5 Topic Commentaries

Testing Atropine’s Posterior Effects

Testing Atropine’s Posterior Effects

• 

  Lisa A. Ostrin, OD, PhD, FAAO, FARVO

  Optometry; Vision Science; Myopia research

  •

  University of Houston College of Optometry

  These findings indicate that a single instillation of atropine does not alter axial length or retinal or choroidal thickness over 24 hours but may transiently affect superficial retinal perfusion in a time-dependent manner,” said Ostrin.

  Source
• 

  Karla Zadnik, OD, PhD

  Optometry; Myopia

  •

  The Ohio State University College of Optometry

  “The .01% story is clearer and more obvious in terms of significantly slowing both the growth of the eye as well as then resulting in a lower glasses prescription,” Zadnik said.

  Source
• 

  Michael F. Chiang, MD

  Ophthalmology; Pediatric Ophthalmology; Clinical Informatics

  •

  National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health

  “The overall mixed results on low-dose atropine show us we need more research. Would a different dose be more effective in a US population? Would combining atropine with other strategies have a synergistic effect? Could we develop other approaches to treatment or prevention based on a better understanding of what causes myopia progression?”

  Source
• 

  Michael X. Repka, MD, MBA

  Pediatric Ophthalmology; Strabismus

  •

  Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (Wilmer Eye Institute)

  “The absence of a treatment benefit in our U.S.-based study, compared with East Asian studies, may reflect racial differences in atropine response. The study enrolled fewer Asian children, whose myopia progresses more quickly, and included Black children, whose myopia progresses less quickly compared with other races,”

  Source
• 

  Katherine K. Weise, OD, MBA, FAAO

  Pediatric Optometry; Myopia

  •

  University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry

  “Clinical researchers could evaluate new pharmaceuticals and special wavelengths of light in combination with optical strategies, like special glasses or contact lenses, to see what works in reducing the progression of myopia.”

  Source