Studies Advance Scientific and Clinical Knowledge of Myopia Management Efficacy and Emerging Physiological Factors for Contact Lens Comfort
SAN RAMON, Calif., April 29, 2021—Extending its long-standing commitment to ocular science, CooperVision will present five new research posters as part of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) 2021 Virtual Meeting. They include original models for evaluating myopia management treatment efficacy as well as emergent physiological factors that affect contact lens comfort and performance. The annual gathering of the world’s most celebrated ophthalmology and optometry researchers takes place from May 1-7.
“Discoveries from our teams and collaboration partners have transformed eye health over the past several years. They serve as foundations for creating entirely new categories such as myopia management, developing game-changing products and equipping eye care professionals to shape better outcomes,” said Francis Erard, Vice President of Research & Development for CooperVision. “The work we are revealing at ARVO 2021 continues that tradition, pointing toward even more progress that will benefit millions of people’s vision worldwide.”
Long-Term Modeling for Myopia Management Efficacy
Awareness of myopia management and its importance continues to grow, increasing the challenges associated with recruiting and retaining multi-year experimental and control groups. Ethical concerns of keeping wearers in a placebo beyond proof of efficacy is compounded with practical considerations, such as long-term parental consent and investigator access as children grow and move away from home.
During ARVO 2021, CooperVision will share details regarding two virtual models that can overcome these challenges, allowing for continued progress in the fast-moving field.
Measured and Predicted Axial Elongation in the MiSight® 1 day Clinical Trial – 6-year results (Chamberlain P, et al.) employs published eye growth model data to create a virtual control group, extending existing real control group data. The virtual group validated the accumulated myopia control effect for the MiSight® 1 day contact lens though six years and represents the first time that a six-year myopia control cohort effect has been quantified.
Modeling Age Effects of Myopia Progression for the MiSight® 1 day Clinical Trial (Arumugam B, et al.) applies a novel virtual model to predict treatment effect over a 10-year period, spanning ages 8 to 18 when children are likely to exhibit progressing myopia. The cross-sectional age approach complements standard cohort study analysis. Using this model when MiSight® 1 day is fit at age 8, the authors predict axial length reduction of 0.87 mm—more than 2D myopia control by age 18.
“We’re excited that the rich data set from the landmark MiSight® 1 day study not only continues to show the efficacy of our myopia control contact lens to help increase prescribing confidence of eye care professionals. It also can be used for other far-reaching applications to enhance the category,” said Paul Chamberlain, Director of Research Programs for CooperVision. “Virtual control groups and cross-sectional age modeling could become practical alternatives to extend or even replace current practices in myopia control clinical trials.”
New Perspectives on Contact Lens Comfort
Discomfort remains the leading cause of contact lens drop-out, depriving people requiring vision correction of lenses’ multiple benefits. Reducing drop-out will take on even greater importance in the future, as contact lens applications continue to evolve well beyond correction for diagnostic, therapeutic, and other promising uses.
CooperVision has long studied symptomatic and asymptomatic contact lens wearers to uncover insights that underpin product development and improved clinical care. The company will highlight three new comfort-related studies in conjunction with the ARVO 2021 proceedings.
Impact of Monocular Lens Wear on Tear Film Characteristics (Basuthkar S, et al.) is the first study to report how tear film changes in the non-contact lens wearing eye during a full day of monocular contact lens wear, for both symptomatic and asymptomatic wearers. Among those who expressed discomfort, there was a trend for the non-contact lens wearing eye to exhibit longer non-invasive tear film breakup time and better lipid layer thickness, potentially to counteract the effects of lens wear in the fellow eye. This may indicate a compensatory mechanism in the symptomatic group, which should be considered for other comfort studies. The work was conducted in conjunction with the Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE).
Recovery of Corneal Threshold and Symptoms in Symptomatic Contact Lens Wearers (Situ P, et al) examines how the sensory function may contribute to contact lens discomfort. Symptomatic wearers showed corneal hypersensitivity to cooling stimuli, which agreed with previous studies. The new research then introduced a three-month washout period with no lens wear, resulting in a reduction in corneal sensitivity accompanied by improving symptoms. Resumption of contact lens wear then saw the reappearance of symptoms and trending sensitivity increases, further supporting a link between discomfort and neuro-sensation. This study was conducted by the School of Optometry at Indiana University and the School of Optometry and Vision Science at the University of Waterloo, supported by a grant from CooperVision.
Effect of Soft-Contact-Lens Wear on Post-Lens Tear-Film Osmolarity (Kim YH, et al.) quantified the tear osmolarity of various tear film compartments during contact lens wear. Findings indicate that osmolarity of post-lens tear film (PoLTF)—the tear layer between ocular surface and contact lens back surface—is significantly affected by soft contact lens ion permeability. The authors conclude that low salt diffusivity (Ds) soft contact lens wear can protect the cornea from hyperosmolarity, which can cause deleterious effects such as inflammatory response and potential discomfort. The project was undertaken by Vision Science Group, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department and School of Optometry at the University of California, Berkeley, with a supporting grant from CooperVision.
“Understanding an even greater range of physiological responses to contact lenses help explain why some wearers rarely or never report discomfort, while others continue to struggle,” said Nancy Keir, OD, PhD, Senior Director, Program and Biological Sciences for CooperVision. “We appreciate the hard work and dedication of our partners—the Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE), Indiana University and the University of California Berkeley—who conducted this comfort-related research with our support. These fundamental studies are central to CooperVision’s innovative spirit and vision for even more widespread contact lens adoption in the years ahead.”
Scientific posters will be on display in the ARVO Virtual Poster Hall beginning May 1, which is open to all conference registrants.
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MiSight® 1 day (omafilcon A) Soft (Hydrophilic) Contact Lenses for Daily Wear are indicated for the correction of myopic ametropia and for slowing the progression of myopia in children with non-diseased eyes, who at the initiation of treatment are 8-12 years of age and have a refraction of -0.75 to -4.00 diopters (spherical equivalent) with ≤ 0.75 diopters of astigmatism. The lens is to be discarded after each removal.
About CooperVision
CooperVision, a division of CooperCompanies (NYSE:COO), is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of contact lenses. The company produces a full array of daily disposable, two-week and monthly soft contact lenses that feature advanced materials and optics, and premium rigid gas permeable lenses for orthokeratology and scleral designs. CooperVision has a strong heritage of addressing the toughest vision challenges such as astigmatism, presbyopia, childhood myopia, and highly irregular corneas; and offers the most complete portfolio of spherical, toric and multifocal products available. Through a combination of innovative products and focused practitioner support, the company brings a refreshing perspective to the marketplace, creating real advantages for customers and wearers. For more information, visit www.coopervision.com.
About CooperCompanies
CooperCompanies ("Cooper") is a global medical device company publicly traded on the NYSE (NYSE:COO). Cooper operates through two business units, CooperVision and CooperSurgical. CooperVision brings a refreshing perspective on vision care with a commitment to developing a wide range of high-quality products for contact lens wearers and providing focused practitioner support. CooperSurgical is committed to advancing the health of women, babies and families with its diversified portfolio of products and services focusing on medical devices and fertility & genomics. Headquartered in San Ramon, Calif., Cooper has a workforce of more than 12,000 with products sold in over 100 countries. For more information, please visit www.coopercos.com.
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