UCF researchers are teaming up with Boston University to develop a miniature diagnostic tool kit that will detect the early onset of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The device is being built at UCF while research is also being conducted at Boston University. The project will use nanoparticles on a chip about the size of a credit card to detect damaging levels of oxygen byproducts in the central nervous system.

VisionCare Ophthalmic Technologies Inc, a developer of advanced visual prosthetic devices for individuals with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), announced scientific and corporate presentations on its implantable telescope technology. VisionCare’s investigational telescope implant is the first medical device to be recommended for FDA approval by the FDA Ophthalmic Devices Advisory Panel for End-Stage AMD, a leading cause of untreatable blindness in the US.

The FDA and CDC officials announced that they have received reports of adverse events associated with the use of gentamicin ophthalmic ointment (0.3%) for prophylaxis against ophthalmia neonatorum or neonatal conjunctivitis. The product is marketed by Lake Forest, Ill.-based Akorn Inc as Gentak. The cases, which occurred in multiple locales and included product from several lots, have involved eyelid swelling and dermatitis that appears a few days after ointment application. Most cases have been mild and have not required additional treatment, but more severe cases have been associated with blistering of the skin.

Pharmaceuticals are increasing for production of AzaSite (azithromycin ophthalmic solution) 1 percent in the US and Canada in response to the manufacturing supply shortage of erythromycin ophthalmic ointment (0.5%). Erythromycin ophthalmic ointment is approved for prophylaxis of ophthalmia neonatorum, a form of bacterial conjunctivitis that may be contracted by newborns during delivery. The ointment was placed on the FDA’s Drug Shortage list.