A study published in the Archives of Ophthalmology this month indicates LASIK surgery, as performed this year, is safer than contact lens use.

Sight threatening infections from contact lenses occur in one in 2,000 contact lens wearers, compared to only one in 10,000 patients risk significant vision loss due to complications from LASIK, according to the research.

Board resignation clouds Young listing

Young Innovations (St. Louis) reported receiving a letter from Nasdaq, indicating that, as a result of the recent resignation of Marc Sarni from its board, it does not satisfy the requirement that its board must consist of a majority of independent directors and that the audit committee have at least three independent directors.

The company has been provided a cure period until its next annual shareholders’ meeting to regain compliance. It said it will appoint another independent director prior to its next annual shareholders’ meeting, expected in May 2007.

Young Innovations manufactures supplies and equipment used by dentists, dental hygienists, dental assistants and consumers.

Sirtex launches SIR-Spheres Patient Registry

Sirtex Medical (Lake Forest, Illinois) reported the creation of the SIR-Spheres Microspheres Patient Registry. The registry will be used to evaluate the outcomes and long-term safety data for liver cancer patients treated with SIR-Spheres, an FDA-approved microsphere therapy for metastatic liver cancer that originated in the colon or rectum.

“Having access to comprehensive patient data from the United States and around the world will help us evaluate SIR-Spheres microspheres for a variety of liver cancers and provide a better understanding of its long-term safety and indications. It also will expedite research on SIR-Spheres microspheres and ultimately help more patients gain access to the treatment,” said Nat Geissel, CEO of Sirtex Medical.

The database will include patient demographics, primary and secondary diagnosis data, treatment details, complications and patient outcomes. It will be used to evaluate and understand trends in treatment outcomes and complications and will allow investigators to perform sub-analyses on specific patient groups.

SIR-Spheres are radioactive polymer spheres that emit beta radiation. Physicians insert a catheter through the groin into the hepatic artery and deliver millions of microspheres directly to the tumor site. The SIR-Spheres target the liver tumors sparing healthy liver tissue. SIR-Spheres were developed in the 1980s in Australia and gained FDA approval in March 2002.