Latest news with #ARVO
Medscape
20-05-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Office-Based Cataract Surgery Measures Up To ASC Cases
Cataract surgeries performed in a surgery suite in the ophthalmologist's office had significantly lower complication rates than operations performed in an ambulatory surgery center, a study of more than 1300 operations performed by the same surgeon in both settings found. Joseph Starns 'Our study shows that performing cataract surgery in an office setting does not increase the rate or risk of adverse events,' Joseph Starns, a medical student at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine in New Orleans, told Medscape Medical News . Starns presented results of a retrospective review of 1335 cataract surgeries performed in both an office-based setting and a surgery center on May 7 at Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) 2025 Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City. All the operations were performed by Brendon Sumich, MD, a cornea specialist in New Orleans. The 656 surgeries performed in the office occurred between September 2022 and June 2024; the 679 operations in the surgery center took place from January 2021 through June 2024. Adverse Event Rates Seven patients (1%) treated in the office setting experienced an adverse event. These complications included three unplanned vitrectomies (0.46%), two returns to the operating room (0.3%), one referral for retinal complications (0.15%), and one call to 911 (0.15%). Among patients seen in the surgery center, 22 patients (3%) experienced adverse events. These included one case of endophthalmitis (0.15%), six unplanned vitrectomies (0.88%), nine returns to the operating room (1.33%), five referrals for retinal complications (0.74%), and one event of persistent corneal edema (0.15%). In the past decade or so, cataract surgeons have been transitioning straightforward operations from surgery centers to the office. Market Scope Ophthalmic Perspectives, a data analytics firm, reported the proportion of office-based cataract procedures rose to 2.2% in 2023, up from 0.5% in 2020. 'We anticipate office-based surgery becoming more popular over the next 5-10 years,' Starns told Medscape Medical News . Cataract surgery does not require patients to receive an IV or to fast before the operation, and in most cases, they already know both the setting and the support staff, Starns said. But potential drawbacks can include more difficulty for the operating team to control patient anxiety and the inability to combine the cataract surgery with other procedures, such as minimally invasive glaucoma surgery, he said. The latter point can potentially skew outcomes, Starns said. 'There may be selection bias, in that anticipated complex surgery may be selectively scheduled' for a surgery center, he acknowledged. The new study did not look at the cost of having cataract surgery in one setting vs the other, but Starns said office-based procedures are likely more cost-effective because they do not require anesthesia and the fees for these services. Nor does it require preoperative testing or medical clearance examinations from the patient's primary care provider, cardiologist, or other types of providers. He added that providers do not charge a facility fee for office-based surgery, whereas surgery centers do, which further lowers costs for the office setting. Currently, Medicare does not cover facility fees for office-based procedures, but it does so for surgery centers. Strengths and Limitations Starns noted one strength of the study is that one surgeon performed all the procedures. 'That means uniform surgical techniques, patient population, and perioperative care routines,' he said. Both observation groups demonstrated 'significant surgical volume,' he added. Neal Shorstein, MD The study population size is another strength, said Neal Shorstein, MD, a retired cataract surgery with Kaiser Permanente in Northern California and an adviser to the Seva Foundation, a nonprofit group that develops eye care programs in underserved regions. 'When you get over 1000 or so, a study of this nature has a little bit more statistical power,' he said. The evidence comparing the two settings for cataract surgery is limited, he said. However, the new findings agree with results of a 2016 retrospective consecutive case series of 21,505 cataract operations performed in an office setting, Shorstein said. Clarity on the types of cases performed in the office is needed to better compare those done in a surgery center. 'That's extremely important because their conclusion that office-based surgery was better, with fewer adverse events, raises the question: Was there some sort of conscious or unconscious selection bias of healthier patients for the office-based surgery?' Shorstein said. The study was independently supported. Starns and Shorstein reported having no relevant financial conflicts of interest.
