Monday, 13 September 2010

Drops to Cure Myopia?
Topic: Eye Care

"A gene that causes shortsightedness has been pinpointed by British scientists, paving the way for eye drops that could make glasses history. Within just ten years, a drug that prevents short-sightedness or stops it in its tracks could be in widespread use," according to the DailyMail.

Posted by ct3/opticalceu at 6:05 AM EDT
Post Comment | Permalink | Share This Post

Sunday, 12 September 2010

Glasses Concern with 3D TV
Topic: 3D Eyewear

Nearly three-quarters into the first year of the latest launch of 3D TV, a Nielsen survey released Thursday finds plenty of reluctance among consumers to embrace the technology. Much of it is centered on the need to wear 3D glasses.

Fifty seven percent of people surveyed said the glasses were a major reason they were unlikely to buy a 3D TV. Nearly 90 percent said the glasses would hinder multitasking while watching television," according to a story on CNETNews.

Posted by ct3/opticalceu at 7:50 AM EDT
Post Comment | Permalink | Share This Post

DB Wearing Glasses Years after Laser Surgery
Topic: Optical--Sort Of

Who cares? Great Britiain's DailyMirror apparently has little better to do than follow David Beckham, wondering why he was honing and then removing his eyewear.

Here's one from VisionMonday: "The President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies appeared in newspapers and on national TV wearing Pramaor eyewear."

Posted by ct3/opticalceu at 7:46 AM EDT
Updated: Sunday, 12 September 2010 8:03 AM EDT
Post Comment | Permalink | Share This Post

Friday, 10 September 2010

Eye Infection Affects 50
Topic: Eye Care

Fifty people reported sore eyes after visting the Royal Adelaide Show. South Australia Health Department officials traced the cause to stagnant cow urine in the dairy pavilion. The urine mixed with rain, releasing ammonia. The reactions were severe enough to send 20 victims to the hospital.

Posted by ct3/opticalceu at 1:57 PM EDT
Post Comment | Permalink | Share This Post

Halloween CL Warning
Topic: Contact Lenses
"The popularity of coloured and decorative contact lenses is likely to increase in 2010 as people go all-out to create the perfect costume, one source believes" reports ContactLenses. The problem, not mentioned in the story: From whom will they purchase the lenses? Within the past several months, individuals are showing up at optical shops with eye infections resulting from poor fitting decorative CLs sold by unlicensed operations. Months after Connecticut's attorney general warned unlicensed retailers about selling CLs, an individual reportedly purchased a pair at a nail salon.

Posted by ct3/opticalceu at 7:13 AM EDT
Post Comment | Permalink | Share This Post

Extended-Extended Wear CLs
Topic: Contact Lenses
Take a contact lens, coat it with a little selenium, and people could wear their CLs for as long as two months, says Ted Reid of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock. Why? Selenium is antibacterial, which enables extended wear. See story here.

Posted by ct3/opticalceu at 6:46 AM EDT
Updated: Friday, 10 September 2010 7:19 AM EDT
Post Comment | Permalink | Share This Post

Federal Info on Impact Resistance
Topic: Optical
Should you need detailed information about the regulations governing impact resistance of lenses, good to this link, which the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) set up recently.

Posted by ct3/opticalceu at 6:24 AM EDT
Post Comment | Permalink | Share This Post

Thursday, 9 September 2010

Workers Don't Use Safety Eyewear
Topic: Safety Eyewear
"New research published by 3M has revealed that over a third of companies in UK have employees who don’t wear safety eyewear when required," according to a post on Safety & Health Practitioner. Some 38 percent complained that their safety eyewear felt uncomfortable. (Was that compared to a shard in the eye?) About 73 percent claimed comfort was "the most important factor when selecting safety eyewear."

Posted by ct3/opticalceu at 8:16 AM EDT
Post Comment | Permalink | Share This Post

Two Designers Sign Deal
Topic: Eyewear
WWD (Women's Wear Daily) is running the following story: "Two cutting-edge names in fashion – Maison Martin Margiela and Cutler and Gross – are finally seeing eye-to-eye."

Posted by ct3/opticalceu at 8:07 AM EDT
Post Comment | Permalink | Share This Post

The Effect of the Upcoming Changes in FSA Regs
Topic: Insurance

Opticians have become accustomed to an end-of-the-year sales rush--not sparked by the holidays. Customers want to spend the remainder of the flex spending (FSA--flexibile spending accounts). With the passage of the recent health care bill, FSA's will change.

OTC meds and devices will require a doctor's note if the patient wants to apply his/her FSA. There are exceptions, such as contact lens supplies and reading glasses.

By 2013, the law limits FSA allocations to $2500 annually tax-free, down from the current $5000 tax-free. Apparently individuals in the past would use their left over flex spending to go on buying sprees. Click here for more.

Posted by ct3/opticalceu at 8:05 AM EDT
Post Comment | Permalink | Share This Post

Wednesday, 8 September 2010

Humana Vision Expands Retails Providers
Topic: Insurance
HumanaVision Vision Care Plan (VCP) network is expanding its network to include LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, Sears Optical, Target Optical, and JCPenney Optical as of the secord quarter next year. That's the report from MarketWatch.

Posted by ct3/opticalceu at 5:38 AM EDT
Updated: Wednesday, 8 September 2010 5:39 AM EDT
Post Comment | Permalink | Share This Post

Tuesday, 7 September 2010

Geek or Fashion Accessory
Topic: Eyewear
Once eyewear equalled geek for teenagers. Apparently that has changed, at least in Great Britain, according to ContactLenses. "Teenagers are increasingly focusing on eyewear in order to showcase their fashion nous, one source has noted. According to a post on Guampdn.com, one of the best ways of displaying a person's individuality is through their eyes and as a result teens are buying sunglasses to enhance their appearance."

