive their first eye exam until age five or older.

“Good vision doesn’t just happen,” Dr. Press said. “A child’s brain learns how to use eyes to see, just like it learns how to use legs to walk or a mouth to form words. The longer a vision problem goes undiagnosed and untreated, the more a child’s brain has to overcompensate to live with the vision problem, instead of developing and learning normally.”

For additional information regarding children’s vision, please visit http://www.aoa.org

About the survey

The third annual American Eye-Q® survey was created and commissioned in conjunction with Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates (PSB). From May 17-19, 2008, using an online methodology, PSB interviewed 1,001 Americans 18 years and older who embodied a nationally representative sample of U.S. general population. (Margin of error at 95% confidence level.)

About the American Optometric Association (AOA)

The American Optometric Association represents approximately 36,000 doctors of optometry, optometry students and paraoptometric assistants and technicians. Optometrists serve patients in nearly 6,500 communities across the country, and in 3,500 of those communities are the only eye doctors. Doctors of optometry provide two-thirds of all primary eye care in the United States.

American Optometric Association doctors of optometry are highly qualified, trained doctors on the frontline of eye and vision care who examine, diagnose, treat and manage diseases and disorders of the eye. In addition to providing eye and vision care, optometrists play a major role in a patient’s overall health and well-being by detecting systemic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension.

Prior to optometry school, optometrists typically complete four years of undergraduate study, culminating in a bachelor’s degree. Required undergraduate coursework for pre-optometry students is extensive and covers a wide variety of advanced health, science and mathematics. Optometry school consists of four years of post-graduate, doctoral study concentrating on both the eye and systemic health. In addition to their formal training, doctors of optometry must undergo annual continuing education to stay current on the latest

American Optometric Association

Until now, people could expect to need reading glasses or bifocals during or after middle age due to an aging process called presbyopia. But today, according to results from a Midwest eye surgical team led by Robert L. Epstein, MD and just published in the Journal of Refractive Surgery, a process called presbyLASIK completely eliminated the need for all glasses for 92% of middle aged patients, and the effect was proven to last beyond two years.

Patients treated by the McHenry, Illinois-based Mercy Center for Corrective Eye Surgery averaged 53 years old and all were initially in bifocals and reading glasses. According to Epstein, presbyLASIK applies not only to people with otherwise normal eyes who wear reading glasses or bifocals, but also to people who had cataract surgery in the past and then wish to be out of glasses.

For more information, please contact Mercy Center for Corrective Eye Surgery at 1-800-I-CAN-SEE (1-800-422-6733) or visit http://www.icansee.com.

Mercy Center for Corrective Eye Surgery

Lux Biosciences announced the presentation of preclinical data demonstrating the safety and pharmacokinetics of LX214 as a potential once-daily topical treatment for chronic inflammatory diseases of the eye. LX214 is a clear, micellar, topical formulation of voclosporin, a next-generation calcineurin inhibitor licensed by Lux Biosciences from Isotechnika, Inc. (Edmonton, AB, Canada), which Lux Biosciences is developing as a potential treatment for such conditions as dry eye syndrome, blepharitis, and atopic keratoconjunctivitis.

Lux Biosciences researchers and collaborators presented the data in a poster session at the ARVO Summer Eye Research Conference, “Ocular Immunity and Inflammation” held from July 31 — August 2 at the Portola Plaza Hotel in Monterey, CA. Highlights of the data included:

-Concentrations of LX214 (and/or residue) establish therapeutic levels in tear fluid and most ocular tissues, including conjunctiva, cornea, eyelids, sclera and lacrimal gland after single or multiple topical applications of the experimental drug. Blood levels of LX214 remained at or near base line, and there was minimal distribution of LX214 to the opposite, non-treated eye.

-Tissue concentrations of LX214 in the target tissues for ocular immune-mediated diseases were significantly higher than the tissue concentrations of cyclosporine A achieved by twice daily topical application of Restasis® (cyclosporine 0.05%). These results are particularly important given that voclosporin has been shown to be four-fold more potent than cyclosporine A.

-No evidence of clinical irritation was observed in any of the animals treated with LX214.

-No evidence of melanin binding by LX214 was observed. “These data strongly support the further development of LX214 as a topical product for serious ocular inflammatory conditions as well as for dry eye syndrome,” said Ulrich Grau, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Lux Biosciences. “We believe that the product has best-in-class potential based on the preclinical findings.”

