Abstract
We are pleased to share with the JOPT readers the transcripts of 5 “hot topic” panel discussions that were held at the 2018 International Symposium of Pharmacology and Therapeutics (ISOPT) Clinical meeting in Tel Aviv, Israel.
We addressed 5 major areas in ophthalmology, focusing on advantages/limitations of current drug therapy and new therapies on the horizon. The idea was to gain a better understanding of the current utilization of drugs and algorithms of therapy, while at the same time considering what the near future holds, and how would practices change as new therapeutics enter the market. One of the goals was to force us to rethink our current structured paradigms of treatments in ophthalmology. The 5 panel discussions in this special issue deal with treatment issues in glaucoma, cornea and external diseases, retina, inflammatory eye diseases (uveitis), and drug delivery.
It is not uncommon that therapeutics and diagnostics develop hand in hand. As new effective therapeutics emerge, the importance of better diagnostics that can measure efficacy becomes ever so relevant. This is another point of interest that we have tried to cover at the ISOPT Clinical meetings and generally address in this current issue of hot topic discussions. Some examples are the changing role of optical coherence tomography in retinal diseases and glaucoma follow-up of therapy. Tear analysis and its role in directing dry eye therapy is another example that is still evolving.
We were fortunate to assemble a group of thought leaders in each field, allowing us an in-depth clinical discussion with experts that have hands-on experience both in treating the various diseases and in serving as valued consultants to the pharmaceutical industry on future development.
We hope these discussions will provide a different way of thinking about medical issues in ophthalmology. It is not an evidence-based classic collection of articles, but it is a “clinical experience”-based collection of insights, relying upon hundreds of expert years, a large number of evidence-based studies and “real-world” experience of leading experts.
We wish you a pleasant reading.