KEY TAKEAWAY POINTS
• Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) can cause devastating damage to the eye and permanent vision loss
• Most cases of AK occur in contact lens wearers and exposure of lenses to water has been identified as a key risk factor
• OPTI-FREE® PureMoist® showed superior antimicrobial activity against two common strains of Acanthamoeba trophozoites (ATCC 30461 and ATCC 50370) compared to Biotrue, Acuvue RevitaLens and renu Advanced Formula based on traditional log reduction kill and an alternative method using Propidium Iodide staining to show cell death Figure 1 A & B: A) Acanthamoeba trophozoite showing extended pseudopodia (feet). B) Acanthamoeba cysts in its characteristic round/encased form. (images from Alcon Research, Ltd)
