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Thursday / February 13.
HomeminewsLasting Effect of Contact Lenses for Slowing Myopia

Lasting Effect of Contact Lenses for Slowing Myopia

Children who wore special contact lenses to slow the progression of myopia maintained the treatment benefit after they stopped wearing the contacts as older teens, new research has found.1

The study is a follow-up to a clinical trial, published in 2020,2 that showed soft multifocal contact lenses with a heavy dose of added reading power dramatically slowed further progression of myopia in kids as young as seven years old.

However, researchers in the BLINK (Bifocal Lenses in Nearsighted Kids) study wondered if there would be a rebound effect of discontinuing the treatment.

“There was concern that the eye might grow faster than normal when myopia-control contact lenses were discontinued,” said Dr David A. Berntsen, Chair of clinical sciences at the University of Houston College of Optometry.3

In the follow-up trial, known as BLINK2, nearsighted kids wore high-add bifocal lenses for two years followed by one year with single-vision contact lenses.

Single vision prescription glasses and contact lenses can correct myopic vision, but they fail to treat the underlying problem, which is the eye continuing to grow longer than normal. By contrast, soft multifocal contact lenses correct myopic vision in children while simultaneously slowing myopia progression by slowing eye growth.

Designed like a bullseye, multifocal contact lenses focus light in two basic ways. The centre portion of the lens corrects nearsightedness so that distance vision is clear, and it focusses light directly on the retina. The outer portion of the lens adds focussing power to bring the peripheral light into focus in front of the retina. Animal studies show that bringing light to focus in front of the retina may slow growth. The higher the reading power, the further in front of the retina it focusses peripheral light.

Our findings suggest that it’s a reasonable strategy to fit children with multifocal contact lenses for myopia control at a younger age and continue treatment until the late teenage years

BLINK2 Results

Results showed that while there was a small increase (0.03 mm/year) in eye growth across all age groups after discontinuing multifocal lenses, the overall rate of eye growth was no different than the age expected rate.

Participants who had been in the original study high-add multifocal treatment group continued to have shorter eyes and less myopia at the end of the follow-up study. Children who were switched to high-add multifocal contact lenses for the first time during the follow-up study did not catch up to those who had worn high-add lenses since the start of the original clinical trial when they were seven to 11 years of age.

“Our findings suggest that it’s a reasonable strategy to fit children with multifocal contact lenses for myopia control at a younger age and continue treatment until the late teenage years when myopia progression has slowed,” said follow-up study Chair, Dr Jeffrey J. Walline, Associate Dean for research at the Ohio State University College of Optometry, Columbus.4

“We want doctors to understand that you don’t lose the benefits that you gain with this treatment,” Dr Walline said.

“But more importantly, what we want to do with this research is give patients healthier eyes at a lower cost with more options. And then in adulthood, we want them to be able to function fully and with clear vision.”

References

  1. Berntsen DA, Ticak A, Walline JJ, et al. Axial growth and myopia progression after discontinuing soft multifocal contact lens wear. JAMA Ophthalmol. Published online Jan 16, 2025. doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2024.5885.
  2. Walline JJ, Walker MK, Berntsen DA, et al.; BLINK Study Group. Effect of high add power, medium add power, or single-vision contact lenses on myopia progression in children: The BLINK randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2020 Aug 11;324(6):571-580. doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.10834.
  3. National Institutes of Health, Contact lenses used to slow nearsightedness in youth have a lasting effect (news release, 16 Jan 2025) available at: nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/contact-lenses-used-slow-nearsightedness-youth-have-lasting-effect [accessed Jan 2025].
  4. Caldwell E, The staying power of bifocal contact lens benefits in young kids, Ohio State University News (news release, 16 Jan 2025) available at: news.osu.edu/the-staying-power-of-bifocal-contact-lens-benefits-in-young-kids [accessed Jan 2025].

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