 |
|
Medication slows progression of myopia in children
August 27, 2008Daily treatment with a medication called pirenzepine can slow the rate of progressive myopia, or nearsightedness, in children, reports a study in the August issue of the Journal of AAPOS (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus).
Led by Dr. R. Michael Stiatkowski of Dean McGee Eye Institute/University of Oklahoma Department of Ophthalmology, the researchers evaluated the effects of pirenzepine in children with myopia. Myopia-sometimes called nearsightedness-is a condition in which focus on near objects is good, but distant objects appear blurry. Caused by a problem with the length of the eyeball or the curvature of the cornea, myopia gets worse over time in many children.
In the study, children with myopia were randomly assigned to treatment with pirenzepine gel or an inactive placebo gel. After a year of treatment, the average increase in myopia was significantly less for children using pirenzepine. The new study presents the final results in 84 patients who continued treatment for a total of two years: 53 with pirenzepine and 31 with placebo.
Although myopia worsened in both groups of children, the rate of progression was slower with pirenzepine. At the end of two years, myopia increased by an average of 0.58 diopters in children using pirenzepine versus 0.99 diopters with placebo. (All children initially had "moderate" myopia, with an average refractive error of about -2.00 diopters.)
New glasses are generally prescribed when myopia worsens by at least 0.75 diopters. During the study, 37 percent of children using pirenzepine met this cut-off point compared with 68 percent of the placebo group. With glasses, all children had about 20/20 vision at both the beginning and end of the study.
Pirenzepine treatment was generally safe, although eleven percent of children stopped using it because of side effects such as eye irritation. The drug also caused mild dilation of the pupils. The amount of change in the length of the eyeball was not significantly different between groups, although more research is needed to determine whether pirenzepine affects the growth of the eyes.
Myopia is the leading cause of loss of vision worldwide, affecting at least 25 percent of U.S. adults. Effective treatments to prevent or delay progressive myopia may reduce the risk of serious complications such as detached retina and glaucoma-even for children with moderate myopia, the risk of retinal detachment is increased by up to four times.
Treatments to slow worsening myopia could also have important quality-of-life benefits. For example, while children with -1.00 diopter of myopia may need glasses only part-time, those with -2.00 diopters will probably need glasses for all activities, including school and sports.
Previous studies have suggested that a drug called atropine can delay progression of myopia. The new results show that pirenzepine-a related drug with fewer side effects-is also safe and effective for this purpose.
More research will be needed before pirenzepine can be widely recommended for children with myopia. Key questions include the long-term effects and optimal length of pirenzepine treatment. In addition, more convenient and practical methods of drug administration may help to overcome some of the disadvantages of pirenzepine gel.
Elsevier
Although myopia worsened in both groups of children, the rate of progression was slower with pirenzepine. At the end of two years, myopia increased by an average of 0.58 diopters in children using pirenzepine versus 0.99 diopters with placebo. (All children initially had "moderate" myopia, with an average refractive error of about -2.00 diopters.)
New glasses are generally prescribed when myopia worsens by at least 0.75 diopters. During the study, 37 percent of children using pirenzepine met this cut-off point compared with 68 percent of the placebo group. With glasses, all children had about 20/20 vision at both the beginning and end of the study.
Pirenzepine treatment was generally safe, although eleven percent of children stopped using it because of side effects such as eye irritation. The drug also caused mild dilation of the pupils. The amount of change in the length of the eyeball was not significantly different between groups, although more research is needed to determine whether pirenzepine affects the growth of the eyes.
Myopia is the leading cause of loss of vision worldwide, affecting at least 25 percent of U.S. adults. Effective treatments to prevent or delay progressive myopia may reduce the risk of serious complications such as detached retina and glaucoma-even for children with moderate myopia, the risk of retinal detachment is increased by up to four times.
Treatments to slow worsening myopia could also have important quality-of-life benefits. For example, while children with -1.00 diopter of myopia may need glasses only part-time, those with -2.00 diopters will probably need glasses for all activities, including school and sports.
Previous studies have suggested that a drug called atropine can delay progression of myopia. The new results show that pirenzepine-a related drug with fewer side effects-is also safe and effective for this purpose.
More research will be needed before pirenzepine can be widely recommended for children with myopia. Key questions include the long-term effects and optimal length of pirenzepine treatment. In addition, more convenient and practical methods of drug administration may help to overcome some of the disadvantages of pirenzepine gel.