Medscape
20-05-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Study: Dropless Cataract Surgery Slashes Drug Costs
A regimen that spares patients recovering from cataract surgery the burden of using antibacterial and anti-inflammatory eye drops several times a day for weeks and instead uses an injection to administer those drugs immediately after the procedure is nearly as effective at preventing complications as the traditional drop regimen at a fraction of the cost, a study of both approaches found. 'Our study aims to underscore the benefits of the dropless cataract surgery approach as a promising alternative to the traditional drop regimen, particularly for populations where adherence to postoperative drops is challenging,' Yousef Yousef, a medical student at the University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, New York, told Medscape Medical News. 'We hope our findings will encourage broader adoption of the dropless protocol by cataract surgeons, potentially establishing it as a new standard of care.' Yousef Yousef Yousef presented results from a retrospective chart review of 544 eyes that had cataract surgery at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) 2025 Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City. Dropless vs Traditional Protocol The traditional protocol, used in 265 study eyes, consisted of giving patients a prescription for drops of the anti-inflammatory corticosteroid prednisolone 1%, the antibiotic moxifloxacin 0.5%, and the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory ketorolac 0.5% four times a day with a 4-week taper. The dropless protocol, assigned to 279 eyes, consisted of an intracameral injection of 0.2 mL of moxifloxacin 0.5% and a 10 mg/mL subconjunctival injection of the glucocorticoid triamcinolone (Kenalog) on completion of the operation. The researchers found no significant differences in best-corrected visual acuity. Patients who had the dropless protocol had a higher incidence of cystoid macular edema — 5% vs 1% — Yousef said, but the incidence of ocular hypertension was not statistically significant between the two groups (2% vs 1%). A multivariate regression analysis showed the dropless protocol was not associated with increased risks for either complication, he added. The dropless protocol has three key potential advantages over the traditional approach, Yousef said: Convenience for patients, improved drug bioavailability, and lower cost. 'The traditional drop protocol requires patients to administer three different medications four times daily over a 4-week tapering period,' he told Medscape Medical News . 'This regimen results in a total of 12 drops per day for one eye and 210 drops over the course of the taper.' Poor drug bioavailability is a 'significant concern' with topical drops, Yousef said, because the epithelial membrane of the cornea can limit the ability of the drops from penetrating into the eye. 'Intracameral injection bypasses these barriers, delivering a more direct treatment,' he said. A 2020 analysis of Medicare claims reported the average cost of medications for eye drops after cataract surgery was $228 per eye. 'Notably, 76.5% of this total cost was attributed to the use of brand-name medications,' Yousef said. 'In contrast, the dropless approach costs just $15.91 per eye when a single vial is used for approximately 10 cases.' The new data are important because few randomized clinical trials have compared the dropless and traditional protocols for treating pain and inflammation and preventing infections after cataract surgery, according to Neal Shorstein, MD, a retired cataract surgeon with Kaiser Permanente in Northern California . Neal Shorstein, MD 'There are an accumulating number of observational studies, so this adds to the retrospective, observational literature, and that's a good thing because different locations and practice environments add to the experience,' said Shorstein, an adviser to the Seva Foundation, a nonprofit group that develops eye care programs in underserved regions. The doses of medication used in the dropless protocol in the analysis are higher than what others have reported. The 0.2 mL of intracameral moxifloxacin 0.5% is 'about the upper limits of what you want to inject of moxifloxacin.' The 0.5-mL dose of subconjunctival triamcinolone is, 'in my estimation, a good dose.' The formulation of triamcinolone used has a large particle size, which 'matters a lot because the safety and effectiveness of triamcinolone depends on the particle size,' he said. Triesence, another formulation of triamcinolone used in some dropless protocols, has a smaller particle size, he said. The entry point on the conjunctiva for the triamcinolone injection is another important factor, Shorstein added. 'Our findings show that 6-8 mm from the limbus is the optimal location,' he said. The study was independently supported. Yousef and Shorstein reported having no relevant financial relationships.
