CDC publishes paper in JAMA on keratitis problem associated with lens solution

Further to the fungus problem associated with Bausch & Lomb's ReNu, the CDC has new information on the causative factors:

"We think that there's something about the chemical make-up of the solution that allows the fungus to grow and cause infection," said study senior author Dr. Benjamin J. Park, medical officer with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "We don't know the exact mechanism, but it's important that users of solution don't use Moistureloc."

In May, 2006, Bausch & Lomb stated that the combination of moisturizing agents exclusive to MoistureLoc could increase the risk of keratitis infections in unusual circumstances.

In the CDC work, which appears in the August 23/30 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers looked at confirmed cases of Fusarium keratitis that occurred after June 1, 2005.

As of June 30, 2006, 164 cases had been identified in 33 states and one U.S. territory. About one-third (34 percent) of these patients required corneal transplantation. Almost all (94 percent) wore soft contact lenses.

This latest paper focused on 45 patients and 78 controls. Sixty-nine percent of patients had used ReNu with MoistureLoc, compared with 15 percent of controls.

[Getting back to DreamHealer, one does need controls to begin to make assertions about causation.]