Eyeworld

EW NEWS & OPINION 4 From hundreds of papers submitted, a scant few are recognized as the best of the best E ach year, the ASCRS Inno- vators Session comprises the "best of the best," said moderator Roger Steinert, M.D., Irving H. Leopold professor and chair in ophthalmol- ogy, University of California, Irvine. This year, more than 800 papers were submitted for consideration. Below is a brief synopsis of the win- ners. Jeffrey L. Olson, M.D., Univer- sity of Colorado, Aurora, said an ob- served transient increase in retinal electrical activity following intravit- real injection of photoactive quan- tum dots in rat models suggests a potential therapeutic benefit for the technology. Ekkehard Fabian, M.D., Augen- Centrum MVZ, Rosenheim, Ger- many, said using a dual linear foot pedal "helps to adopt settings on the fly" to specific situations during lens removal surgery. Focused femtosecond laser pulses can increase the refractive index of lens material by about 0.01, said Josef F. Bille, M.D., University Heidelberg, Germany. "All cataract surgery results in considerable re- fractive errors," he said. By personal- izing and customizing the IOL pre- op, physicians can change and ad- just the IOL power based on the individual patient. "Either real or perceived lack of informed consent is still a major cause of malpractice in the United States," said Ralph J. Falkenstein, M.D., Danbury Eye Physicians and Surgeons, Conn. Although playing music high in overtones helped con- sent details retention compared to either no music or low-overtone music, music had no impact on pa- tients' anxiety. Herb Kaufman, M.D., Louisiana State University Eye Cen- ter, New Orleans, described a diag- nostic test "that's almost like a pregnancy test" in how it looks and functions; it can determine whether someone has elevated levels of ma- trix metalloproteinase, a key compo- nent in numerous ocular surface diseases. "This diagnostic tool will change how all diagnostics are looked at in the future," he said. A high-resolution 3D ultrasonic system (Vevo 2100, Visualsonics, Toronto) "makes it possible to see le- sions located behind the iris involv- ing the ciliary body, choroid, retina, or position of the IOL or foreign body inside the eye," said Gholam A. Peyman, M.D., University of Ari- zona, Phoenix. Henry Edelhauser, Ph.D., Emory Eye Center, Atlanta, said microneedles that deliver 50-150 microliters into the suprachoroidal space can serve as a route for tar- geted drug delivery in the posterior retina-choroidal tissues. These mi- croneedles offer a "new delivery modality for the treatment of cys- toid macular edema and age-related macular degeneration." Richard L. Lindstrom, M.D., closed the Innovators Session with his 2011 Charles D. Kelman Innova- tor's Lecture: Thoughts on the oph- thalmologist's role in education and innovation. An admitted proponent of collaboration between industry and physicians, Dr. Lindstrom stressed that 92% of companies fail in the U.S. before they reach com- mercialization stages. Further, at- tempting to eliminate so-called conflicts of interest is not realistic, he said. "I am supportive of some of the new recommendations for trans- parency and disclosure," he said. For example, Harvard University Med- ical School's policy states it is "cru- cial" to have relationships between academia and industry, Dr. Lindstrom said. "Think of the qual- ity of faculty they're going to be able to recruit as we look forward to the future." Harvard supports and en- courages faculty to interact with in- dustry on projects ranging from co-authoring papers derived from re- search collaborations to consulting, licensing technology, and serving on scientific advisory boards. "Harvard continues to accept in- dustry funding and encourages full disclosure on the part of the recipi- ents," Dr. Lindstrom said. "There will be a negative impact to science June 2011 by Michelle Dalton EyeWorld Contributing Editor Innovators Session highlights advances in technology with advanced uveal melanoma stratified by the mutational status of GNAQ and GNA11 (Clin Canc Res, 2011. March 28, 1158/1078-0432). EyeWorld: What does the future hold for targeted molecular biologi- cal therapy in general medicine, not just in oncology? Dr. O'Brien: In 2006, the National Cancer Institute and the National Human Genome Research Institute announced a 3-year, $100 million research effort to employ large gene- resequencing to identify new cancer- causing genes that could become targets for rational therapeutics. The underlying molecular biology of dis- ease processes is being elucidated every day. This process of discovery is driven by the application of new, individualized diagnostic ap- proaches. In early 2004, the NIH called for applications and subse- quently announced $70 million in grant awards for the development of technology leading to human genome sequences costing $100,000 in 5 years and $1,000 in 10 years. As 2014 approaches, scientists fully ex- pect that we will all be able to afford our own personal genomes. With that technology will come many challenges: How do we protect pri- vacy for individuals who learn that they have a predisposing gene for a disease not yet manifested? What sort of training and counseling will be necessary to provide this infor- mation to patients? DNA is only part of our destiny as individuals; the environment and the lives we choose to lead also play a major role in health and disease. We have much to discover, but the opportu- nities are enormous, for therapy to be targeted to disease before this dis- ease is even manifested. We may very well have the chance for medi- cine to be personalized to each of us so that we may lead longer, health- ier lives. The future will soon be a re- ality. EW Molecular continued from page 3 Richard L. Lindstrom, M.D.

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