One month into 2017 and the eye care industry has hit the ground running. Here are just a few articles that caught our eye this month.

• The sneakiness of glaucoma symptoms makes its early detection imperative—without it, treatment may come too late to save a patient’s eyesight. As Glaucoma Awareness Month comes to a close, the American Optometric Association is looking forward to a new diagnosis tool that allows doctors to see the cells most responsible for the loss of vision in glaucoma patients and potentially detect the disease sooner than is currently possible. Read on AOA: New technique could diagnose glaucoma sooner

• Contact lens wearers are five times more likely to complain about dry eye symptoms than those who wear glasses and 12 times more likely than people who don’t need corrective lenses1. The dry ocular surface created by contact lenses can contribute to the risk of other infections as well, but these simple tips from Allure can help offset some of that risk. Read on Allure: 9 Gross Things Every Contact Lens Wearer Seriously Needs To Know

• Are robots the future of eye surgery? With new, tiny technology, doctors are able to perform surgery with more precision than ever and are looking forward to expanding the potential applications. Read on MIT: The Tiny Robots Revolutionizing Eye Surgery

• In a trial published in Ophthalmology, Charles C. Wykoff, M.D., Ph.D., from Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas, along with his colleagues, investigated the efficacy of fluocinolone implants in patients with diabetic retinopathy. While anti-VEGF injections appear to be more effective at reducing the severity of the disease, the high number of injections and clinic visits required by that treatment may not be possible for some patients. Fluocinolone implants were found to slow the progression of diabetic retinopathy at a similar rate of an anti-VEGF treatment while requiring only 1-2 injections over three years. Login to Medscape to read: Fluocinolone Implant Slows Diabetic Retinopathy in Patients With Macular Edema

• According to the website for See Now, an organization working to end avoidable blindness, “4 out of 5 people who are blind don’t need to be.” Despite that fact, over 4 million people in the United States suffer from vision loss or blindness2 and most causes of vision loss are treatable or preventable. Prevent Blindness America and See Now have partnered in an exciting initiative to secure federal funds to support eye health in the United States. Read on Eyewire Today: Prevent Blindness and See Now Partner to Stop Growing Number of People Living with Preventable Vision Loss

Citations:

1. Dan Fuller, OD ”Yes, Dry Eye Patients Can Wear Contacts.” Review of Optometry. August 15, 2015.
2. ”Vision Problems in the U.S..” Prevent Blindness. 2012 .