Medscape
12-05-2025
- Health
- Medscape
ARVO Attendees Hear Call to Save National Eye Institute
Advocates for eye and vision research must come together now to thwart attempts by the Trump administration to slash research funding and downgrade and dilute the National Eye Institute (NEI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers and clinical trial investigators were told at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) 2025 Annual Meeting. 'This is an unprecedented time for research,' Dan Ignaszewski, executive director of the National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research, told Medscape Medical News. Ignaszewski spoke at a form at the ARVO meeting during which he reported the latest budget proposal from the Trump Administration would cut funding to the NIH by 38% and reduce the number of individual institutes from 27 to 5. The proposal would dismantle the National Eye Institute and merge its operations into the National Institute of Neuroscience and Brain Research. Dan Ignaszewski 'What we need now more than ever is that people in the advocacy space — researchers, clinicians, patients, providers, industry — to basically come together to help the administration and the Congress understand the value of research and the importance frankly of vision and vision research in impacting medical science and in impacting patient life,' Ignaszewski told Medscape Medical News. The group is an arm of the nonprofit Alliance for Eye and Vision Research that advocates for eye and vision research across federal agencies, including NIH, NEI, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Proposed Cuts Deeper Than Previous Proposals The latest proposed cuts are more severe than those outlined last year by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which would have slashed the number of institutes from 27 to 15. Both plans would consolidate NEI into the National Institute of Neuroscience and Brain Research, which also would absorb the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. However, the original House proposal would have given the new combined entity a $42 million bump in their combined $4 billion appropriation. The Trump administration's plans for NIH would slash $18 billion from its current allocation of $48.5 billion. How the reduction would affect eye research is not clear, but the abolition of the NEI and folding its functions into a new institute with a broader mission does not bode well, Ignaszewski said. 'The advocacy community always thought that things like the National Eye Institute was an untouchable institute,' Ignaszewski told Medscape Medical News. 'When it comes to these consolidation proposals, our focus is the National Eye Institute remain a dedicated priority for vision within NIH. But we also don't want to see the consolidation of such important research and important work being done without understanding the potential consequences of any such restructuring.' The NEI's current budget is just under $900 million, which Ignaszewski's group would like to see climb to $1 billion next year. Ignaszewski said shoehorning NEI into an institute focused on the brain is not an appropriate fit. 'There's so much more to the eye than the brain, and there's so much more opportunity beyond that,' he told Medscape Medical News. 'Frankly, it also doesn't touch any front-of-eye research that's being done.' Ignaszewski acknowledged any president's budget proposal is typically a blueprint the House and Senate modify based on their own priorities. Stoking up advocacy on behalf of the NEI now could help convince Congress to preserve the NEI, he said. 'Our big take-home is engaging researchers to learn to effectively advocate for vision research science and science as a whole,' he said. 'It's engaging patients and providers and industry to basically come together to really help the administration understand that these reductions would fundamentally change research funding, fundamentally change research, and gut the existing infrastructure that we've built over decades to support new discoveries, innovations, and better treatments for patients.' Even Attempted Cuts Take a Toll Also concerning for research, Ignaszewski said, is the 15% cap on indirect costs for federally funded research the Trump administration attempted to impose earlier this year, only to have a federal judge issue a temporary restraining order to block the move. However, the action itself has chilled research programs around the country, he said. 'Institutions around the country are being cautious about their budgets, and that's being reflected in fewer staff, fewer trainees, and fewer PhD candidates,' he said. 'Frankly, if it does go into effect, it would fundamentally alter the investment we have in biomedical research.' Ignaszewski called the 15% cap 'arbitrary and capricious. It's not practical, and it would absolutely gut the research infrastructure that we have built in the county.' He did not dismiss the need for reform of indirect costs, but noted all federal contracts, including defense contracts, include indirect costs. 'They range significantly higher than 15%,' Ignaszewski said. 'Why are we attacking research when indirect rates on all these other contracts are substantial higher?' Now, the task is to persuade Congress to preserve NIH funding, Ignaszewski said. 'One of the things we say to Congress is that the first FDA (US Food and Drug Administration)-approved gene therapy was in the eye,' he said. 'The first AI-approved diagnostic tool was a diabetic retinopathy tool . Those types of things are now being used across medical science as the foundation for treatment in other diseases, such as cancers and kidney disease. If we don't continue to invest in vision research, we're not going to continue seeing the advancements.' Richard Mark Kirkner is a medical journalist based in Philadelphia.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cognition Therapeutics Presented Data at Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Showing Impact on Retinal Cell Health
