Zhehuan Zhang, MD, and colleagues from the Department of Ophthalmology, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, National Children’s Medical Center, Shanghai, emphasized the importance of patients undergoing routine optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans during repeated low-level red-light (RLRL) therapy in order to detect retinal changes.
In this study, they noticed axial elongation and spherical equivalent refraction (SER) effects on myopia; though, in those treated with red light, they also found transient foveal RPE hyperreflectivity.
The authors published their findings in a research letter in *JAMA Ophthalmology*.1
Because of the rapidly growing prevalence of myopia around the world, the investigators cited the need to identify safe and clinically effective methods for delaying its onset and managing its progression. Recently, RLRL therapy has been receiving increasing attention as a potential way to control myopia.2,3
They conducted a randomized clinical trial with the goal of assessing efficacy and safety of RLRL therapy for myopia control with emphasis on changes seen in OCT images.
The participants underwent thorough ophthalmologic examinations and personalized professional consultations with ophthalmologists. The axial length was measured using an IOLMaster ocular biometer (Zeiss).
The study included 86 children (48% female) aged 7 to 12 years who had refractions that ranged from −1.00 diopters (D) and +1.00 D (inclusive) in both eyes and astigmatism less than 1.50 D. The children were randomly assigned to the red light treatment group or to the control group; both groups included 43 children each.
The children in the active treatment group received twice-daily RLRL therapy using a 650-nm desktop device, Eyerising myopia Management device (Eyerising International). The parents supervised the administered of the treatments. all patients underwent follow-up evaluations at 1, 3, and 6 months after baseline.
The mean (SD) best-corrected visual acuities (BCVAs) in the RLRL group and the control groups, respectively, were 0.001 (0.008) logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) (snellen equivalent, 20/20) and 0.004 (0.013) (Snellen equivalent, 20/20). The respective mean (SD) axial lengths were 23.68 (0.64) mm and 23.75 (0.64) mm. The mean (S