FDA Approves VisuMax Femtosecond Laser to Treat Myopia

Earlier this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the VisuMax Femtosecond Laser for the small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) procedure to reduce or eliminate nearsightedness in certain patients 22 years of age or older.

The VisuMax Femtosecond Laser removes a small amount of eye tissue to permanently reshape the cornea. A femtosecond (very fast, short-pulsed) laser makes cuts within the cornea, creating a disc-shaped piece of tissue that is removed by the surgeon through …

Surgeons Use PRECEYES Surgical System to Perform First Robot-Assisted Eye Surgery

In a landmark clinical trial, a team of surgeons at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital led by Dr. Robert MacLaren have performed the first robot-assisted operation inside the eye.

The surgeons used the PRECEYES Surgical System to initiate a membrane peel — a task requiring a high level of control and precision.

Dr. MacLaren hopes that this new system will enable “new operations that currently we can’t do with the human hand” such as gene therapy surgery (which …

Two New Studies Investigate Whether Corneal Cross-Linking Can Treat Myopia

Avedro announced two new studies at the XXXIV Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS) evaluating non-surgical photorefractive intrastromal corneal collagen cross-linking, or PiXL, to treat low myopia.

The two studies, one at Ruhr University Eye Hospital in Germany and the second at Eagle Eye Centre in Singapore found that PiXL was safe and effective in treating low myopia.

Dr. Lim Wee Kiak of Eagle Eye Centre in Singapore noted that “[c]urrent refractive procedures are invasive …

Can Exercise Reduce Vulnerability of Retinal Cells to Age-Related Loss and Injury?

When a patient has glaucoma the cells that die are called retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). While age has traditionally thought to be a nonmodifiable risk factor for glaucoma, in a new article in Aging Cell, researchers working with middle-aged mice found that exercise in the form of daily swimming robustly protected RGCs against age-related functional loss and signs of stress after an acute injury. The effect was so potent that exercised 12-month-old mice responded to injury …

Glaucoma App on Apple iTunes With Eye Drop Reminders and Other Features Appeals to Glaucoma Patients and Their Caregivers

The September 2016 issue of the Journal of Glaucoma reported the results of a survey evaluating the interest of glaucoma patients and their caregivers in a smartphone-based and tablet-based glaucoma application (App), developed by the Wills Eye Glaucoma Research Center in collaboration with Drexel University.

The Glaucoma App – presently available as a free download on Apple’s iTunes store – includes educational videos, eye drop and appointment reminders, medical and ocular data storage, visual field tutorial, and intraocular pressure tracker. …

Study Finds Icare HOME Device Offers Glaucoma Patients (Outside of US) Safe and Reliable Option for Self-Monitoring IOP at Home

While treatment decisions concerning glaucoma are based on in-office measurements of IOP, it is well-established that glaucoma patients can demonstrate a wide variability in IOP throughout a 24-hour period due to a variety of factors such as physical activity, nocturnal elevation, and body position (supine vs. erect). Accordingly, there is a need for safe and reliable options for 24-hour IOP monitoring, which will allow physicians to better understand the nature of their patient’s disease process and thus …

Should Patients Opt for Dropless Cataract Surgery?

With dropless cataract surgery, the eye surgeon injects a compounded drug consisting of FDA-approved antibiotics and steroids into the eye at the time of surgery to reduce or eliminate the need for postoperative eyedrops used to prevent infections and inflammation.

For a helpful overview of the pros and cons of dropless cataract surgery, please see this blog post (published in April 2016 by an optometrist monitoring a patient after dropless cataract surgery).

For a more detailed …

Use of Vancomycin During Cataract Surgery Poses Risk of Blindness from Hemorrhagic Occlusive Retinal Vasculitis

Reports at such annual meetings as the 34th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Society of Retina Specialists in San Francisco, California (August 9-14, 2016), and the International Conference and Expo on Cataract and Optometrists Meeting in Manchester, United Kingdom (August 4-5, 2016), have highlighted a new rare but dangerous complication of cataract surgery – hemorrhagic occlusive retinal vasculitis (HORV), which can lead to severe vision loss, including blindness. Although the precise cause of HORV …

FDA Approves Tecnis Symfony IOL for Cataract Surgery Patients

On July 15, 2016, the FDA announced that it had approved the Tecnis Symfony intraocular lens (IOL) – the first IOL to provide cataract patients with an extended depth-of-focus, which helps improve their sharpness of vision at near, intermediate and far distances. In cataract surgery, the clouded natural lens is removed and replaced with an IOL.

As the FDA explained, traditional monofocal IOLs have been limited to improving distance vision. The Tecnis Symfony IOL improves visual acuity …

Two New Studies Investigate Whether Corneal Cross-Linking Can Treat Myopia

Avedro announced two new studies at the XXXIV Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS) evaluating non-surgical photorefractive intrastromal corneal collagen cross-linking, or PiXL, to treat low myopia.

The two studies, one at Ruhr University Eye Hospital in Germany and the second at Eagle Eye Centre in Singapore found that PiXL was safe and effective in treating low myopia.

