• Remura (Ista Pharmaceuticals, Irvine, Calif.) Remura is lowdose bromfenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug; it’s currently available in Xibrom ophthalmic solution as a treatment for postoperative inflammation following cataract surgery. (Twice-daily Xibrom will be replaced by the newly approved oncea- day bromfenac product Bromday during the next few months.) Phase III trials of low-dose bromfenac as a treatment for dry eye are under way as of September 2010. Ista plans to conduct four randomized, doublemasked, placebo-controlled studies under a special protocol assessment agreed upon with the Food and Drug Administration; the studies will involve more than 30 sites in the United States. Two concentrations of bromfenac will be tested (both lower than Xibrom’s 0.09% concentration). To meet FDA guidance on drugs for chronic dosing, the company expects to conduct both a six-month and a 12-month safety study. According to the Ista website, the company hopes to report efficacy results by mid-2011.

Latest on Dry Eye

I have always been interested in the treatment of dry eye. Over the years I have tried pretty much everything that has come along. I have tried artificial tears, steroids, Restasis, Azasite, Lacriserts. Lately I have been using some non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications topically.

Actually getting excellent results. Hope to continue to help patients feel better with this really common condition.

Review of Ophthalmology > Targeting AMD with a Critical Carotenoid

Review of Ophthalmology > Targeting AMD with a Critical Carotenoid

'Nutritional Boot Camp' more than weightloss program

'Nutritional Boot Camp' more than weightloss program

Bifocals modestly effective in slowing myopic progression.

January 11, 2010 — Bifocal lenses can moderately slow myopic progression in children with high rates of myopic progression after 24 months, according to new research published in the January issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology.

"Myopia is a common refractive problem, particularly in East Asia, where reported prevalence values in children can be as high as 50% to 60% by the age of 12 years. Prevalence of myopia is also high among Asian children living in Western countries," write Desmond Cheng, OD, MSc, PhD, formerly from Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia, and currently from Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, and colleagues.

"A number of well-designed prospective studies have investigated the effect of positive lenses, in bifocal or multifocal form, on myopic progression in children. However, bifocals and multifocals have proven to be relatively ineffective myopia-control treatments in children," the authors write.

Myopic progression rate appears to be an important factor in determining the effectiveness of multifocal lens treatment, the authors point out.

The aim of this study was to determine whether bifocal and prismatic bifocal spectacles could control myopia in children with high rates of myopic progression, defined as 0.5 diopters or more in the preceding year.

The study randomly assigned 135 Chinese Canadian children (73 girls and 62 boys) with myopia of at least 1.00 diopter to receive single-vision lenses (n = 41), +1.50-diopter executive bifocals (n = 48), or +1.50-diopter executive bifocals with a 3-prism diopter base-in prism in the near segment of each lens (n = 46).

The authors explain that their randomization was done by putting subjects' file numbers on slips of paper and drawing them from a container at random. In addition, subjects and the investigator were aware of the treatment assignments, as blinding was difficult to achieve because the lens treatments were visually very different.

The mean age of the children was 10.3 years (standard error [SE], 0.15 years), and their mean visual acuity was −3.08 diopter (SE, 0.10 diopter).

Myopic progression was measured by an automated refractor under cycloplegia, and increase in axial length was measured by A-scan ultrasonography at 6-month intervals for 24 months.

Of the original 135 children, 131 (97%) completed the trial at 24 months.

The results showed that myopic progression averaged −1.55 diopter (SE, 0.12 diopter) for children who wore single-vision lenses, −0.96 diopter (SE, 0.09 diopter) for those who wore bifocals, and −0.70 diopter (SE, 0.10 diopter) for those who wore prismatic bifocals.

Significant Effect of Lens Design

There was a significant effect of lens design on the degree of myopic progression (P < .001), the authors report. Compared with the single-vision lens group, the magnitude of mean myopic progression was −0.59 diopter (P < .001) in the bifocal lens group and −0.85 diopter (P < .001) less in the prismatic bifocal lens group.

The study also found that axial length increased an average of 0.62 mm (SE, 0.04 mm), 0.41 mm (SE, 0.04 mm), and 0.41 mm (SE, 0.05 mm) in the single-vision lens, bifocal lens, and prismatic bifocal lens groups, respectively.

The treatment effect of bifocals (0.59 diopter) and prismatic bifocals (0.85 diopter) was significant, with a P value less than .001, and both bifocal groups had less axial elongation than the single-vision lens group (0.21 mm; P < .001), the authors report.

The findings of this study could be generalized to children with rapidly progressing myopia, irrespective of ethnicity, although this clearly needs to be tested, the authors state.

Limitations of the study include the use of an atypical randomization scheme to assign subjects to treatment groups and potential bias because the investigator was not masked.

The authors concede that the treatment effect of bifocal and prismatic bifocal lenses of 38% and 55%, respectively, that they found in their study — although greater than those in other studies — is still modest.

"Whether or not the effect tapers off will decide clinical significance," they write. "If the treatment effects continued over time, then the treatment could have a significant role in preventing the development of very high pathologic myopia."

For now, they conclude, bifocals should be offered to myopic children "with caution" in clinical practice.

Dr. Cheng has reported no relevant financial relationships.

Arch Ophthalmol. 2010;128:12-19.

