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Silicone hydrogels yield greater cholesterol deposits over time
Cholesterol uptake was found to be higher with silicone hydrogel lens materials than conventional hydrogel materials, according to researchers in Optometry and Vision Science.
Three silicone hydrogels and four conventional hydrogels were incubated in an artificial tear solution that contained major tear film components for various time periods of 2, 6, 12 or 16 hours to gauge the effects on cholesterol deposition, according to the study.
Walther and colleagues found that cholesterol deposited more on silicone hydrogels (SH) than conventional hydrogels (CH), excluding somofilcon A and nesolfilcon A materials.
Among SH materials, narafilcon A accumulated the largest quantity of cholesterol, according to researchers, and somofilcon A had the lowest cholesterol.
For all lenses, the uptake of cholesterol ranged from 22.63 2.98 ng/lens to 97.94 4.18 ng/lens, the researchers reported. Throughout the total incubation period of 16 hours, the accumulation of cholesterol remained continuous without reaching a plateau, regardless of lens material.
“The SH daily disposable lens materials demonstrated significantly higher rates of cholesterol deposition than the CH daily disposable materials, and this information is valuable for practitioners to consider when considering using such materials in patients with tear films that may contain excess lipid,” the researchers concluded. – by Abigail Sutton
Disclosure: Walther reported no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the full study for all remaining authors’ disclosures.