Vistakon has launched 1-Day Acuvue TruEye daily disposable contacts, made of narafilcon B, a silicone hydrogel material just approved by the FDA.
Silicone hydrogel contact lenses are known for their ability to allow oxygen to reach the eye; this, combined Read more…
“Any contact lens you want. Anywhere in the world.”
This is the promise that CooperVision and Armed Forces Eyewear are making to members of the U.S. military on a new web page at coopervision.com/armedforces. (Armed Forces Eyewear is a service mark of Frames Direct, an online eyewear retailer.)
The site contains patient information about CooperVision’s portfolio of contact lenses, as well as rebate and free trial offers. Read more…
Silicone hydrogel contact lenses, even more than conventional soft contacts, require a rubbing step when cleaning and disinfecting the lenses with “no-rub” contact lens solutions, says a prominent contact lens specialist.
Michael A. Ward, MMSc, FAAO, instructor in ophthalmology at Emory University School of Medicine (Atlanta, Ga.) and director of Emory Eye Center‘s Contact Lens Service, says adding the manual cleaning step maximizes comfort, improves vision and reduces the risk of contact lens-related eye infections.
Researchers are finding that one-step (“no-rub”) contact lens solutions often do not completely remove environmental debris, skin oils and make-up from the surface of contact lenses. These lens deposits can cause eye discomfort and vision problems, and may also decrease the effectiveness of lens disinfectants and lead to serious problems, including bacterial and fungal eye infections and Acanthamoeba keratitis.
Silicone hydrogel lenses, which allow more oxygen to reach the cornea than regular soft contacts, are as likely as regular soft lenses to accumulate lens deposits if they are not properly cleaned and disinfected after each wearing period.
If patients at Emory Contact Lens Service are not compliant with a rub-and-rinse lens care regimen and lens deposits are noted, switching to a hydrogen peroxide-based lens care system often solves the problem, Ward told online newsletter Contact Lenses Today (Oct 22).
Another option for people who are prone to contact lens deposits or fail to care for their lenses properly is to switch to daily disposable contacts, which are designed to be discarded after a single use.
In a new survey, more than half of parents with children ages 8 to 17 who currently need vision correction say their child is interested in wearing contact lenses.
But nearly one-third of those parents have never considered contacts for their child, and another 27 percent haven’t considered it seriously.
The results are somewhat surprising, given other findings of the survey: Parents of kids who currently wear prescription eyeglasses say their child doesn’t like wearing glasses (42 percent), doesn’t always wear them when he should (41 percent) and sometimes feels self-conscious wearing them (40 percent).
The two main reasons parents gave for not being more proactive about contact lens wear for their children: a belief that eyeglasses are easier to clean and care for than contacts (77 percent) and concern about their child’s ability to take proper care of contact lenses (54 percent).
Recent studies, however, demonstrate that most children are capable of caring for soft and silicone hydrogel contact lenses, and wearing contacts may improve a child’s self-perception, especially among girls.
The survey was conducted on behalf of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., the manufacturer of Acuvue brand contact lenses. A full report of the survey can be found on the company’s website.
Soon there may be a novel way to reduce the risk of contact lens-related eye infections: antibacterial contact lenses.
Researchers in Australia have discovered that incorporating melimine, a cationic peptide, into the the lens material of silicone hydrogel contact lenses reduced the incidence of contact lens induced acute red eye (CLARE) and contact lens induced peripheral corneal ulcers (CLPU) in rabbit and guinea pig eyes fit with contact lenses and exposed to common infection-causing bacteria.
Peptides are naturally occurring organic molecule formed by the linking of two to 50 amino acids. (Larger sequences of amino acids are called proteins.)
Cationic peptides range in size from 12 to 50 amino acids and have a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity, including protection from bacteria, viruses and fungi. “Cationic” refers to the positive charge of the molecules, which enables them to interact with and affect negatively charged bacterial membranes.
The researchers concluded that incorporating the cationic peptide melimine into contact lenses may prevent the growth of bacteria on contacts and reduce the incidence and severity of contact lens-related eye infections.
Additional studies are needed to confirm the effectiveness of this approach and the feasibility of commercially developing such lenses.
Source: In vivo performance of melimine as an antimicrobial coating for contact lenses in models of CLARE and CLPU. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science. (Published online ahead of print August 26, 2009.)
At least 60 percent of contact lenses prescribed in the United States are silicone hydrogel contacts or daily disposable contacts, according to a recent study conducted by the Centre for Contact Lens Research (Ontario, Canada).
The researchers surveyed 158 eye doctors regarding the types of contact lenses they prescribed for a total of 1,654 patients. The survey was part of a larger study designed to assess patient and eye care practitioner compliance with recommended replacement frequency of contact lenses.
The study found:
Also, 12 percent of patients reported wearing their lenses overnight as extended wear contacts. Even among patients wearing daily disposable lenses, 19 percent reported wearing their contacts overnight occasionally, frequently or almost every night.
Source: What contact lens materials are patients wearing? Contact Lens Spectrum. August 2009.
Rinsing silicone hydrogel contact lenses with an approved contact lens solution after removing them from the eye removes more than half the protein that accumulates on the lenses, according to a new study.
Researchers at The Ohio State University College of Optometry found that rinsing silicone hydrogel contacts thoroughly as part of a “no rub” lens care system removes protein deposits from the lenses significantly better than foregoing the rinse step.
Subjects participating in the study were fit with silicone hydrogel lenses manufactured by CIBA Vision and then wore the lenses on a daily wear basis for five days. They were instructed to use Aquify Multi-Purpose Disinfecting Solution (CIBA Vision) after each day of wear, following the manufacturer’s “no rub” care instructions.
The study participants then returned to the clinic and their lenses were removed by a gloved examiner. One lens was rinsed with the contact lens care solution and the other was not. Protein was then chemically removed from all lenses and quantified.
More than 50 percent more protein was chemically extracted from the lenses that did not undergo the rinse step after removal from the eye.
The results of the study suggest silicone hydrogel lenses have significantly less protein build-up if they are thoroughly rinsed with a multi-purpose contact lens care solution when removed from the eye. Including this rinse step as part of a “no rub” care system therefore may decrease the risk of contact lens discomfort and contact lens-related eye infections.
A full report of the study appears in the August 2009 issue of Optometry and Vision Science.
For the first time in 11 years, Acuvue has released a new brand of multifocal contact lenses for presbyopia, an age-related condition that typically develops at age 40 that causes blurred near vision.
Acuvue Oasys for Presbyopia provides “clear and comfortable vision correction at all distances,” reports manufacturer Vistakon. The contact lenses are designed with improved Stereo Precision Technology optics to provide a smooth prescriptive-power transition for balanced near and distance vision.
The lenses use a “new generation” silicone hydrogel material with Hydraclear Plus, a special wetting agent designed to keep the lenses moist and comfortable for all-day wear. Acuvue Oasys for Presbyopia also blocks more than 96 percent of UVA rays and 99 percent of UVB rays.
It is estimated that 90 million people in the United States will have or develop presbyopia by 2014, creating a high demand for options to deal with their failing near vision. Presbyopes can read more information and get a free trial certificate at www.acuvue.com/products-acuvue-oasys-for-presbyopia.htm. A professional exam from an eye doctor is required.
