Also in the News…

Dry eye results. Sun Pharma’s approved dry eye treatment, CEQUA, has shown significant improvements in total corneal staining and visual acuity for phase IV participants in a 12-week study period. The results were presented by Brandon Ayres at this year’s American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) event. Link

Ciliatech advisory board. Ciliatech, a medtech company specializing in ophthalmology, has established a new key opinion leader (KOL) advisory board. The seven-member board will help bring the Intercil Uveal Spacer – the company’s new cilioscleral inter-positioning device (CID) for glaucoma – to market. Link

Female exec of the year. CooperVision’s Vice President of Marketing and Professional Affairs for the Americas, Michele Andrews, has been awarded a gold Stevie award and named Female Executive of the Year in the award’s Women in Business category. The Stevie awards were created in 2002 to honor the achievements and contributions of women in business worldwide. Link

Air pollution and cataract surgery links. Researchers investigating the relationship between air pollution and cataract incidence have indicated that long-term nitrogen dioxide exposure can lead to an almost 50 percent increase in the risk of an individual developing cataracts. The study, published in Acta Ophthalmologica and conducted by a team based at the Universitaire de Bordeaux, France, and the University of Basel, Switzerland, suggests that countries who comply with currency European air pollution standards could help reduce cataract surgery costs, while improving their population’s overall quality of life. Link

Retinoblastoma disparities. Despite an overall decline in cases of enucleation across the country, a study conducted by Stanford University School of Medicine and the University of California has found that retinoblastoma enucleations are still prevalent among the Hispanic and rural populations of the US. The authors say their findings highlight unequal access to care (and to globe-sparing treatments like local tumor destruction and chemotherapy) in the population; they call for further studies to investigate the disparity. Link

Opthea wet AMD program. Gregg T. Kokame will present data from a predefined subgroup of the sozinibercept phase IIb wet AMD trial related to patients with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) in a rapid fire session at this week’s Asia-Pacific Vitreo-Retina Society Congress (APVRS, November 22-24) in Singapore. Link

Neuroprotective effects of growth hormone. A new study has explored the neuroprotective potential of growth hormone (GH) in preserving retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and optic nerve integrity after optic nerve crush (ONC) in male rats. The results – highlighted by the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and the Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Mexico – demonstrate that GH administration can reduce RGC death, limit gliosis, improve axonal transport, and maintain retinal function, possibly by regulating antiapoptotic proteins, neurotrophic factors, and glial activity. The findings suggest that GH has potential as a therapeutic approach for retinal neurodegenerative diseases. Link