Week in review: Killer drops, slick contacts, vision mojo

A weekly roundup of ophthalmic news from around the web.

If looks could kill… or in Lana Sue Clayton’s case, it was eye drops and it did. Clayton was sentenced to 25 years in prison after killing her husband with Visine eye drops. She poisoned him over the course of 3 days by adding the drops to his water, causing toxic—and deadly—levels of tetrahydrozoline in his blood. The former Veterans Affairs nurse claimed she only meant to make her husband “uncomfortable,” according to the Associated Press. “I never thought it would kill him.” New York Times

Scientists have unearthed an unexpected link between wet and dry AMD. It turns out that chronic deficiency of an enzyme called Dicer—which causes RPE degeneration and aberrant choroidal and retinal neovascularization—drives both forms of AMD. The findings solidify the idea that wet and dry AMD share a lot of mechanisms, said principle investigator Brad Gelfand, PhD. While the discovery isn’t the final answer for a cure, Gelfand noted, it is a “big step along the way.” University of Virginia Health System, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

A new type of self-moisturizing contact lenses could be just the ticket for preventing dry eye, researchers report in Advanced Materials Technologies. The technology is based on a novel electroosmotic flow mechanism, which coaxes liquid to flow from the temporary tear reservoir behind the lower lid to the surface of the eye whenever a current is applied. Biobatteries, which are safe and nontoxic, are used to power the lenses. Future work is aimed at expanding this technology for other applications such as drug delivery. Tohoku University, Advanced Materials Technologies

Imagine scrolling through cell phone apps with just a flick of your eye. That technology could soon be reality, because Mojo Vision is working on the world’s first true smart contact lens: a discrete, hands-free low-vision aid aimed at improving mobility, reading and sighting. Recently armed with the FDA’s breakthrough designation, the lens will be equipped with enhanced image overlays with real-time contrast, lighting enhancements and zoom functionality. Mojo Vision plans to optimize the device for people with low vision first; general consumers will have to wait a little longer for this technological mojo. Mojo Vision

A case report of a (human) baby with “raccoon eyes” made its way into the latest issue of Ophthalmology. The 10-month-old boy presented with a history of recurrent bruising around his eye—without any trauma. Examinations showed that the child had bilateral periorbital ecchymosis, subconjunctival hemorrhages and bilateral extensive mass surrounding bony orbit with widespread skull erosion. A biopsy of an abdominal mass in the left adrenal gland region eventually led to the diagnosis of neuroblastoma with orbital metastasis. Ophthalmology