FDA Approves 30-Night Continuous Wear Contact Lenses
The FDA approved Focus Night and Day soft contact lenses, made by CIBA Vision Corporation, for up to 30 nights of continuous wear. The lenses may be left in the eyes while the wearer is both awake and asleep. Currently contact lenses are approved for up to seven days extended. Click here for more info: http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/newpg.html

New Extended Wear Contact Lens Material Reduces Infection Risk

A new extended wear soft contact lens material called silicone hydrogel may lower the risk of infections associated with their use than the traditional extended-wear lens materials. The US Food and Drug Administration recently approved two contact lens manufacturers to market silicone hydrogel lenses for 30-day extended wear soft contact lenses.

``The new material makes for a safer contact lens compared to anything else out there,'' said lead investigator Dr. H. Dwight Cavanagh, of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, in an interview with Reuters Health.

Cavanagh noted that the new contact lenses should reduce risk of infection by about 10-fold. The risk should drop from 1 infection per 2,500 people who use daily-wear lenses and 1 in 500 for extended-wear lenses, to 1 in 25,000 and 1 in 5,000, respectively.

The success of the new material lies in its ability to let in about 6 to 7 times more oxygen than traditional contact lenses, Cavanagh explained.

FDA Publishes Paper :"Buying Contact Lenses on the Internet, by Phone or by Mail: Questions and Answers"
The US Food and Drug Administration document is available by clicking here: FDA Q & A

Lost vision may be restored with bionic eyes made from space-age materials
Damaged retinas may be replaced with space-age detectors. Surgeons will replace eye cells with thin film microdetectors. As part of human trials beginning this year, surgeons will implant bionic detectors in patients' eyes to see if lost vision is restored. Scientists learned how to make the bionic eyes from thin, photosensitive, ceramic films developed during Space Shuttle experiments. The bionic eyes were designed at the Space Vacuum Epitaxy Center at the University of Houston in Texas - one of 17 Commercial Space Centers sponsored by NASA and managed by the Space Product Development Program at the Marshall Center.

Roper Starch survey shows public not aware of contact lens benefits
According to a recent Roper Starch survey of American adults, 67 percent currently wear some form of vision correction. The survey found that 8 out of 10 adults believe that they understand all of the eye care options available to them, however, many do not realize the full range of benefits that contact lenses can provide to people of all ages.

Some common misunderstandings:

• 36 percent of Americans still believe that contact lenses are not appropriate for children; yet optometrists and ophthalmologists agreel that children as young as 8 years old can be fitted for contact lenses, depending on their maturity level. (For more information on children and contact lenses, visit our "Choices" section).
• 45 percent are not aware that contact lenses may be worn by individuals with certain disorders, such as astigmatism. (For more information on astigmatism, visit our "Your Eyes" section).
• 61 percent of Americans believe that 20/20 is the best vision the eyes can achieve. Fewer than 25 percent of the adults surveyed were aware that some brands of contact lenses can improve visual perception to better than 20/20. (For more information on vision, visit our "Your Eyes" section).
• More than 60 percent are not aware that laser surgery does not correct Presbyopia; 31 percent believe that bifocal eyeglasses are the only option for correcting this disorder. (For more information on contact lens alternatives to bifocals, visit our "Aging" section).
  This survey polled a random cross-section of 1,009 adults, ranging from 18 years of age and older, to determine their knowledge and understanding of the vision correction options available to them. (Source: American Optometric Association News)

Lab-Grown Cells Restore Sight To The Blind
Hundreds of thousands of people around the world are blinded by fire, chemical burns, or certain diseases each year, many of which have not been completely curable. However, a new experimental technique done in California and Taiwan involves transplanting lab-grown cells to the surface of the patient's cornea. This approach requires only a tiny sliver from the donor's limbus (the area where the cornea turns from clear to white), where it is then grown in a laboratory dish until ready for transplant.

Transplanting eye cells is not a new idea. Previously, the transplant has always required the patient to give up more than half of the cells from their limbus.

So far, the procedure has worked in 60 of 90 patients operated in Taiwan and 11 of 15 people who underwent the procedure in California. It is not known yet whether or not the procedure repairs the cornea permanently, but improvements have lasted up to 15 months. This type of procedure will not give sight to people born blind, those whose blindness is caused by nerve or retinal damage, or those who are completely blind--patients must be able to distinguish light and dark.

For more information on this technique, contact your eye care professional, or log on to http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMHC000/333/333/289410.html.
(Source: The Associated Press)

Contact Lenses During Pregnancy
Vision may become slightly impaired or altered during pregnancy due to hormonal changes, dry eyes, and water retention. Moms-to-be may experience increased eye dryness, blurred or distorted vision, spots or even hemorrhages in the eye. If any of the symptoms occur, contact your eye care professional and obstetrician. Expectant mothers who require vision correction but are experiencing vision changes may want to consider disposable contacts, as these allow for new prescriptions and contacts quickly and at a lower cost than some other lenses. Some pregnant women should limit the number of hours per day that they wear contact lenses, due to possible eye changes, while some expectant mothers should not wear lenses at all. An eyecare professional can help you make these decisions. Most pregnant women find that their vision returns to normal soon after delivery.