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Expert panel shares latest in myopia control research
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Global authorities in myopia management shared the latest research and efforts to manage the growing prevalence of myopia, here at a CooperVision-hosted panel discussion held prior to the American Academy of Optometry meeting in San Antonio.
Paul Chamberlain, BSc(Hons), director of research programs for CooperVision, presented results of a 4-year study, suggesting a pioneering contact lens management approach to slowing the effects of myopia.
Maria Liu, OD, PhD, MPH, MBA, FAAO, founder and chief of the Myopia Control Clinic at the University of California, Berkeley, attributed promising outcomes in China to a collaborative myopia management system with ophthalmologists and optometrists.
“A number of additional factors have emerged as critical to managing myopic children in China,” Liu said in a press release from CooperVision. “These include early consultation to parents of high-risk children, engaging in comprehensive discussions about individualized treatment and fee structures, and the need for manufacturers to help continue advancing myopia management practices through education.”
The discussion continued with Jan Roelof Polling, myopia researcher at Erasmus Medical Centre, focusing on encouraging experiences in The Netherlands.
Robin Chalmers, OD, FAAO, discussed the safe use of contact lenses by children.
“Considering the worldwide growth of childhood myopia and its far-reaching impacts, discovering techniques to help eye care providers embrace their roles as front-line heroes in confronting this scourge is essential,” Stuart Cockerill, CooperVision’s senior director, myopia management, said in the release. “It’s an ongoing journey to help them understand when to begin and end treatment, how to cooperate with peers for coordinated care and ways to draw attention to the issue as a public health crisis in their communities. What we learned in San Antonio lets us take another step forward.”