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Research by an optometrist at the University of Houston (UH)supports the continued investigation of optical treatments thatattempt to slow the progression of nearsightedness in children. Conducted by UH College of Optometry assistant professor DavidBerntsen and his colleagues from The Ohio State University, thestudy compared the effects of wearing and then not wearingprogressive addition lenses, better known as no-line bifocals, inchildren who are nearsighted. With funding by a National Institutesof Health National Eye Institute training grant and support fromEssilor of America Inc. and the American Optometric FoundationEzell Fellowship program, the study examined 85 children from 6-11years old over the course of two years. The results were publishedin Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science , one of the most widely read journals in the field. Selected according to their eye alignment and accuracy of focusingon near objects, the myopic children were fitted with either normalsingle-vision lenses or no-line bifocals to correct theirnearsightedness. In addition to observing and testing the children,the doctors obtained feedback from parents and guardians of boththe children's outdoor activities and near-work tasks, such asreading and computer use. Previous research suggested that nearsighted children who do notfocus accurately when reading books or doing other near work maybenefit more from wearing no-line bifocal glasses than nearsightedchildren who focus more accurately. Berntsen's study found a small,yet statistically significant, slowing of myopia progression inchildren wearing the bifocals compared to those who simply woresingle-vision lenses. Berntsen asserts, however, that the resultsdo not suggest that children be fitted with no-line bifocal lensessolely for the purpose of slowing the progression of myopia. "While the small effect found in the group of children wearingbifocal spectacles does not warrant a change in clinical practice,we found the beneficial effect was still present for at least oneyear after children stopped wearing no-line bifocal lenses,"Berntsen said. "This is promising if other optical lens designs canbe developed that do an even better job of slowing how fast myopiaincreases in children." By understanding why different types of lenses result in theslowing of myopia progression, Berntsen says researchers will bebetter able to design lenses that may be more effective in slowingthe increase of nearsightedness in children. "Single-vision lenses are normally prescribed when a child gets apair of glasses, but glasses with progressive addition lenses wereshown to slightly reduce myopic progression in our study," Berntsensaid. "For any treatment that reduces myopia progression inchildren to be useful, the effect of the spectacles or contactlenses must persist after children stop wearing them. The fact thatthe small treatment effect from our study was still present oneyear after discontinuing the treatment is promising. The resultssuggest that if newer optical designs currently being investigateddo a better job of slowing myopia progression, the effects may beexpected to persist and decrease how nearsighted the childultimately becomes." An important goal of this study, in particular, was to help themimprove their understanding of the mechanism behind myopiaprogression in children and why no-line bifocals cause this smallreduction in its progression. Berntsen says the study results andevidence from other studies suggest that lenses specificallydesigned to change blur in the eye's peripheral vision may be ableto slow the increase of nearsightedness. "There is support for continuing to investigate new lensesspecially designed to change the blur profile on the back of theeye in order to reduce the increase of myopia in children,"Berntsen said. "There is still further research to be done, but ourwork is an important step in discovering the methods needed to slowthe progression of nearsightedness." Additional References Citations. I am an expert from auto-drivebelts.com, while we provides the quality product, such as China Brake Disc Replacement , China Motor V Belt, Ribbed V Belt,and more.
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