Male Myopes HIgher Retinal Detachment Risk

TOP STORIES 1/13/2010Younger male myopes have higher retinal detachment risk 4 years after cataract surgeryAm J Ophthalmol. 2009;149(1):113-119.
Younger age, male gender and increased axial length were associated with an elevated risk of retinal detachment 4 years after cataract removal and IOL implantation, according to a study.
Myopic eyes are especially prone to various ocular pathologies and postoperative complications. The prevalence of myopia among young people has increased to about 10% to 25% in Western nations and 60% to 80% in Eastern nations, the study authors said.
"Inasmuch as the World Health Organization reports myopia as the leading cause of visual impairment, myopia-related complications remain an important concern for ophthalmologists," they said. "Myopia is a proven significant risk factor for [retinal detachment] after cataract extraction."
The prospective cohort study included 9,388 patients who underwent extracapsular cataract extraction with phacoemulsification and IOL implantation in Taiwan between August 1999 and December 2001. Mean patient age was 65.96 years. Mean follow-up was 79.21 months.
Axial length was less than 23 mm in 4,445 eyes (47.34%), 23 mm to 26 mm in 4,394 eyes (46.8%), and 26 mm or more in 549 eyes (5.85%).
Study data showed an overall cumulative 8-year retinal detachment rate of 2.31%. The mean length of time between cataract removal and retinal detachment diagnosis was 40.6 months. Male gender, age younger than 50 years, history of retinal detachment in the contralateral eye and phacoemulsification correlated with retinal detachment risk; the associations were statistically significant (P = .01, P = .002, P = .005 and P = .013, respectively).
In addition, eyes with axial length of more than 26 mm had a significantly higher risk of pseudophakic retinal detachment than eyes with axial length of 23 mm to 26 mm (P = .0003). A late increase in the risk of retinal detachment was highest among male patients with high myopia.
"Although we did not have data about the characteristics of [retinal detachment] in our study, we speculate that anomalous posterior vitreous detachment developed years after cataract extraction and caused the late wave of increased risk for pseudophakic [retinal detachment] in our results," the authors wrote. "However, this speculation could not explain the lack of late increase in females."
Patient education and prophylactic treatment are critical for managing risk factors, they said.

Resveratrol may assist those with Macular Degeneration

Photos: For The First Time Researchers Show Reversal Of Earliest Sign Of Retinal Aging, Using A Resveratrol-Based Nutriceutical Matrix (Longevinex®)

The Office of Stuart Richer OD, PhD

11 / 30 / 2009

NORTH CHICAGO, Ill., Nov. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Using a high-output camera to film the back of the human eye, for the first time researchers have shown that a resveratrol-based (rez-vair-ah-trawl) nutriceutical matrix can effectively remove cellular debris from the human eye that accumulates with advancing age and correlated this with significant improvement in visual acuity and night vision in an 80-year old man. Resveratrol is widely known as a red wine molecule.

To view the Multimedia News Release, go to: http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/longevinex/41407/

The accumulation of cellular debris in the retina is believed to be the first detectable sign of retinal aging.

Dr. Stuart Richer OD, PhD, Chief, Optometry Section at the Veterans Medical Center in North Chicago, in a report entitled "Molecular Medicine in Opthalmic Care," published in the December 2009 issue of the journal Optometry, says this may be the first time an intervention has been documented to reverse aging changes in a human retina.

The patient, an 80-year old male, came to the eye clinic complaining of loss of night vision. Commonly prescribed nutriceuticals, such as lutein, vitamin E and fish oil were employed with no positive result.

After 5 months on the dietary supplement regimen, five measurable parameters of vision improved to varying but significant degrees including night (contrast) vision, visual acuity, color and side vision. Upon testing, it was also found the patient also experienced improvement on a survey of mental tasks. The patient said, "My night vision and thinking have gotten much better."

The underlying cause

A broad body of evidence exists to assert the claim that the human eye and all other organs in the human body "rust and calcify" with advancing age. Dr. Richer prescribed a nutriceutical matrix (Longevinex® -pronounced long-jev-in-ex) designed to remove excess intra-cellular minerals by a process called chelation (key-lay-shun), particularly calcium, iron and copper, that build up in retinal tissues over time.

About lipofuscin

Dr. Richer explains that the retina of the eye begins to show signs of retinal aging, usually beginning in the third decade of life, with the progressive accumulation of lipofuscin, the medical term for cellular "garbage" that pollutes cells as they age. Researchers believe lipofuscin is not an innocent bystander -- that it generates free radicals, gene mutations and even cell death.

Molecular medicine

The use of natural iron-chelating polyphenolic molecules, such as resveratrol, quercetin and rice bran employed in this case, has been proposed as an intervention that addresses a wide range of age-related changes in the brain, eye and blood vessels. These molecules work by their mineral chelating (key-lay-ting) properties.

Older patients can't wait for a cure

Dr. Richer says this case may serve as an early example of the potential for molecular medicine to make an impact in eye care. "While only one case, these patients do not have time to wait for controlled long-term studies and 'best available evidence' needs to be employed, given there are no foreseeable side effects or undue cost."

While Dr. Richer says this is not a proven cure yet, he thinks modern medicine may soon be able to prevent the onset of aging changes in the retina decades before vision is lost. He says prevention is the best approach.

The future

If this paper foretells what is to come, young adults may soon be able to obtain a non-invasive retinal/lipofuscin assessment many decades prior to the development of aging changes in the retina and then later utilize oral mineral chelators to promote a healthy retina.

Furthermore, it becomes evident that by measuring lipofuscin deposits, that not only the biological age of the human eye can be assessed apart from its chronological (calendar) age, but that lipofuscin measurement may serve to help determine the biological age and the "speed of aging" of the entire body.

Lipofuscin accumulates in all tissues of the body with advancing age. System-wide, age-reversing effects could also be estimated in this non-invasive manner. With this discovery optometry offices may soon become anti-aging centers.

Dr. Richer has no financial interest in the product. Resveratrol Partners LLC, makers of patent-pending Longevinex®, provided the nutriceuticals for this patient. To learn more, visit www.eyedoctorricher.com.