Atropine 0.01 Percent Eye Drops Do Not Slow Myopia Progression

MONDAY, July 17, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- For children aged 5 to 12 years with low-to-moderate bilateral myopia, atropine 0.01 percent eye drops do not slow myopia progression over two years of treatment, according to a study published online July 13 in JAMA Ophthalmology.

Michael X. Repka, M.D., from the Wilmer Eye Institute in Baltimore, and colleagues conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled trial involving children aged 5 to 12 years with low-to-moderate bilateral myopia (−1.00 to −6.00 diopters [D] spherical equivalent refractive error [SER]). A total of 187 children were included in the study: 125 received atropine and 62 received placebo. Children received treatment for 24 months, followed by six months of observation.

The researchers found that the adjusted mean change in SER from baseline was −0.82 and −0.80 in the atropine and placebo groups, respectively, at the 24-month primary outcome visit (difference, −0.02; 95 percent confidence interval, −0.19 to +0.15 D). At 30 months, the adjusted difference in mean SER change from baseline was −0.04 D (−0.25 to +0.17 D). From baseline to 24 months, the adjusted mean changes in axial length were 0.44 and 0.45 in the atropine and placebo groups, respectively (difference, −0.002 mm [−0.106 to 0.102 mm]). From baseline to 30 months, the adjusted difference in mean axial elongation was +0.009 mm (−0.115 to 0.134 mm).

"Overall, clinical trials investigating atropine, 0.01 percent, for myopia control, including the well-done study by Repka et al., indicate that stronger concentrations of atropine should be considered for first-line treatment of myopia progression," write the authors of an accompanying editorial.

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