| Welcome to our monthly research update |
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| Research Update is a resource available exclusively to IACLE and BCLA members to support your teaching and practice. Each month we send you a summary of some of the interesting findings appearing in peer-reviewed journals that month. Our aim is to help you keep up to date with the latest contact lens and anterior eye research, and to locate articles when you want to know more about a particular topic. |
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| More information on Research Update and how to use it in your contact lens teaching here. Access archived issues via Member Login under Research. |
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| Issue 24 – December 2018 |
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 It gives us great pleasure to present the last issue of 2018. The ‘epidemic’ of myopia continues to be an important topic. In this issue, we include a review of the nature vs nurture debate on myopia prevalence. Another review covers various aspects of myopia and myopia control interventions.
US researchers attempt to help practitioners and educators better understand the characteristics of contact lenses and the components of lens care solutions. We report on a study that evaluates a proposed protocol for testing the efficacy of multipurpose solutions against Acanthamoeba. And a group from Australia assesses how well currently available daily disposable soft lenses have achieved the goal of replicating non-wearer experience. Finally, we end the year with a look at patient and prescriber perceptions of contact lenses as a potential ocular drug delivery system.
Wishing you happy holidays and a very happy 2019! |
| The IACLE Education Team |
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| Journal reviewed in this issue |
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| MYOPIA |
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| Is the nature vs nurture debate finally over? |
| In this review, Morgan & Rose address the question raised by the current epidemic of myopia: does school myopia appear in individuals with particular genetic backgrounds, or in those exposed to specific environmental conditions? Kepler linked myopia to education over 400 years ago. But it was often argued this association could result from self-selection of academic pathways or near work-intensive occupations by genetically myopic people. Since then, the emphasis has shifted from environment to genetics and back again. Current evidence suggests environmental factors have played a major role in the myopia epidemic, while genetic factors have not.
Clin Exp Optom 2018;102:1 3-17. Click here for full text |
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| MYOPIA |
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| Review of myopia and orthokeratology |
| Cho & Tan review important aspects of myopia such as prevalence in children, age of onset, progression rate, associated ocular diseases, mechanism of progression, orthokeratology – its safety and effectiveness – future directions for myopia control and combined treatments. Several studies have shown orthokeratology to be effective in slowing axial elongation and it is a well-accepted treatment, particularly in East Asia. In the near future, a greater demand for effective prophylaxis against childhood myopia is envisaged. A combined treatment of orthokeratology and atropine may have great potential to maximize the effectiveness of myopia control interventions.
Clin Exp Optom 2018; Oct 31. DOI: 10.1111/cxo.12839. [Epub ahead of print]. Click here for abstract |
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| LENS CARE |
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| Lens care solutions and contact lens discomfort |
| To understand the impact of solutions on contact lens discomfort, Kuc & Lebow reviewed the published literature. Practitioners should prescribe by pairing the ideal lens material with the appropriate solution. Solution-related corneal staining has been widely studied, yet more research is needed to link the findings to discomfort and increased risk of corneal infection. Understanding individual solution components, antimicrobial and cleaning abilities, and potential solution complications will make the selection easier for traditional daily wearers.
Eye & Contact Lens 2018;44:6 355-366. Click here for abstract |
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| LENS CARE |
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| Protocol for testing MPS against Acanthamoeba |
| Fedorko et al used Acanthamoeba castellanii and Acanthamoeba polyphaga and four multipurpose solutions (MPS) with different biocidal agents to evaluate the reproducibility of a proposed protocol for disinfection efficacy. Testing in triplicate and duplicate demonstrated the reproducibility of the protocol both within each laboratory and between the laboratories. The authors conclude this a well-controlled and reproducible procedure that can effectively evaluate the efficacy of MPS against Acanthamoeba trophozoites, although some variability was observed when testing the cyst stage.
Eye & Contact Lens 2018;44:6 367-371. Click here for abstract |
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| DAILY DISPOSABLES |
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| Measuring CLs against non-wearer benchmarks |
| To assess comfort, vision and adverse events in CL wearers relative to spectacle wearers and emmetropes, Lazon de la Jara et al retrospectively analysed seven studies. Five studies involved daily disposable CL wear and had identical inclusion/exclusion criteria, one enrolled full-time spectacle wearers with no prior history of CL wear, and one enrolled emmetropic non-CL wearers. Vision quality and comfort were assessed at the start and end of the day. Corneal infiltrative events were recorded. Comfort and vision with some contemporary daily disposables were indistinguishable from the experience of non-wearing emmetropes.
Optom Vis Sci 2018;95:12 1088-1095. Click here for full text |
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| NEW APPLICATIONS |
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| Acceptance of CLs for ocular drug delivery |
| In this cross-sectional survey, Ghazal et al investigated patient acceptance and perceptions of healthcare professionals (HCPs) of the use of CLs as a method for ocular drug delivery. A majority of patients and HCPs showed acceptance of the use of CLs as part of an ocular drug delivery system. The main benefit related to their potential to offer long duration of action. Half of HCPs were not aware of CLs as an ocular drug delivery method. The main reservations were related to cost, ease of use and risk of infection.
Cont Lens Anterior Eye 2018; Nov 13. DOI: 10.1016/j.clae.2018.10.023. [Epub ahead of print]. Click here for full text |
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| For more information on Research Update visit www.iacle.org. |
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