Elsevier
Myopia Current Events and Myopia News RSSKids think eyeglasses make other kids look smart
Young children tend to think that other kids with glasses look smarter than kids who don't wear glasses, according to a new study. Children between the ages of 6 and 10 who were surveyed for the study also thought that kids wearing glasses looked more honest than children who don't wear glasses.
New research on how season of birth may affect nearsightedness and on cornea donor sources
Does season of birth play a role in the development of nearsightedness? Do corneas from older donors meet quality standards for transplant surgery? These are among the topics explored in the April 2008 issue of Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Mythbusted -- people who wear glasses aren't geeks
Latest Australian research into myopia or shortsightedness reveals that people who wear glasses are not stereotypical geeks or nerds.
LASIK works well, according to long-term study of highly myopic patients
Laser surgery to correct vision problems has been in use since the early 1990s. Photorefractive Keratotomy (PRK) is typically used to correct low to moderate myopia, while laser in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK) is preferred for high myopia corrections.
TAU Researchers Discover Correlation Between Birth Month and Short-Sightedness
Planning for a summer delivery for your child? You might want to choose an ophthalmologist along with an obstetrician.
Study urges compensation-based approach to drug patent compulsory licensing
A Penn State researcher argues that ambiguous international rules outlining when and how governments may "break" pharmaceutical patents may end up significantly reducing incentives for innovation while at the same time failing to increase access to medicines.
LASIK for older adults
A new University of Illinois at Chicago study appearing in the online edition of the journal Ophthalmology reports on the safety, efficacy and predictability of laser eye surgery (laser in situ keratomileusis or LASIK) in patients 40-69 years old.
MIT: Lack of fuel may limit US nuclear power expansion
Limited supplies of fuel for nuclear power plants may thwart the renewed and growing interest in nuclear energy in the United States and other nations, says an MIT expert on the industry.
Study suggests wearing no-line bifocals slows myopia progression in some children
Certain children who wear a special kind of no-line bifocal lenses show signs of slower progression of myopia than those who wear more conventional lenses according to a new study published in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (IOVS).
Innovative surgery corrects vision in kids with neurological disorders
Children with cerebral palsy and other neurological problems often have extremely poor eyesight.
More Myopia Current Events and Myopia News Articles
 | Marketing Myopia (Harvard Business Review Classics) (Harvard Business Review Classics) by Ted Levitt What business is your company really in? That's a question all executives should all ask before demand for their firm's products or services dwindles. In Marketing Myopia, Theodore Levitt offers examples of companies that became obsolete because they misunderstood what business they were in and thus what their customers wanted. He identifies the four widespread myths that put companies at risk of... |
| Third International Conference on Myopia (Documenta Ophthalmologica Proceedings Series) | |
 | Refractive Eye Surgery A Consumer's Complete Guide: LASIK, IntraLASIK, Epi-LASIK, CK, Implantable Contact Lenses, and Other Surgical Eye Procedures ... Dependence on Glasses and Contact Lenses by Chris Knobbe Author Chris A. Knobbe, M.D., Ophthalmologist (Eye Physician and Surgeon) and Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, has written the definitive treatise on refractive surgical procedures to reduce dependence on glasses and contact lenses. The book is intended specifically for the consumer and is written in patient-friendly language. No... |
 | Myopia Manual: An Impartial Documentation of All the Reasons, Therapies and Recommendations by Klaus Schmid |
 | The Myopia Myth: The Truth About Nearsightedness and How to Prevent It by Donald S. Rehm |
 | The Ostrich Factor: Our Population Myopia by Garrett Hardin Garrett Hardin, one of our leading thinkers on problems of human overpopulation, here assails the recklessness and basic ecological ignorance of economists and others who champion the idea of unbounded growth. Hardin delivers an uncompromising critique of mainstream economic thinking. Science has long understood the limits of our environment, he notes, and yet economists consistently turn a... |
 | Myopia and the Control of Eye Growth - Symposium No. 155 by CIBA Foundation Symposium Myopia and the Control of Eye Growth Chairman: J. Wallman 1990 Myopia is the most common disorder of the eye, affecting 800f the population in some countries. Its basis remains uncertain; recent developments of animal models of myopia have permitted experimental tests of hypotheses about possible aetiological causes. This symposium covers the normal growth of the eye and the involvement of... |
 | Myopia and Nearwork by Mark Rosenfield, Bernard Gilmartin This book combines theory, practice and research into the field in one complete... |
| The Myopias: Basic Science and Clinical Management by Brian J. Curtin | |
| Disaster Myopia in International Banking (Essays in international finance) by Jack M. Guttentag |
| © 2008 BrightSurf.com |