Dr. Rose, a renowned expert on retinal research, comments on the latest news, provides useful information in easy-to-understand language and connects readers with valuable resources, including those provided by the Foundation.

Founded in 1971, FFB has raised more than $450 million for research intended to eradicate retinal degenerations, such as retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration, affecting more than 10 million Americans.

The article first discussed technology available from Retina Implant, AG, which recently got approval to extend the yearlong phase II human clinical trial of its retinal implant to additional European locations. It also struck a deal with Wills Eye Institute to undertake a clinical trial of its retinal implant technology in the United States.

The Retina Implant AG technology consists of a tiny microelectronic chip (0.1-millimeter thick), containing about 1,500 light-sensitive photodiodes, amplifiers and electrodes surgically inserted beneath the fovea (which contains the cone cells) in the retina’s macula region. The implanted chip helps generate at least partial vision by stimulating intact nerve cells in the retina. The nervous impulses from these cells are then led via the optic nerve to the visual cortex where they finally lead to impressions of sight.

Another technology discussed was the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System from Second Sight Medical Products, which is already approved for sale in Europe, and is currently undergoing FDA human clinical trials (expected to conclude in July 2014). Second Sight’s technology converts video images captured by a miniature camera—housed in a special pair of glasses worn by the patient—into a series of small electrical pulses transmitted wirelessly to an array of electrodes implanted on the retina’s surface. These pulses are intended to stimulate the retina’s remaining cells and create the perception of patterns of light in the brain.

Click here for the full article discussing these and other new technologies for treating retinitis pigmentosa.

The article assures readers that “[a]ll physicians placed on this list have undergone substantial review from our editorial staff. Physicians do not pay and cannot pay to be selected as a leader to know. The list is not an endorsement of any individual’s or organization’s clinical abilities.”

Here is a link to the article.

I am interested to hear readers’ comments. Are these sort of rankings helpful for our profession? For patients?

VisionCare announced last week that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) had granted transitional pass-through payment status and established a billing code for the Implantable Miniature Telescope under the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System. The new pass-through code, C1840, is effective October 1, 2011 and will enable outpatient facilities to obtain reimbursement for the telescope implant for covered procedures.

Eligible patients must have associated central vision blindness and either stopped responding to AMD medications, or have a form of the disease for which no treatment is available.

The telescope implantation is performed by a specially trained ophthalmic surgeon as an outpatient procedure as part of a comprehensive treatment program for end-stage AMD known as CentraSight, developed to help patients follow the necessary steps for proper diagnosis, surgical evaluation, and postoperative care.

Click here to read the full release.

While there’s no cure for infantile nystagmus, a surgical procedure designed to slow the “dancing” eye has shown promising results. On average, patients have experienced a 20 percent improvement in their central vision and about a 50 percent improvement in their peripheral vision. Until this procedure was developed in 1999, medical treatments for reducing abnormal eye movement had limited success.

Click here for details on participating in the broadcast tonight.

And in Tennessee, a VA Hospital injected four patients with repackaged, contaminated Avastin.

The FDA has issued an alert warning health care professionals that repackaged intravitreal injections of Avastin (bevacizumab) have caused a cluster of serious eye infections in the Miami, Florida area.

The risk of contaminated Avastin arises because while Avastin is approved for treating various forms of cancer, it is not approved for treating wet AMD. Yet, many ophthalmologists use it off-label to treat wet AMD because it costs so much less than Lucentis. The issue is that converting Avastin from a cancer drug to a wet AMD drug means repackaging it into much smaller doses. If that repackagaging process is not handled with proper aseptic techniques, product sterility can be compromised, which puts patients at risk for microbial infections.

For the complete story, follow this link.

The volunteers read from a script for five minutes under different conditions — facing directly at the imaginary patient, with or without a mask, or facing sideways mask-free. Then, they stood in silence for five minutes. The volunteers also lay down on the exam chair and read the script with a bacteria plate mounted to their own foreheads.

When the 15 volunteers talked while wearing a mask or stood in silence, hardly any bacteria grew on the plates. But when they didn’t wear a face mask, either while facing the patient or turned away, most plates sprouted bacteria colonies. And when “patients” talked themselves, about half of the plates grew bacteria.

The researchers concluded that wearing a face mask or remaining silent during an eye injection procedure significantly decreasesthe risk of infection. Accordingly, physicians performing intravitreous injections should consider eitherwearing a face mask or minimizing speech, and should encourage patients to minimize speech during the procedure.

Read the abstract. 

Read the full story.

Most smokers are unaware that blindness is even on this list.  So researchers set out to understand how well smokers understand the various disease risks, and what impact they have on the choice to quit.

After surveying 200 current smokers, researchers found that of the six diseases, smokers were least aware of the risk of blindness.  Yet, they named blindness as the second most compelling reason to quit smoking, after lung cancer.

This indicates that blindness should be emphasized as a risk factor in education and anti-smoking campaigns, to hopefully motivate more smokers to quit.

For an abstract of the article, click here.

Risa Schulman, PhD
Expert, Healthy Food and Dietary Supplement Science, Marketing and Regulatory
Tap~Root

According to the Prevent Blindness America organization, exposing the eyes to UV-rays can cause macular degeneration, cataract, pterygium (a growth that begins in the white of the eye and may affect the cornea), cancer of the eyelid, and corneal sunburn.

To protect your eyes from UV-rays, it is important to wear UV-blocking sunglasses whenever you’re outside. Here are some tips for buying a good pair of sunglasses:

• Buy from a reputable retailer: Their products will meet frame and lens quality criteria set by the American National Standards Institute.
• Look for UV protection: Sunglasses should filter UVA and UVB light.
• Try the sunglasses on: Fit and feel make a difference because sunglasses that are uncomfortable are less likely to be worn.
• Use multiple pairs: Different lenses and frames may be suited to various types of activities.
• Understand lens color: The darkness of a lens has nothing to do with UV protection, although various lens colors can offer other benefits. For instance, yellow- and brown-tinted lenses are best when used for water sports; gray, brown and amber are great for field sports; and mirror coatings work well for downhill skiing and snowboarding.
• Focus on design: For extra protection, wraparound glasses or glasses with larger temple pieces help block the sun from side angles.

Additional resources on protecting your eyes from the sun can be found on the Prevent Blindness America website: http://www.preventblindness.org/uv/.

Risa Schulman, PhD
Expert, Healthy Food and Dietary Supplement Science, Marketing and Regulatory
Tap~Root

Users can post questions through the “Ask LASIK Surgeons” button, which will be forwarded to the LASIK Editorial Advisors for review and comment. Answers will then be posted on a blog so that all users can benefit.

The site also provides a wealth of materials on the procedure and directory of LASIK surgeons.  Unlike other LASIK education websites, seewithlasik.com does not accept funding or advertising support from any source and therefore can remain unbiased in what it presents to the public.

To access the website, click here.

Risa Schulman, PhD
Expert, Healthy Food and Dietary Supplement Science, Marketing and Regulatory
Tap~Root