Clinical News: MEDICAL AND PRODUCT UPDATES

TREATING PRESBYOPIA
Scleral expansion bands tested

A study presented at the Canadian Ophthalmological Society meeting in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, found that
9 out of 13 patients who had scleral expansion bands implanted to treat presbyopia were satisfied with the results.

Thirteen patients, ages 48 to 66 years, who required at least 1.5D of correction and had best-corrected vision of 20/20, had scleral expansion bands implanted in one eye; the other eye was used as a control. The mean increase in reading ability seen by the patients was three lines in the treated eye, and 1.5 lines in the control eye. (Other studies have shown that patients may gain as much as 3D of accommodation from this procedure.)

After 6 months of follow-up, none of the bands required removal, replacement or repositioning. Participants reported no changes in stereo acuity, color vision, topography or visual field.

CHOROIDAL CANCER
Different treatments show similar risk

Results from the Collaborative Ocular Melanoma Study (COMS) show that the two most widely used treatments for choroidal cancer -- radiation therapy and removal of the eye -- both result in a patient survival rate of 82% at 5 years. The study also found that neither treatment caused any detectable harm to the other eye.

Radiation therapy can cause some vision loss, and may not prevent the removal of the eye at a later time. However, knowing that the mortality risk is similar in either case may cause more patients who are faced with this choice to opt for radiation therapy.

The study was reported in the July issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.