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Hopkins Testing New Uses For Improving Sight With Laser

Date:
July 7, 1997
Source:
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
Summary:
Johns Hopkins researchers are testing a new laser operation that could do for farsighted eyeglass wearers what surgery has long offered the nearsighted: clear vision without glasses or contact lenses.
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Johns Hopkins researchers are testing a new laser operation that could do for farsighted eyeglass wearers what surgery has long offered the nearsighted: clear vision without glasses or contact lenses.

"Excimer laser surgery to gently sculpt the cornea--the clear `front window' of the eye that focuses incoming light, has the potential of opening laser treatment to millions of individuals," says Nada S. Jabbur, M.D., assistant professor of ophthalmology. About 6 percent of Americans are farsighted, and the condition usually affects people in their 40s, she says.

The procedure uses the first and only laser system to receive pre-market approval for the treatment of both nearsightedness and farsightedness with astigmatism. A person with astigmatism has wavy, distorted vision. The Hopkins investigators are using the system, called VISX Star Excimer Laser System, to reshape the corneas of volunteers.

"Using the laser, we treat the outer edges of the cornea to make the central area steeper," says Jabbur, the lead investigator for Wilmer Eye Institute. "This allows the cornea to focus light properly onto the retina, improving the person's sight without glasses."

"We are encouraged by the excellent results at Wilmer of the laser treatment to correct farsightedness, thus far," says Terrence P. O'Brien, M.D., director of refractive eye surgery. "The condition of farsightedness can be a real handicap, and the level of patient satisfaction after treatment has been very high."

Earlier studies done with the system showed excellent results for the farsighted, according to Jabbur. In one, in 1996, at the University of Ottawa Eye Institute, 96 percent attained 20/40 vision or better--vision good enough to pass a driver's test in most states without eyeglasses or contact lenses.

Candidates for clinical trials must be in good health, wear glasses or contact lenses and must not have had any form of eye surgery. In addition, patients should be willing to follow-up with periodic visits to Wilmer. To find out more about how to participate in these trials, potential volunteers can contact Mary Ann Millar, Wilmer Eye Institute, at (410)-614-2020.

The study is being funded by VISX Incorporated.

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Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions' news releases are available on a PRE-EMBARGOED basis on EurekAlert at http://www.eurekalert.org and from the Office of Communications and Public Affairs' direct e-mail news release service. To enroll, call 410-955-4255 or send e-mail to bpalevic@welchlink.welch.jhu.edu or 76520.560@compuserve.com.

On a POST-EMBARGOED basis find them at http://hopkins.med.jhu.edu, http://infonet.welch.jhu.edu/news/news_releases, Newswise at http://www.ari.net/newswise or on CompuServe in the SciNews-MedNews library of the Journalism Forum under file extension ".jhm", Quadnet at http://www.quad-net.com or ScienceDaily at http://www.sciencedaily.com.


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Materials provided by Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Cite This Page:

Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. "Hopkins Testing New Uses For Improving Sight With Laser." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 7 July 1997. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1997/07/970707211957.htm>.
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. (1997, July 7). Hopkins Testing New Uses For Improving Sight With Laser. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 12, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1997/07/970707211957.htm
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. "Hopkins Testing New Uses For Improving Sight With Laser." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1997/07/970707211957.htm (accessed November 12, 2024).

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