ARVO2026 Recap #2 – Spectacle lenses under the spotlight

Paper: Two-year safety and effectiveness of Stellest lenses for slowing myopia progression in a US pediatric population

Authors: Jie Shen¹, Graeme Young², Christopher Hunt², Bjorn Drobe³

1. R&D, Essilor International, affiliate of EssilorLuxottica, Dallas, Texas, United States
2. Visioncare Research Limited, Farnham, England, United Kingdom
3. R&D, Essilor International, affiliate of EssilorLuxottica, Singapore

[Link to abstract]

Paper: Impact of age and baseline myopia on the effectiveness of Stellest lenses in a US pediatric population

Authors: Ee Woon Lim¹, Jie Shen², Graeme Young³, Christopher Hunt³, Bjorn Drobe¹

1. R&D, Essilor International, affiliate of EssilorLuxottica, Singapore
2. R&D, Essilor International, affiliate of EssilorLuxottica, Dallas, Texas, United States
3. Visioncare Research Limited, Farnham, England, United Kingdom

[Link to abstract]

This study evaluated the safety and effectiveness of Essilor Stellest lenses for myopia control in a US pediatric population to support US market authorization. A 2-year, multi-centre, double-masked, randomized clinical trial enrolled myopic children aged 6–12 years from nine US sites. 149 participants were randomly assigned to Essilor Stellest or single vision lenses (SVL), and instructed to wear the lenses for ≥ 10 hours/day, ≥ 6 days/week. 135 children completed the 24-month follow-up. At 24 months, the average daily wearing time for Essilor Stellest was 13.3 hours. Children who wore Essilor Stellest lenses demonstrated 0.64 D and 0.24mm less progression compared to controls – representing a myopia control efficacy of 71% and 53%, respectively.

In a separate subgroup analysis, the impact of age and baseline myopia on the effectiveness of Essilor Stellest lenses was assessed. Essilor Stellest demonstrated consistent efficacy in slowing cSER progression across all pediatric age groups, with the greatest benefit observed in younger children (6–8 years: 89%; 9–10 years: 62%; 11–12 years: 72%). Treatment efficacy was consistent regardless of the child’s baseline myopia.

Authors: Xue Li¹, Yingying Huang¹, Bjorn Drobe², Hao Chen¹, Jinhua Bao¹

1. National Engineering Research Center of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China
2. R&D AMERA Singapore, Essilor International, Singapore

This study investigated the myopia control efficacy of spectacle lenses with highly aspherical lenslets (HAL) worn continuously over 7 years in Chinese myopic children. In this longitudinal follow-up study, 43 children who had completed 5 years of HAL wear were invited to continue for an additional 2 years. Outcomes were compared against an extrapolated single-vision lens (SVL) control group modelled from the first 2 years of the same clinical trial. 

The 40 children in the HAL who completed 7-year follow-up (mean age 17.5 years) showed reduced myopia progression (-1.53D vs -3.83D) and AL elongation (0.79mm vs 1.71mm) compared to the extrapolated control group – representing a 60% and 54% efficacy, respectively. HAL lenses demonstrated sustained efficacy in slowing myopia progression and axial elongation over 7 years of continuous wear.

[Link to abstract]

Authors: Jennifer S. Hill¹, Debbie Laughton¹, Dechen Lucill Wang¹, Zhi Chen²

1. SightGlass Vision Inc, Dallas, Texas, United States
2. Fudan University, Shanghai, Shanghai, China

This study evaluated the myopia control efficacy of contrast modulation (Diffusion Optics Technology; DOT) spectacle lenses in Chinese children. This 24-month randomised, masked, controlled clinical trial across 5 Chinese hospitals enrolled myopic children aged 6–12 years, assigning them 2:1 to DOT or single-vision (SV) spectacle lenses. 

At 24 months, DOT wearers demonstrated less AL elongation and cSER progression compared to the SV group (0.27mm/-0.43D vs 0.68mm/-1.20D), representing a 59% reduction in AL elongation and 64% reduction in cSER progression. Over half of children (59%) wearing DOT showed no clinically meaningful progression (<0.50D), compared with SV (19%). DOT lenses effectively slowed axial elongation and myopia progression over 2 years, supporting the hypothesis that retinal contrast modulation is a viable mechanism for myopia control in children.

