- ALLERGY, RESPIRATORY
- Childhood Food Allergies on the Rise
- Air Pollution May Raise Blood Pressure
- 'Safe' Ozone Levels May Not Be for Some
- ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
- Should Your Child Be Seeing a Chiropractor?
- Acupuncture Eases Side Effects of Head, Neck Cancer Treatments
- Hypnosis Cuts Hot Flashes for Breast Cancer Survivors
- ANIMAL CARE
- Rest Easy. When It Comes to Swine Flu, Your Pet Is Safe
- Beware of Dog Bites
- Animals Respond to Acupuncture's Healing Touch
- BONES & JOINTS
- Gene Therapy May Ease Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Health Tip: Back Pain in Children
- 'Snowbirds' Beware the Climate Changes
- CANCER
- Scams and Shams That Prey on Cancer Patients
- Asthmatics Who Quit Smoking May Reverse Lung Damage
- Vitamin D May Lower Colon Cancer Risk
- CAREGIVING
- Obese Children More Likely to Suffer Lower Body Injuries
- Few Hospitals Embracing Electronic Health Record Systems
- Caregiving May Lengthen Life
- CIRCULATORY SYSTEM
- Drink a Little Wine, Live a Little Longer
- Salt Boosts Blood Pressure in High-Risk Patients
- Smog Tougher on the Obese
- COSMETIC
- With Psoriasis, the Internet May Offer Hope
- The Acne Drug Accutane More Than Doubles Depression Risk
- Wrinkle Fillers Need Better Label Warnings: FDA Panel
- DENTAL, ORAL
- Most Insured Adults Worry About Health Care Costs: Poll
- Hormones May Be to Blame for Women's Cavity Rates
- Acid Drinks Blamed for Increase in Tooth Erosion
- DIABETES
- Poor Blood Sugar Control After Heart Surgery Impacts Outcomes
- Formula Puts Doctor, Patient Glucose Readings on Same Page
- Older Diabetics With Depression Face Higher Death Rate
- DIET, NUTRITION
- For Fitness, Cutting Calories May Not Be Enough
- Mediterranean Diet Enriched With Nuts Cuts Heart Risks
- Compound in Berries May Lessen Sun Damage
- DISABILITIES
- Could Your Cell Phone Help Shield You From Alzheimer's?
- Review Finds Marijuana May Help MS Patients
- ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
- Is It Safe to Go in the Gulf Coast's Water?
- Smog Standards Need Tightening, Activists Say
- Scorpion Anti-Venom Speeds Children's Recovery
- EYE CARE, VISION
- Diabetic Hispanics Missing Out on Eye Exams
- Gene-Transfer Proves Safe for Vision Problem
- Clues Found to Brain Mechanism Behind Migraines
- FITNESS
- Keep Safety in Mind While Your Kids Are Cooling Off in the Water
- Early Exercise Boosts Outcomes for ICU Patients
- Will the Wii Keep You Fit?
- GASTROINTESTINAL PROBLEMS
- Bowel Prep Harder on Women Than Men
- Peppermint Oil, Fiber Can Fight Irritable Bowel
- New Yogurt May Ease Stomach Ulcers
- GENERAL HEALTH
- Vitamin E Helps Treat Common Liver Disease
- Brisk Walk Can Help Leave Common Cold Behind
- After Job Loss, People Report More Health Issues
- HEAD & NECK
- Many Children Will Outgrow Headaches
- Ski Helmets Encouraged for All
- Zen May Thicken Brain, Thwart Pain
- HEALTH & TECHNOLOGY
- Airport Full Body Scanners Pose No Health Threat: Experts
- Magnet Therapy May Ease Hard-to-Treat Depression
- Subway Defibrillators Save Lives
- HEART & CARDIOVASCULAR
- Coffee Is Generally Heart-Friendly
- Most Fast-Food French Fries Cooked in Unhealthiest Oil
- A Little Chocolate May Do the Heart Good
- INFECTIOUS DISEASE
- Older Adults May Have Some Immunity to Swine Flu
- Viral Infection Might Trigger High Blood Pressure
- Swine Flu Closes Three Schools in NYC
- KID'S HEALTH
- Time to Remind Teens About Sun Protection
- Working Intensely Early on May Help Autistic Kids
- Music May Temper Pain in Preemies
- MEN'S HEALTH
- Drinking Green Tea May Slow Prostate Cancer
- Sunlight May Help Protect Men From Kidney Cancer
- Physical Activity May Prolong Survival After Colon Cancer
- MENTAL HEALTH
- Keeping a Healthy Holiday Balance
- Brain Scans Show How Humans 'Hear' Emotion
- Reminiscing Helps Build Emotional Strength
- PREGNANCY
- Before Conceiving, Take Folic Acid for One Full Year
- Mom's Extra Pregnancy Pounds May Raise Child's Heart Risks
- Woman in America Are Delaying Motherhood, Study Says
- SENIORS
- Community Exercise Programs Boost Seniors' Strength
- Common Antioxidant Might Slow Parkinson's
- Vitamin D May Help Keep Aging at Bay
High Temps Degrade Contact Lens Solution: Study
By eHolistic.com Published: 11/10/2008
MONDAY, Nov. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Prolonged exposure to high temperatures degrades the antifungal properties of the ReNu with MoistureLoc contact lens solution, which was implicated in a U.S. eye infection outbreak between 2004 and 2006, a new study says.
ReNu with MoistureLoc contains a microbial agent not found in other contact lens solutions. Between August 2004 and March 2006, there were 154 confirmed cases of the eye infection Fusarium keratitis among users of ReNu with MoistureLoc, made by Bausch & Lomb, the study authors said.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cited the company for inadequate temperature control in the production, storage and transport of ReNu with MoistureLoc produced at Bausch & Lomb's Greenville, S.C., plant.
In the new study, Dr. John D. Bullock, of the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine in Dayton, Ohio, and colleagues conducted tests on ReNu with MoistureLoc and five other contact lens solutions.
"Two bottles of each solution were separately stored at room temperature and 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit) for four weeks, serially diluted and then tested for their ability to inhibit growth of 11 Fusariam isolates [seven of which were associated with the keratitis epidemic]," the researchers wrote.
Compared to the other solutions, ReNu with MoistureLoc showed the greatest decline in antifungal activity when stored at 60 degrees C. Clear Care and ReNu MultiPlus performed the best, the researchers said.
When the researchers focused on the strains of Fusariam associated with the keratitis outbreak, ReNu with MoistureLoc allowed fungal growth in 27 of 84 combinations when stored at room temperature and in 67 of 84 combinations when stored at 60 degrees C.
The study was published in the November issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology.
"The precise temperature, duration of exposure to elevated temperature and extent of temperature fluctuation that may diminish the antimicrobial activity of a particular contact lens solution is not known, and thus, additional studies may be warranted. However, our findings, coupled with the FDA reports of Bausch & Lomb's failure to regulate the storage and transport temperatures of the products manufactured in their Greensville plant, may be significant," the study authors concluded.
"Knowledge of the potential loss of antimicrobial activity of contact lens solutions and other pharmaceutical products when exposed to higher temperatures and the risk of such exposure when storing and transporting those products may help prevent such epidemics in the future," the researchers added.
More information
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has more about contact lenses and eye infections.
-- Robert Preidt
SOURCE: JAMA/Archives journals, news release, Nov. 10, 2008
Last Updated: Nov. 10, 2008
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