Santen Pharmaceuticals (Osaka, Japan) has filed an Investigational New Drug application in the U.S. for DE-122, an ophthalmic formulation of the anti-endoglin antibody TRC105 (Tracon, San Diego), for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration, the company announced.

RESEARCH BRIEFS

• The incidence of infectious keratitis decreased from 0.025% to 0.011% (P<.001) per procedure after LASIK and from 0.200% to 0.066% (P<.001) after surface ablation when moxifloxacin and tobramycin are used as postoperative treatment, according to Julio Ortega-Usobiaga, MD, and colleagues. They retrospectively reviewed a case series of 55,255 patients (108,014 eyes) who had LASIK and surface ablation in one center in Spain. Post-LASIK infectious keratitis was diagnosed in 10 eyes (9 patients) and post-surface ablation infectious keratitis in 11 eyes (10 patients). The onset of infection was early in 40% of cases after LASIK and in 36.4% after surface ablation. Cultures were positive in 2 cases after surface ablation. Immediate flap lifting and irrigation with antibiotics were performed in all eyes after LASIK. The final corrected distance visual acuity was 20/20 or better in 7 cases after LASIK (70%) and 7 cases after surface ablation (63.6%) and 20/40 or better in all cases after LASIK or surface ablation. The study is in press in the Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.
• Smartphone ophthalmoscopy (SO) produces fundus images approaching the quality and diagnostic utility of traditional fundus camera (FC) photographs, according to a new study. M.K. Adam and colleague conducted a prospective, cross-sectional study of 94 consecutive patients in an urban eye emergency department who underwent SO and FC fundus imaging via 1 of 3 study arms: medical student 1 (MS1), medical student 2 (MS2), and ophthalmology resident (OR). Two masked reviewers graded images of 188 eyes for overall quality. SO images were higher quality in the OR arm than in the MS1 and MS2 arms (P<.017). There were no differences in FC image quality between photographers. In the OR arm, SO images detected 74.3% of critical fundus findings, whereas FC images detected 77.1%. The study is published in Ophthalmic Surgery, Lasers & Imaging Retina.
• Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) for Air Force pilots with low to moderate myopia is safe and effective in the long term, according to C.H. Moon, who evaluated 38 eyes of 20 subjects that underwent PRK preoperatively and at 3, 6, 12, 24, and 48 months postoperatively. The mean patient age was 21.42±0.75 years. The mean preoperative manifest refraction spherical equivalent (SE) was -1.51±1.15 diopters (D). At 4 years postoperatively, the mean SE was -0.29±0.51; 89.5% of eyes achieved 20/20 or better Snellen uncorrected visual acuity; 71.1% of eyes were within ±0.50 D of emmetropia. The refraction stabilized by 6 months and was maintained up to the 4-year follow-up stage. The study is published online ahead of print in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.
• Of 0.3% gatifloxacin ophthalmic gel, 0.3% gatifloxacin ophthalmic solution, and 0.5% levofloxacin ophthalmic solution, 0.3% gatifloxacin ophthalmic gel application produced the highest aqueous humor drug concentration, maintained the longest time, and had the best penetration and bioavailability, according to W. Ding and colleagues. They randomized 150 eyes in 150 cases into 1 of 3 groups (each evaluating one of the study solutions). Each group was administered 1 drop of gel or solution every 15 minutes for 4 doses. Aqueous samples were collected at different time points after the last drop. High pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) was applied to determine the concentrations. Overall, the concentration of the gatifloxacin gel group was higher than that of the gatifloxacin solution group at all time points (P<0.05); the gatifloxacin gel group exhibited higher levels than the levofloxacin solution group at 120 min and 180 min (P<0.05). Furthermore, the gatifloxacin gel produced the highest concentration at 120 min, and the gatifloxacin and levofloxacin solutions reached their peak values at 60 min. The study is published in the International Journal of Medical Sciences.

NEW PRODUCT BRIEFS

• Novartis Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) launched the first app for visually impaired people for use with smart watches, the company announced. New features on the company's ViaOpta app allow for "discreet, hands-free" use with wearable devices. ViaOpta Nav is "the first turn-by-turn navigation app available for a wearable device designed specifically for visually impaired people, providing voice guidance and vibration settings, which alert the user to upcoming intersections and landmarks," Novartis said.