Red Light Therapy Curbs High Myopia in Children

TOPLINE:

Repeated low-level red light (RLRL) therapy reduces axial elongation and stabilizes refractive error in children and adolescents with high myopia.

METHODOLOGY:

Researchers conducted a randomized control trial to assess the efficacy and safety of RLRL therapy in 188 children and adolescents (median age, 11 years) with high myopia, defined as having cycloplegic spherical equivalent refraction of at least −4 diopters.They randomly assigned the participants (1:1 ratio) to receive the intervention or control, which only entailed single-vision spectacles.The RLRL therapy was administered as a 3-minute session, twice a day, with a minimum 4-hour interval between the sessions for 7 days a week until 12 months of follow-up.The primary outcome was the change in axial length at 1 year, and the secondary outcome was the change in cycloplegic spherical equivalent refraction.

TAKEAWAY:

A little over half of the participants who received RLRL therapy experienced axial shortening of 0.05 mm or more.The adjusted mean change in axial length was −0.06 mm (95% CI, −0.10 to −0.02) for the intervention group and 0.34 mm (95% CI, 0.30-0.39) for the control group.Spherical equivalent refraction improved by 0.11 diopters in the intervention group and worsened by −0.75 diopters in the control group (P <.0001 participant experienced conjunctivitis in the rlrl group. no severe adverse events were reported.>IN PRACTICE:

“Our study suggests that RLRL treatment is an excellent solution for obtaining myopia control in children with high myopia, and it is the only existing way to shorten the axial length,” the authors wrote.

SOURCE:

The study was led by Yan Xu, PhD, from the Shanghai Eye Prevention and Treatment Center at the Shanghai Eye Hospital in Shanghai, China, and was published online in Ophthalmology.

LIMITATIONS:

The study defined high myopia using a cutoff of −4 diopters, which is lower than the more commonly used cutoff of −6 or −5 diopters. The follow-up of 12 months may not fully show the long-term effects of RLRL therapy on myopia. The participants in the intervention and control groups were aware of the assigned treatment, which could have introduced bias.

DISCLOSURES:

This study was funded by the Clinical Research Program of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning of China, Eyerising, and Zuoguan Medical Equipment (a subsidiary of Eyerising Ltd). The authors reported no conflicts of interest.

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