Vision problems about infants and children

Thursday, December 24th, 2009 at 3:45 pm Post in Kid's Vision

Statistics show that premature infants are more susceptible to organ damages including the eyes. The sight-threatening eye disease retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) occurs in one third of premature infants. Good news is that there is now a new method in detecting this disease. Researchers in Sweden have developed a model named WINROP, which is used to measure infants’ weight and analyze their IGF-1 levels in blood. IGF-1 is linked to both ROP and infant weight gain. The model has been reported to determine an infant’s risk of ROP by tracing its weight gain process. This determination can be achieved at a time earlier than an assessment from an ophthalmologist and certain eye exams can also be eliminated.

At the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting in 2008, some experts presented that pirenzepine gel administration twice daily can slow the progression of myopia in children. This encouraging result was based on a two-year follow-up of 84 children ages 8-12. Those children with pirenzepine treatments had shown much slower myopia progression. However, these drugs still needed further FDA clinical trials, which could cost nearly $50 million.

Eye exams are essential for children in detecting vision-threatening conditions such as amblyopia. Nevertheless, a survey including 3,930 US citizens conducted by VSP Vision Care has pointed out that about 76% of children under 5 years old have never received a comprehensive eye exam. In addition, the survey has also found a worrying problem about sunglass use in children. Only 30% of children wear sunglasses outdoors, compared to 68% of adults. This is a concerning issue because most adults are neglecting their kids’ need for sunglasses.