Posted by ct3/opticalceu at 6:31 AM EDT
Post Comment | Permalink | Share This Post

Monday, 6 September 2010

Oakley USOC Sponsor
Topic: Optical
"Oakley has signed a sponsorship and licensing agreement with the U.S. Olysmpic Committee that will allow it to outfit members of Team USA with its eyewear during Olympic competition. Terms of the multiyear agreement were not available, but sources said it offers the USOC both cash and value-in-kind," reports SportsBusinessJournal.

Posted by ct3/opticalceu at 8:24 AM EDT
Post Comment | Permalink | Share This Post

Hopes for a Good Year in 2011
Topic: Eye Care
Regardless of what you thought of the health care bill, you--along with the rest fo the health care field--may benefit as business people. "As the provisions of the Affordable Care Act begin to be implemented, many small businesses in the United States will be able to take advantage of new tax credits, a new report shows. During the first phase of the act, some businesses employing some 16.6 million workers will be eligible for these tax credits, according to the report released Thursday from the Commonwealth Fund. 'The new law is likely to have a significant impact on affordability and access to health care coverage for small business owners and employees,' Commonwealth Fund president Karen Davis said during a press conference Wednesday," according to a story posted on MedicineNet.

Posted by ct3/opticalceu at 7:47 AM EDT
Post Comment | Permalink | Share This Post

Saturday, 4 September 2010

YAPping Your Cataracts
Topic: Eye Care

How you want to find out if you will develop cataracts? Check your YAP protein. Why? Researchers are Johns Hopkins researchers that the YAP protein “is a major target of a gene which, when mutated in humans, causes tumors to develop on nerves associated with hearing, as well as cataracts....[YAP] is linked to the NF2 tumor suppressor gene” that shapes and sizes tissue growth by coordinating control of cell proliferation and death...YAP someday could serve as a therapeutic target for those afflicted by the ringing ears, hearing loss and cataracts that characterize neurofibromatosis type 2,” according to a report posted on Newswise.

Posted by ct3/opticalceu at 10:05 PM EDT
Updated: Saturday, 4 September 2010 10:07 PM EDT
Post Comment | Permalink | Share This Post

B&L to Buy Novartis Unit
Topic: Eye Care

Under considerable pressure from the Federal Trade Commission, Novartis is readying to sell Miochol-E to competitor Bausch & Lomb. Novartis had to csell the drug before the FTC would approve its aquisition of Alcon. Why? Both companies made the only injectable miotics, which physicians use in cataract surgery.That's the report from Business Week.

Posted by ct3/opticalceu at 7:41 AM EDT
Post Comment | Permalink | Share This Post

Now Playing: CooperVision Open Japanese Division
Topic: Contact Lenses
"Asahi Kasei Aime Co. said Friday that it will withdraw from developing and marketing contact lenses to focus on manufacturing them. The firm's R&D and marketing divisions will be sold to CooperVision Inc. in December for an undisclosed sum. The roughly 100 R&D and sales personnel, four domestic branches, and other assets will be transferred" to CooperVision's Japanese company, according to Nikkei.

Posted by ct3/opticalceu at 7:30 AM EDT
Post Comment | Permalink | Share This Post

Friday, 3 September 2010

FDA Cracks Down on Lens Imports
Topic: Lenses

This report is from the PRWeb site: "The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proving its newly formed concern regarding the safety and validity of claimed 'impact-resistant lenses' in eyeglasses and sunglasses by initiating a new FDA Import Alert, last updated on August 26, 2010. Import Alert 86-07 'Detention Without Physical Examination of and Guidance for 'Impact-Resistant Lenses in Eyeglasses and Sunglasses' (IA 86-07) includes a Red List of five firms which have been added only since July 15, 2010. Three of these five firms were added on August 26, 2010. ... Sunglasses (with or without UV protection) and eyeglasses (prescription and nonprescription) are regulated by FDA as medical devices."

Posted by ct3/opticalceu at 8:56 AM EDT
Updated: Friday, 3 September 2010 3:51 PM EDT
Post Comment | Permalink | Share This Post

Transitions Takes Multicultural Approach
Topic: Eye Care
"Recognizing the increased risks African Americans face for a number of eye health issues, Transitions Optical,...is launching its 'Healthy Sight for Life: Focus on African-American Eyes' campaign at the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW)'s 25th annual Black Family Reunion Celebration on September 11 in Washington, D.C." according to a story on the PR Newswire.

Posted by ct3/opticalceu at 8:42 AM EDT
Post Comment | Permalink | Share This Post

Take Care When Driving in the UK
Topic: Optical--Sort Of
Americans may have problems with drinking and driving. The Brits have a problem with seeing and driving. ContactLenses reports that "despite thousands of UK drivers requiring spectacles or contact lenses, one in ten people are failing to wear them and putting other motorists at risk as a result, it has been claimed. Research compiled by LV car insurance shows that 45 per cent of UK motorists should wear glasses while behind the wheel but many neglect to do so."

Posted by ct3/opticalceu at 8:27 AM EDT
Updated: Friday, 3 September 2010 8:38 AM EDT
Post Comment | Permalink | Share This Post

Newer�|�Latest�|�Older

«	September 2010					»

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
			1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28	29	30