This retrospective study from Ireland found that despite recent increases in practitioners fitting myopia control contact lenses in Ireland, more than 60% of children were still managed with single vision correction only. Improving the prescribing rates of evidence-based myopia control treatments will ensure progressing myopes are less likely to miss appropriate intervention opportunities.
This study found the risk of microbial keratitis for children fitted with contact lenses for myopia control was less than the risk of visual impairment from myopia progression to over 3D or axial lengths exceeding 26mm. If worn throughout childhood, the extra benefits of myopia control contact lenses outweigh the risks of infection, especially if the lenses are daily disposable.
This case describes a teenager with a low refractive error but a surprisingly long axial length. Should we monitor or actively manage their myopia? In this case, axial length tells a different story than other factors in identifying the long-term risks of myopia for the patient.
Previous studies have explored a link between choroidal thickness measures and myopia development. This longitudinal study found that although having thinner choroid layers at age 11 were not associated with adolescent myopia or eye length growth, having a longer axial length was predictive of future myopia development and progression.
The first year data from the ongoing CYPRESS randomized clinical trial show that Diffusion Optics Technology (DOT) spectacle lenses can regulate contrast signals across the retina to reduce myopia progression in children aged 6-10 years, and are safe and effective to wear.
Chinese children aged 6-9 years who had bedtimes later than 9:30pm showed a 1.55 fold risk of myopia compared to those with a pre-9pm bedtime, and were also more likely to have myopic parents, wake up later and spend more time reading or on screens than outdoors in a week. There was no relationship found between sleep duration and myopia.
This retrospective cohort analysis showed that NaturalVue Multifocal 1 Day contact lens wear appears to result in a mean refractive myopia progression of less than 0.25D per year, based on available data. Some limited axial length data was also presented.
This study demonstrated that man-made indoor environments may provide a myopigenic effect from reduced illumination and spatial frequencies. More research is needed to confirm if the mechanism for form deprivation from reduced spatial frequencies in humans is similar to that found for animals, and what improvements can be made to indoor environments to offset the risk for myopia.
This Singapore study found that 10-12% of ALL adult myopes aged 40-80 years – not just high myopes – suffered either onset or progression of MMD over 12 years. Risk factors included each additional year of age and 1mm of axial length. The most significant predictive sign was tesselated fundus.
Analysis of the BLINK study results showed a global more than localized impact on slowing eye growth in +2.50 CD multifocal contact lens wear. The slowed growth effects were greater centrally than peripherally. This suggests local defocus responses may not provide the full story behind myopia control mechanisms.
