Study finds NaturalVue Multifocal contacts slow myopic progression
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
More than 90% of children with myopia experienced a decrease in progression with the use of NaturalVue Multifocal contact lenses, according to study results published in Clinical Ophthalmology.
“Multiple soft multifocal contact lenses, which contain relative peripheral plus power of varying degrees, have been shown to slow the progression of myopia,” Jeffrey Cooper, MS, OD, of Cooper Eye Care and State University of New York College of Optometry, and colleagues wrote. “The [NaturalVue Multifocal] lenses incorporate an extended depth of focus design with up to 20 D of relative peripheral plus power at their edges. ... It is theorized that this large amount of peripheral plus power may reduce peripheral hyperopic defocus and thus decrease the signal for axial elongation.”
Seeking to expand on findings from a previous cohort analysis of NaturalVue Multifocal (NVMF) lenses (Visioneering Technologies Inc.) in 32 children, Cooper and colleagues examined data from 196 patients (mean age, 12.3 years) from 15 practices in the U.S. from 2014 to 2020. Eligible participants had no prior myopic progression control and had at least 0.50 D of myopic progression in at least one eye.
The cohort included 101 girls and 95 boys, of whom 59% were white, 20% Eastern Asian/Asian and 21% other. Baseline spherical equivalent prescriptions ranged from +0.10 to 11.60 D, and the average annual myopic progression was 0.98 D.
Participants wore the NVMF lenses for a minimum of 6 months, with follow-ups at 6-month intervals for up to 72 months. Researchers analyzed data from the right eye of each participant.
According to study results, the average axial length change was 0.30 mm, and the average myopia progression decreased by 0.84 D or 85% over 6 to 72 months compared with baseline (P < 0.0001). In addition, 91% of wearers demonstrated a decrease in myopia progression compared with baseline, with 79% showing at least a 70% reduction.
Moreover, 69% of patients had no increase in myopic progression throughout the study, and the average cumulative myopia progression never exceeded approximately 0.25 D from baseline. Only 14 patients experienced an increase in myopia.
Researchers also reported that refractive error progression (P < 0.0001) and axial length elongation (P < 0.0001) were lower over 3 years of NVMF lens use compared with a virtual control group of similarly matched children with myopia.
“The current cohort analysis demonstrated that wearers of NVMF daily disposable soft contact lenses exhibited significant reductions in myopia progression over an extended follow-up period of 6 years (72 months), complementing the original study,” Cooper and colleagues wrote. “The results are in agreement with previous analyses of optical interventions to slow the progression of myopia.”
They added, “Although more research is warranted, NVMF lenses appear to be effective in slowing the progression of myopia in children.”
Collapse
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts