Study shows low-dose atropine eyedrops no better than placebo for slowing myopia progression

LOS ANGELES, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Use of low-dose atropine eyedrops was no better than placebo at slowing myopia progression and elongation of the eye among children treated for two years, according to a new trial funded by the U.S. National Eye Institute (NEI).

Identifying an optimal approach for preventing advanced myopia is urgently needed given the escalating prevalence of myopia overall and the risk of it progressing to advanced myopia, according to the NEI.

By 2030, it is predicted that 39 million people in the United States will have myopia. By 2050, that number is expected to grow to 44 million in the country and to 50 percent of the global population, said the NEI.

The randomized controlled trial aimed to identify an effective way to manage this leading and increasingly common cause of refractive error, which can cause serious uncorrectable vision loss later in life.

For the trial, 187 children ages 5 to 12 years with low-to-moderate bilateral myopia were randomly assigned to use nightly atropine or placebo eyedrops for two years.

After the treatment period, and 6 months after treatment stopped, there were no significant differences between the groups in terms of changes in degree of myopia compared with baseline. Nor were there significant differences in axial length within the two groups when compared with baseline measurements.

The trial underscores need for more research to head off advanced myopia, said the NEI.