PURCHASE, N.Y., May 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cognition Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CGTX), a clinical-stage company developing drugs that treat neurodegenerative disorders, reported preclinical data this week at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) showing the potential for zervimesine (CT1812) to protect retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells from damage in dry age-related macular degeneration (dry AMD). "Dry AMD is driven by a number of factors that contribute to the death of retinal cells, leading to irreversible vision loss," stated Mary Hamby, PhD, vice president of research. "Preclinical research presented at ARVO supports our understanding of zervimesine's potential for supporting retinal cell health and function." Zervimesine is an oral drug candidate that has been shown to reach therapeutic concentrations in the eye and was investigated in the Phase 2 MAGNIFY clinical trial (NCT05893537). It binds to a receptor (TMEM97, also called the sigma-2 receptor), which is found on cells in the retina and brain. A poster presented by research scientist, Britney Lizama, PhD, shows that this receptor regulates the ability of retinal cells to take in low-density lipoprotein (LDL), a major fuel source for cells. The process that cells use to take in lipids is damaged in dry AMD, weakening the retinal cells and contributing to their mortality. A second poster presented by Drs. Hamby and Lizama, shows zervimesine may protect retinal cells from the onslaught of oxidized lipids. In dry AMD, oxidized lipids build up in the retina. Together with other waste products, these lipids form aggregates called drusen, which is a hallmark of dry AMD. Drusen is believed to damage RPE cells and contribute to their eventual loss and subsequent loss of photoreceptors. These data add to our growing understanding of zervimesine's mechanism and its potential impact across age-related degenerative diseases. In a Phase 2 proof-of-concept clinical trial in 100 people with geographic atrophy secondary to dry AMD, treatment with zervimesine was shown to slow the rate of GA lesion growth by 28.6% compared to placebo. As a result, people treated with zervimesine had smaller GA lesions on average at the end of the study than did their placebo counterparts. In addition to dry AMD, zervimesine's potential to rescue cellular function in degenerative diseases is supported by robust clinical results from studies in people with Alzheimer's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies. Cognition Therapeutics at ARVO: Title: Sigma-2 Receptor Modulation Promotes Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cell Survival Following Chronic 7-Ketocholesterol Exposure Authors: Hamby ME, Lizama BN, Reaver A, Knezovich N, Caldwell J, Di Caro V, Caggiano AO Title: Delineating Mechanisms of Sigma-2 Receptor Modulators in Regulating Retinal Pigment Epithelial Lipid Uptake Authors: Lizama BN, Reaver A, Di Caro V, Caggiano AO, Hamby ME Posters are available on the company's Publications webpage. About Dry AMD Dry AMD is the more prevalent of two forms of age-related macular degeneration and accounts for up to 90% of cases. Dry AMD is caused by damage and loss of light-sensing cells in the macula, the part of the retina responsible for central vision. The gradual loss of central vision associated with dry AMD can present limitations in reading and driving. As the disease progresses in severity to geographic atrophy, lesions form on the macula that create a blind spot in central vision. These lesions grow over time leading to irreversible loss of central vision. About Zervimesine (CT1812) Zervimesine (CT1812) is an investigational oral, once-daily pill being developed for the treatment of CNS diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). While these diseases have different symptoms, both are associated with the buildup of certain proteins in the brain - Aβ and ɑ-synuclein. As these proteins bind to neurons, they can damage and ultimately destroy the neurons. This results in a progressive loss in a person's ability to learn, recall memories, move efficiently, or communicate. These diseases progress relentlessly and ultimately result in death. If zervimesine can interrupt the toxic effects of these proteins, it may be able to slow progression of disease and improve the lives of those suffering from Alzheimer's and DLB. Zervimesine has been generally well tolerated in clinical studies to date. The USAN Council has adopted zervimesine as the United States Adopted Name (USAN) for CT1812. About Cognition Therapeutics, Inc. Cognition Therapeutics, Inc., is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing innovative, small molecule therapeutics targeting age-related degenerative disorders of the central nervous system. We are currently investigating our lead