Nicole Nader

WASHINGTON – The volume of LASIK procedures grew 26% from 2003 to 2004, according to an annual survey of practice preferences presented here at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A shift in research focus from disease treatment to disease prevention, now under way at the National Institutes of Health, is creating “much excitement for advancement in the field of vision research,” said Elias A. Zerhouni, MD, director of the NIH.

Advanced Medical Optics has won a lawsuit suit against Alcon for patent infringement of two patents for phacoemulsification equipment used during cataract surgery, according to a press release from AMO.

Refractive surgeons seeking to reduce the amount of astigmatism induced by surgery and improve their surgical outcomes can do so by employing mathematical formulas designed to determine the amount of astigmatism induced by surgery in a single patient or in multiple patients, said Jack T. Holladay, MD, MSEE, FACS.

WASHINGTON – A next-generation optical coherence tomography system currently in development has the potential to produce cross-sectional imaging of the eye employing as many as 60,000 A-scans per second, said Carmen A. Puliafito, MD, MBA, speaking here.

WASHINGTON – The volume of LASIK procedures grew 26% from 2003 to 2004, according to an annual survey of practice preferences presented here at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting.

Nina Mazzo (left) is introduced by Jaci M. Lindstrom, a member of the Ophthalmic Women Leaders’ executive committee.

The tsunami that devastated South Asia in December 2004 precipitated an international outpouring of support that helped alleviate the immediate need for food, clothing and first aid. However, the rehabilitation of affected areas will require long-term devotion and the concerted effort of many groups to help survivors reclaim their lives.

For clinicians and researchers to offer patients the best visual outcomes with today’s advanced refractive procedures, they must first attain a clear understanding of the mechanisms behind the optics of the eye.

The link between cardiovascular disease and eye disease grows stronger as researchers discover mutual risk factors. To date, the factors that have been found to increase the risk of both eye disease and cardiovascular disease include levels of C-reactive protein and homocysteine, and hypertension.