Therapeutics at Optrafair London

At Optrafair London this year, there were quite a few companies with stands dedicated to therapeutics, noticeably more than at previous Optrafair shows. The majority of companies exhibiting in this area were suppliers of dry eye product, but there were others too. Broadly speaking there were three main categories: age-related macular degeneration, anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory agents and dry eye products.

AMD

Within the first category, macular degeneration, there were two notable products. The first MacuShield (Macuvision Europe) is well-established in the industry now as the supplement containing meso-zeaxanthin, the third identified macular pigment which is normally synthesised within the retina. Great play was made at the stand of the latest published research looking at possible benefits of macular pigment supplementation, including measurable improvement in visual functioning questionnaire scores for drivers, recent indications of reduced macular pigment levels in glaucoma patients, and improved contrast sensitivity. For contrast sensitivity, MacuShield was offering elegantly designed hand-held contrast screening cards which might be used by a patient to assess their own contrast ability and monitor any improvement.