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- Technology
This week in optometry: May 15-May 19
Catch up on what happened in optometry during the week of May 15-May 19.
Catch up with what Optometry Times®' shared this week:
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Optometry news
The May 2023 issue is here!
If you missed it, our May 2023 issue of Optometry Times is here! Catch up on our digital content, and keep an eye out for new content throughout the month!
Case report: Refractory pseudophakic cystoid macular edema during an exacerbation of scleroderma
Bria George, PharmD; Monique Barbour, MD
Pseudophakic cystoid macular edema (CME) is a known possible complication associated with cataract extraction surgery.1 Medical therapy for pseudophakic CME typically includes nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, steroids, carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, anti-VEGF agents, or surgical treatment such as laser photocoagulation.2 As newer agents, anti-VEGF injections such as bevacizumab (Avastin; Genentech) have displayed effectiveness and are well tolerated in patients with refractory pseudophakic CME, with significant improvement in best corrected visual acuity and decrease in macular thickness via optical coherence tomography (OCT) at 12 months.3
Although there has been improvement with the use of anti-VEGF injections for some patients, we sought a method for improvement in a patient with exacerbation of scleroderma (Figure 1). She continued to exhibit no relief in symptoms despite multiple bevacizumab injections. Scleroderma involves fibrosis of the skin and internal organs due to autoimmunity and vasculopathy.4 Fibroblast dysfunction and increased deposition of extracellular matrix, tissue hypoxia, and immune response are characteristic of scleroderma pathology. Scleroderma has been linked to ocular manifestations, including dry eye disease and inflammatory conditions such as uveitis, episcleritis, and peripheral ulcerative keratitis.5
Eye care space shows new developments in 2023 for diabetes care
A. Paul Chous, MA, OD, FAAO
The past year has brought several new developments to the diabetes care arena. These developments include monoclonal antibody therapy for delaying the onset of type 1 diabetes, impressive weight loss with both glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1) and dual GLP/glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) drugs, new first-line approval, tighter targets for control of blood pressure and dyslipidemia, and new pharmaceutical agents for diabetic retinopathy (DR) and diabetic macular edema (DME). Let’s take a whirlwind tour of some of these major advances and say a few words about the best treatment option for diabetes available: prevention.
Optometry Divas expands reach to 4 new cities
Optometry Times Staff Reports
Optometry Divas, the leading network of women in optometry in the United States, is excited to announce its expansion into four new cities: Boston, San Antonio, New York, and Los Angeles.
This expansion will allow the organization to further its mission empowering, connecting and promoting women optometrists nationwide.
Increase in toy-associated pediatric ocular injuries
Lynda Charters
Alexandre Dentel, MD, and colleagues from the Ophthalmology Department, Rothschild Foundation Hospital, Paris, conducted a retrospective study to determine the annual incidence and severity of ocular injuries related to toys in one emergency department in Paris. They reported “an increasing trend in the incidence of eye injuries associated with so-called ‘nonpowder’ guns among children.”1
Succeed with today’s multifocal contact lenses–for your patients’ sake
John Pack, OD
Many of my patients with presbyopia have enjoyed the freedom of wearing soft contact lenses since they were teenagers. Who’s going to tell them that it’s difficult to wear contact lenses past the age of 45 years? They expect to keep wearing contact lenses, and I’m here to help. I won’t deny the hurdles presented by aging eyes such as dryness and crystalline lens changes, but I’m also pleased to tell patients about the excellent multifocal contact lenses now available, many of which are new and exciting. Here’s how I help my patients spend more decades in the contact lenses they love.
Success with multifocal contact lenses largely depends on how good we are at fitting the lens, how well we match a lens to our patient’s priorities, and our ability to communicate well with the patient. These tips help ensure all goes smoothly.
New and emerging myopia management: Spectacles
Ashley Wallace-Tucker, OD, FAAO, FSLS, Dipl ABO
Likely, the most anticipated addition to our myopia management toolbox is a variety of US Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approved myopia control spectacles or for those of us in the US—just one option would phenomenal!
Although the notion of wearing spectacles for myopia control is not novel, the most traditional options—bifocals and rogressive addition lenses (PALS)—are only marginally effective. Thus, most studies concluded the minimal effect did not warrant use of them over single vision lenses.1-3 The one exception to this is the executive bifocal with base-in prism, which has been proven most effective in children with low lags of accommodation.3