candidate, zervimesine (CT1812), in clinical programs in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Alzheimer's disease, including the ongoing START study (NCT05531656) in early Alzheimer's disease. We believe zervimesine can regulate pathways that are impaired in these diseases though its interaction with the sigma-2 receptor, a mechanism that is functionally distinct from other approaches for the treatment of degenerative diseases. More about Cognition Therapeutics and our pipeline can be found at Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this press release, other than statements of historical facts or statements that relate to present facts or current conditions, including but not limited to, statements regarding our expected runway, product candidates, including zervimesine (CT1812), and any expected or implied benefits or results, including that initial clinical results observed with respect to zervimesine will be replicated in later trials and our clinical development plans, and expectations regarding timing, success and data announcements of current ongoing preclinical and clinical trials are forward-looking statements. These statements, including statements relating to the timing and expected results of our clinical trials involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as 'may,' 'might,' 'will,' 'should,' 'expect,' 'plan,' 'aim,' 'seek,' 'anticipate,' 'could,' 'intend,' 'target,' 'project,' 'contemplate,' 'believe,' 'estimate,' 'predict,' 'forecast,' 'potential' or 'continue' or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. 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You should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The events and circumstances reflected in our forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur, and actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Moreover, we operate in a dynamic industry and economy. New risk factors and uncertainties may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all risk factors and uncertainties that we may face. Except as required by applicable law, we do not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether as a result of any new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise. Contact Information: Cognition Therapeutics, Casey McDonald (media) Tiberend Strategic Advisors, Mike Moyer (investors)LifeSci Advisors mmoyer@ This press release was published by a CLEAR® Verified individual.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Optigo Biotherapeutics Wins People's Choice Award at Eyecelerator and Presents Compelling Preclinical Data on Long-Acting Intravitreal Biologics at the ARVO 2025 Conference
Optigo Biotherapeutics Inc. Optigo wins People's Choice Award at the recent Eyecelerator meeting in Park City for proprietary drug anchoring, potential to transform intravitreal drug delivery Preclinical data demonstrates sustained efficacy and safety for six months or more following a single injection VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Optigo Biotherapeutics, a biotechnology company pioneering long-acting, bi-functional intravitreal biologics, today announced that it has been awarded the People's Choice Award at Eyecelerator 2025 in Park City, Utah. Concurrently, the company presented positive preclinical data at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) 2025 Annual Meeting, supporting the potential of its proprietary anti-VEGF molecules to achieve dosing intervals of six months or longer in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD), diabetic macular edema (DME), and retinal vein occlusion (RVO). 'Our bi-functional intravitreal biologics are designed to fundamentally address the limitations of current anti-VEGF therapies by dramatically reducing the dosing frequency,' said Houman Hemmati, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer and Co-founder of Optigo Bio. 'The recognition from industry peers at Eyecelerator, along with the compelling preclinical data we shared at ARVO, underscore both the innovation and real-world potential of our platform.' The company's proprietary biologics are fusion proteins that combine derisked therapeutics such as aflibercept with an albumin or hyaluronan anchoring domain. In VEGF challenge animal models, these bifunctional molecules demonstrate 2-3x longer half-life compared to aflibercept alone, were not proinflammatory, and were well tolerated with a favorable safety profile. Dr. David Boyer, retina specialist at Retina Vitreous Associates Medical Group, commented: 'I'm particularly excited about the data Optigo Bio presented at ARVO. The favorable preclinical safety profile combined with their anchoring technology, which enhances half-life and efficacy, represents a promising new treatment option for patients with nAMD and other retinal neovascular diseases.' Optigo's Eyecelerator presentation— 'Developing Breakthrough Therapies to Restore Vision'—was delivered by Dr. Hemmati during the Retina TKI and Drug Delivery Showcase and was well-received by attendees for its bold, yet evidence-backed approach to solving one of the biggest challenges of chronic intravitreal therapy. Ali Ardakani, CEO and Co-founder of Optigo Bio, added: 'While anti-VEGF therapies have significantly reduced blindness globally, real-world outcomes are limited by the burdensome injection schedule. Our platform addresses this bottleneck directly by offering biologics that deliver real efficacy with fewer injections.'