About Lux Biosciences

Lux Biosciences, Inc. is a privately held biotechnology company focused on ophthalmic diseases. The company has a staged product portfolio of potentially first-in-class therapies distinguished by their short-term path to commercialization and potential to generate high revenue growth. The portfolio includes:

-Two Phase 3 clinical-stage projects including: i) LUVENIQ™, the oral formulation of a next-generation calcineurin inhibitor (voclosporin) developed as steroid-sparing therapy for the treatment of non-infectious uveitis, and ii) LX201, a silicone matrix ocular (episcleral) implant that steadily releases therapeutic doses of cyclosporine A locally to the eye for the prevention of rejection in cornea transplant recipients. Both the LUMINATE pivotal clinical program for LUVENIQ for the treatment of uveitis, as well as the LUCIDA (Lux Corneal Transplant Implant Development and Advancement of Therapy) pivotal clinical program with LX201 for the prevention of corneal transplant rejection were initiated in early 2007 and include sites in North America, Europe and India. Enrollment in the LUMINATE program was completed in June 2008.

-LX214, a novel topical eye drop formulation currently in IND-enabling studies with a target date for entry into the clinic in 2008. LX214 is based on Lux’ proprietary next-generation calcineurin inhibitor and is targeted towards other chronic inflammatory diseases of the eye, most notably dry eye syndrome, blepharitis and atopic keratoconjunctivitis.

-Several earlier stage projects based on proprietary product-enabling bio-erodible polymer technologies that facilitate targeted and sustained delivery of molecules to the eye.

For more information on Lux Biosciences, please visit the company’s website at http://www.luxbio.com.

Lux Biosciences

View drug information on Restasis.

AMD erodes and can eventually destroy the central vision needed for reading, driving, and other daily tasks. When AMD risk levels among racial and ethnic groups are compared, Caucasians are usually identified as at highest risk. Asians in particular have been assumed to have lower risk.

Recently Ryo Kawasaki, MD, and colleagues compared the prevalence of early and late AMD in approximately 4,000 residents of Funagata, Japan, to the rate in white participants in the Australian Blue Mountains Eye Study (BMES); diagnostic definitions were identical in the two studies and age standardization enhanced data comparability. Importantly, the Funagata study is the first in a Japanese population to confirm a link between smoking and AMD prevalence.

The overall AMD prevalence rate in right eyes was 4.1 percent for the Funagata study, very close to the BMES rate of 4.4.percent. Prevalence of late AMD in men was also comparable for the two groups, 1.1 percent for Funagata participants and 1.2 percent for BMES, but was markedly different for the two groups of women: 0.3 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively.

The authors note that these findings need to be confirmed by larger studies in Asian populations. Two earlier studies also found a higher prevalence of late AMD in Asian men, in contrast with most studies in Caucasians where rates are higher for women. The authors think a key reason may be that 36.8 percent of the Funagata men smoked, but only 2.8 percent of the women. In the BMES study, 14.4 percent of women were smokers. While many Asian men smoke, the habit is less socially acceptable for women.

“As smoking is a well-recognized, modifiable AMD risk factor, smoking cessation is an important public health measure to reduce AMD, particularly among Japanese men,” Dr. Kawasaki says.

“Prevalence and Risk Factors for Age-Related Macular Degeneration in an Adult Japanese Population The Funagata Study”
Ryo Kawasaki MD, MPH , Jie Jin Wang MMed, PhD, Gui-jin Ji PhD, Bronwen Taylor BTech(Optoelectronics) Hons, Toshihide Oizumi MD, PhD, Makoto Daimon MD, PhD, Takeo Kato MD, PhD, Sumio Kawata MD, PhD, Takamasa Kayama MD, PhD, Yasuo Tano MD, PhD, Paul Mitchell MD, PhD, Hidetoshi Yamashita MD, PhD and Tien Yin Wong MPH, PhD
Ophthalmology Volume 115, Issue 8, August 2008, Pages 1376-1381.e2
doi:10.1016/j.ophtha.2007.11.015
Click here to view abstract online

Ophthalmology, the official journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, publishes original, peer-reviewed reports of research in ophthalmology, including basic science investigations and clinical studies. Topics include new diagnostic and surgical techniques, treatment methods, instrument updates, the latest drug findings, results of clinical trials, and research findings. Ophthalmology also publishes major reviews of specific topics by acknowledged authorities.

About the American Academy of Ophthalmology

The American Academy of Ophthalmology is the world’s largest association of eye physicians and surgeons - Eye M.D.s - with more than 27,000 members worldwide. Eye health care is provided by the three “O’s” - opticians, optometrists and ophthalmologists. It is the ophthalmologist, or Eye M.D., who can treat it all: eye diseases and injuries, and perform eye surgery. To find an Eye M.D. in your area, visit the Academy’s Web site at www.aao.org.