Collamer intraocular contact lens to correct high myopia.

PURPOSE: To determine the feasibility of using posterior chamber intraocular contact lenses to treat myopia. SETTING: Ambulatory surgery centers in Torino, Ancona, and Ivrea, Italy. METHODS: The phakic intraocular contact lens is made of a collagen copolymer. We implanted 15 of these lenses in 14 patients with preoperative spherical equivalents ranging from -10.8 to -24.0 diopters (D); average myopia was -15.3 D +/- 3.1 (SD). Average follow-up was 7.0 +/- 1.95 months. RESULTS: Mean postoperative spherical equivalent was -2.0 +/- 1.6 D. Uncorrected visual acuity improved in 14 eyes. Best spectacle-corrected acuity was maintained or improved in all but one eye. No iritis or cataracts were observed. Six months postoperatively, the mean endothelial cell loss was 4%. A pupillary block requiring a superior peripheral iridectomy occurred in one eye. CONCLUSIONS: Because of the incomplete follow-up, we cannot draw conclusions about the long-term safety of the implantable contact lens. The intimate contact between the contact lens and the natural lens raises the possibility of cataract formation. However, examination by Scheimpflug photography and ultrasound biomicroscopy showed no progressive lens opacities.

Interferon-beta treatment of herpes simplex keratitis.

We tested a new preparation of interferon-beta (IFN-beta) to determine its efficacy and tolerability in the treatment of herpetic keratitis. The 20 patients admitted to the trial were selected from patients who had not received any previous treatment with virustatic agent; they were treated in a comparative, randomised open trial with eye drop containing IFN-beta or iododesoxyuridine (10 vs. 10). Examination of the data show that 10 out of 10 patients treated with IFN-beta respond positively to the treatment, furthermore it showed that IFN-beta produce no local or general toxicity.