After reading the outcomes of the LORIC, CRAYON and SMART studies, two US opticians then undertook their own investigation into whether Overnight Vision Correction (OVC) can slow down or halt the further development of short-sightedness once patients are fitted with overnight ortho-k corrective contact lenses. They took five children aged from 9 to 15 who had previously demonstrated an average increase in short-sightedness of around half a diopter per year and had an average prescription of -2.50D prior to commencing OVC treatment. After at least one year of OVC, the children were asked to cease the treatment so that the opticians could measure what their short-sightedness was after the OVC effects had fully reversed. These measurements showed that their short-sightedness after at least one year of OVC lens wear was no worse than before they had commenced the treatment thus indicating that OVC had halted the development of their short-sight.
ABSTRACT: For more than 30 years, researchers worldwide have been studying myopia in children and experimenting with modalities to slow or stop its progression. Some of the tactics employed have been unpredictable and, at times, inconvenient.
For example, the use of atropine eye drops is one of the most successful forms of intervention, but the side effects greatly outweigh the outcomes (Gimbel, 1973; Lee et al, 2006). Spectacles with bifocal or progressive lenses have only minimal effect, and they are cumbersome for active children (Paluru et al, 2005; Leung and Brown, 1999). GP lenses worn during the day may slightly reduce myopia progression but at rates that are of limited value to patients (Walline et al, 2004; Katz et al, 2003). More recently, researchers have turned their attention to the potential of orthokeratology to control myopia in children.
