Alcon buys WaveTec Vision

Alcon (Fort Worth, Texas) has purchased WaveTec Vision, manufacturers of the ORA intraoperative aberrometry system, Alcon announced.

The ORA "complements Alcon's Verion image-guided preoperative diagnostic system," the company said, and allows surgeons to see incisions and IOL alignment in real time to support optimal positioning of IOLs during cataract surgery. Financial details were not released.

NovaBay reports disappointing results for
viral conjunctivitis drug

NVC-422 (NovaBay, Emeryville, Calif.) did not meet the primary or secondary endpoints in a phase 2 clinical study in patients with adenoviral conjunctivitis, the company said.

The trial was a global, multicentered, randomized study that enrolled patients with adenoviral conjunctivitis in the United States, India, Sri Lanka, and Brazil. The endpoints measured clearing of bulbar conjunctival injection (red eye), eradication of adenovirus from the tear film, spread of infection to the fellow eye, reduction in subepithelial infiltrates, and clearing of blurred vision compared to its vehicle at test-of-cure visit (day 18). No significant adverse events were reported in the trial.

After reviewing the study results, NovaBay has decided not to continue development of NVC-422 for this indication. 

New research led by the University of Southern California (USC) Eye Institute, Los Angeles, has found Native American ancestry is a significant risk factor for vision-threatening diabetic retinopathy (DR) among Latinos with type 2 diabetes, the university stated in a news release.

The team examined data from 944 Latinos with type 2 diabetes from the Los Angeles Latino Eye Study (LALES), the largest population-based study of eye disease in that ethnic group.

Ninety-five percent of them were of Mexican origin. Of the 944 people with type 2 diabetes, 135 had vision-threatening diabetic retinopathy while 809 did not.

DNA test for congenital cataracts leads to faster diagnosis

Researchers in the U.K. have demonstrated that advanced DNA testing for congenital cataracts can "quickly and accurately diagnose a number of rare diseases marked by childhood blindness," according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO, San Francisco).

Employing new DNA sequencing technology, called targeted next-generation sequencing, researchers at the University of Manchester sped up diagnosis to a matter of weeks by testing for mutations in all 115 known congenital cataract genes at one time, the group reported in Ophthalmology.

Update: Allergan/Valeant

Allergan (Irvine, Calif.) will have to call a special shareholders' meeting by mid-November (rather than the mid-December date it originally chose) where Pershing Square and Valeant (Laval, Canada) are hoping to elicit enough shareholder support to oust the majority of Allergan's board to allow their hostile takeover bid to be accepted.

According to Allergan's board of directors, Valeant's offer is "grossly inadequate and substantially undervalues Allergan." 

RESEARCH BRIEFS

• Topical loteprednol etabonate and eyelid scrubs with warm compresses were tolerated and efficacious for the treatment of moderate and severe meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD), according to H. Lee and colleagues. Patients with moderate and severe MGD were randomized into two groups: topical loteprednol etabonate and eyelid scrubs with warm compresses (group I, 34 eyes) or eyelid scrubs with warm compresses (group II, 36 eyes). There were significant decreases in the levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, and IL-1β in group I, and IL-6 and IL-8 in group II. The observed decreases of these cytokines in group I were attributed to "a remarkable decrease between treatment and 1 month after treatment," they wrote. In group I, there were improvements in all of the clinical outcomes, with prominent improvement in tear break-up time, corneal and conjunctival fluorescein staining, and meibum quality after 1 month of treatment, compared with group II. An improvement in meibomian gland expressibility and MGD stage reduction were more remarkable in group I. The study is published online ahead of print in the American Journal of Ophthalmology.
• A group of Japanese researchers randomized 68 eyes (34 patients) scheduled for coaxial phacoemulsification into one of 2 groups: (a) eyes that were to undergo a 2.0-mm micro-incision cataract surgery (MICS), and (b) a 2.65-mm small-incision cataract surgery (SICS). At the conclusion of surgery, the IOP was adjusted to the range between 15-40 mmHg with stromal hydration. The IOP was measured using a rebound tonometer preoperatively, at the conclusion of surgery, and at 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 minutes postoperatively. K. Hayashi and colleagues found the mean IOP at the conclusion of surgery was 27.7±4.7 mmHg in the MICS group and 29.7±5.1 mmHg in the SICS group. In both groups, mean IOP decreased to the preoperative level within 9 minutes postoperatively and did not change significantly for up to 15 minutes. Mean IOP was similar between the MICS and SICS groups throughout the observation period. The study is published in the Japanese Journal of Ophthalmology.
• In almost 20 years of data on endogenous bacterial endophthalmitis, T.L. Jackson and colleagues report that for most patients, treatment should include a thorough systemic evaluation and prompt intravitreal and systemic antibiotics. In their systemic review in Survey of Ophthalmology of 342 cases of endogenous bacterial endophthalmitis reported between 1986 and 2012, predisposing conditions were present in 60%. The leading predisposing conditions were diabetes, intravenous drug use, and malignancy. The most common sources of infection were liver, lung, endocardium, urinary tract, and meninges. Systemic features such as fever were present in 74%, hypopyon in 35%, and an absent fundal view in 40%. Diagnostic delay occurred in 26%. Blood cultures were positive in 56%, and at least one intraocular sample was positive in 58% (comprising 26% anterior chamber samples, 59% vitreous taps, and 41% vitrectomy specimens). Worldwide, gram negative infections (55%) were more frequent than gram positive infections (45%), particularly in Asia. Over the last decade, 11% of eyes were treated with systemic antibiotics alone, 10% intravitreal antibiotics alone, 36% systemic plus intravitreal antibiotics, and 20% systemic plus intravitreal antibiotics plus pars plana vitrectomy. The most commonly used intravitreal antibiotics were vancomycin (for gram positive infection) and ceftazidime (gram negative). The median final visual acuity was 20/100, with 44% worse than 20/200. Among all cases, 24% required evisceration or enucleation, and mortality was 4%. Both intravitreal dexamethasone and vitrectomy were associated with a significantly greater chance of retaining 20/200 or better and significantly fewer eviscerations or enucleations. These two treatment modalities warrant further study, the study authors concluded.