Update in myopia and treatment strategy of atropine use in myopia control

Abstract

The prevalence of myopia is increasing globally. Complications of myopia are associated with huge economic and social costs. It is believed that high myopia in adulthood can be traced back to school age onset myopia. Therefore, it is crucial and urgent to implement effective measures of myopia control, which may include preventing myopia onset as well as retarding myopia progression in school age children. The mechanism of myopia is still poorly understood. There are some evidences to suggest excessive expansion of Bruch's membrane, possibly in response to peripheral hyperopic defocus, and it may be one of the mechanisms leading to the uncontrolled axial elongation of the globe. Atropine is currently the most effective therapy for myopia control. Recent clinical trials demonstrated low-dose atropine eye drops such as 0.01% resulted in retardation of myopia progression, with significantly less side effects compared to higher concentration preparation. However, there remain a proportion of patients who are poor responders, in whom the optimal management remains unclear. Proposed strategies include stepwise increase of atropine dosing, and a combination of low-dose atropine with increase outdoor time. This review will focus on the current understanding of epidemiology, pathophysiology in myopia and highlight recent clinical trials using atropine in the school-aged children, as well as the treatment strategy in clinical implementation in hyperopic, pre-myopic and myopic children.

Fig. 1

The proposed strategy of atropine treatment for myopia control in clinical implementation