Dr. Lim Wee Kiak of Eagle Eye Centre in Singapore noted that “[c]urrent refractive procedures are invasive …

Can Corneal Cross-Linking Be Used To Treat Myopia?

Earlier this year, Avedro, Inc. received approvals from the FDA to use Photrexa Viscous and Photrexa riboflavin solutions with its KXL System for corneal collagen cross-linking for the treatment of progressive keratoconus, and corneal ectasia following refractive surgery.

On August 16, 2016, Avedro announced a new clinical trial together with Toulouse University Hospital in France to evaluate the safety and efficacy of corneal cross linking for the treatment of myopia.

Click here to read more.

FDA Approves Raindrop Near Vision Inlay to Treat Presbyopia

On June 29, 2016, the FDA approved the Raindrop Near Vision Inlay, a device implanted in the cornea of one eye to improve near vision in certain patients with presbyopia.

The safety and effectiveness of the Raindrop Near Vision Inlay were studied in a clinical trial of 373 subjects implanted with the device. Two years after implantation, 92 percent of patients included in the analysis (336 out of 364) were able to see with 20/40 vision or …

Can Exercise Reduce Vulnerability of Retinal Cells to Age-Related Loss and Injury?

When a patient has glaucoma the cells that die are called retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). While age has traditionally thought to be a nonmodifiable risk factor for glaucoma, in a new article in Aging Cell, researchers working with middle-aged mice found that exercise in the form of daily swimming robustly protected RGCs against age-related functional loss and signs of stress after an acute injury. The effect was so potent that exercised 12-month-old mice responded to injury …

Will “Bionic Eyes” Restore Vision to Patients Blinded by Retinal Disease?

A retinal prosthesis – or “bionic eye” in popular culture – is an electronic implant that bypasses damaged retina cells to send visual signals to the brain.

In May 2016, the Foundation Fighting Blindness published a short article providing an overview of retinal prosthesis technologies currently available, in clinical trial, or being researched to restore vision to patients blinded by retinal disease.

As per the article, the only retinal prosthesis currently available for implantation outside of clinical trials …

Does Treating Premature Infants With Steroids Increase Their Risk of Vision Problems?

In a study recently published in the Journal of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, researchers found that retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) (i.e., abnormal development of the retina that can lead to blindness) was more common in premature infants treated with steroids. Steroids are often administered to premature infants with low birth weights to foster lung development.

Researchers urged clinicians “to use their best judgment to balance the positive effects from steroids on developing lungs …

FDA Approves VisuMax Femtosecond Laser to Treat Myopia

Earlier this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the VisuMax Femtosecond Laser for the small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) procedure to reduce or eliminate nearsightedness in certain patients 22 years of age or older.

The VisuMax Femtosecond Laser removes a small amount of eye tissue to permanently reshape the cornea. A femtosecond (very fast, short-pulsed) laser makes cuts within the cornea, creating a disc-shaped piece of tissue that is removed by the surgeon through …

Two New Studies Investigate Whether Corneal Cross-Linking Can Treat Myopia

Avedro announced two new studies at the XXXIV Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS) evaluating non-surgical photorefractive intrastromal corneal collagen cross-linking, or PiXL, to treat low myopia.

The two studies, one at Ruhr University Eye Hospital in Germany and the second at Eagle Eye Centre in Singapore found that PiXL was safe and effective in treating low myopia.

Dr. Lim Wee Kiak of Eagle Eye Centre in Singapore noted that “[c]urrent refractive procedures are invasive …

Can Corneal Cross-Linking Be Used To Treat Myopia?

Earlier this year, Avedro, Inc. received approvals from the FDA to use Photrexa Viscous and Photrexa riboflavin solutions with its KXL System for corneal collagen cross-linking for the treatment of progressive keratoconus, and corneal ectasia following refractive surgery.

On August 16, 2016, Avedro announced a new clinical trial together with Toulouse University Hospital in France to evaluate the safety and efficacy of corneal cross linking for the treatment of myopia.

Click here to read more.

Regenerating the Retina

The following article is the published version of an article that first appeared on my blog in April 2014. It was accepted for publication by the UK-based journal, The Ophthalmologist.

(You may be asked to sign up to read the full version, but there is no charge, and once you are a subscriber, you will be able to access all of my articles published in that magazine.)

This article, published in the February 2015 issue of The …

Patient Advisory for Stem Cell Therapy and Medical Tourism

CIRM – California Institute for Regenerative Medicine

August 19, 2013

(This article was just posted on the CIRM (California Stem Cell Agency’s website) and is an important notice to all thinking about traveling to a foreign nation to undergo stem cell treatment. It should be read in its entirety before throwing out your money!)

As stakeholders in cellular therapy, the undersigned professional organizations believe it is necessary to share the following important message with patients and families contemplating …

Patient in ACTC Stem Cell Clinical Trial With Dry AMD Goes from Legally Blind (20/400) to Near Normal Vision (20/40)

As you may know, Advanced Cell Technology is currently running three stem cell clinical trials; two for treating Stargardt’s Disease, one in the U.S. and one in the UK; and one clinical trial in the U.S. for treating the dry form of AMD.

Due to a unique set of circumstances, it was disclosed that one of the …