[Link to abstract]

Authors: Xiaoqin Chen¹, Min Wu², Cui Yu³, Arne Ohlendorf⁵, Wayne Li⁴, Xingyi Guo¹, Youhua Yang⁴, Yi Zhu⁴, Lihua Li¹, Nicole Liu⁵, Padmaja Sankaridurg^5,6

1. Tianjin Eye Hospital, Tianjin Key Lab of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Tianjin Eye Hospital Optometric Center, Tianjin, China
2. Beijing Tongren Vision Care, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, Beijing, China
3. He Eye Specialist Hospital, Shenyang, Liaoning, China
4. ZEISS Vision Care, Carl Zeiss Vision (Guangzhou) Ltd, China
5. ZEISS Vision Care, Carl Zeiss Vision International GmbH, Germany
6. School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of New South Wales, New South Wales, Australia

This study evaluated the effectiveness of spectacle lenses incorporating cylindrical annular refractive elements (CARE) in slowing myopia progression over 3 years compared to single-vision (SV) lenses. This ongoing prospective, double-masked, randomised, multi-centre clinical trial enrolled 240 Chinese children aged 6–13 years. Children were assigned to one of three groups: SV, MyoCare (ZEISS), or MyoCare S (ZEISS). 

At 3 years, both CARE groups showed less SE progression and AL elongation compared to SV (MyoCare: -1.07D/0.57mm; MyoCare S: -1.24D/0.67mm; SV: -1.69D/0.85mm). Compared with SV, this represented absolute reductions of 0.62D/0.28mm for MyoCare and 0.45D/0.18mm for MyoCare S. Both MyoCare and MyoCare S lenses continued to slow myopia progression through year 3, with MyoCare demonstrating greater efficacy than MyoCare S. 

[Link to abstract]

Authors: Neema Ghorbani-Mojarrad^1,2, Isabel Schöllhorn³, Kathryn Webber¹, Andrea Welk³, Anne Seidemann³

1. Department of Optometry, School of Pharmacy, Optometry, and Medical Sciences, University of Bradford, Bradford, United Kingdom
2. Wolfson Centre for Applied Health Research, Bradford, United Kingdom
3. Research Physiology, Rodenstock GmbH, Munich, Germany

This study assessed lens adaptation in new wearers of MyCon spectacle lenses and examined changes in axial length and spherical equivalent refraction over one year. This prospective, single-arm study monitored 26 myopic children aged 7–15 years fitted with MyCon horizontal asymmetric peripheral defocus (HAPD) spectacle lenses for 12 months, following a ‘wash-out’ period with single-vision spectacle lens wear. 

All participants achieved a visual acuity of 0.02 logMAR or better. Overall satisfaction scores were high at initial dispense (8.77/10) and maintained after 12 months (8.5/10). After 12 months, median AL change and mean SER progression were 0.17mm and -0.13D respectively, with a median wearing time of 13 hours a day. Additionally, 40% of participants showed less than 0.1mm/year of elongation. HAPD spectacle lenses appeared to be well tolerated by myopic children in the UK, with most demonstrating reduced ocular growth compared to that expected in untreated myopic children. 

[Link to abstract]

Authors: Chunming Liu¹, Mengdi Li^1,2, Xiaoyan Yang^1,2, Zhenyuan Deng¹, Shijia Qu¹, Xiaoqin Chen^1,2, Lihua Li^1,2

1. Tianjin Eye Hospital Optometric Center, Tianjin, Tianjin, China
2. Nankai University Optometry and Vision Science Institute, Tianjin, Tianjin, China

This study evaluated and compared the real-world effectiveness of three myopia-control spectacle lens designs in reducing axial elongation in children with low myopia. This retrospective cohort study enrolled 3,820 children aged 6–12 years (mean baseline SE -1.63D) fitted with DIMS, HAL, CARE, or single-vision (SV) spectacles. 

Mean annual axial elongation was 0.26mm (DIMS), 0.21mm (HAL), and 0.27mm (CARE), versus 0.46mm for SV, corresponding to a treatment efficacy of 43.5%, 54.3%, and 41.3% respectively. HAL lenses consistently produced the least elongation across all age subgroups, and 33% of HAL wearers achieved axial growth ≤0.1mm. All three lens designs significantly reduced axial elongation compared to SV spectacles - with HAL demonstrating the most robust effect, enabling nearly one-third of children to maintain axial growth within physiological norms.

[Link to abstract]