JUL 17, 2012
By Shameema Sikder, MD
Refractive Mgmt/Intervention
A growing aging population with high demands raises the question of how to treat presbyopia. This prospective, interventional Austrian study evaluated one treatment option: implantation in the nondominant eye of a corneal inlay, in this case the third-generation Acufocus KAMRA AC17000PDT. The study's authors report in the May issue of the American Journal of Ophthalmology that tested reading performance significantly improved in emmetropic presbyopic patients one year after implantation.
Although this technology is manufactured in the United States, it is not yet FDA-approved for use in the U.S.
The study included 24 naturally emmetropic and presbyopic patients between 45 and 60 years of age, with uncorrected distance visual acuity of at least 20/20 in both eyes. Twelve months after implantation, they demonstrated significantly improved mean reading distance, mean reading acuity "at best distance," mean reading speed, maximum reading speed and smallest print size acuity.
However, a major limitation of this study is its strict inclusion criteria that required subjects to be between the ages of 45 and 60 years and to have natural emmetropia and presbyopia; a preoperative spherical equivalent of plano (defined as +0.50 to -0.75 D, with no more than 0.75 D of refractive cylinder, as determined by cycloplegic refraction); and uncorrected distance visual acuity of at least 20/20 in both eyes.
The authors say the results show that the theoretical benefit of increasing the depth of focus generates statistically significant changes in several reading performance parameters in emmetropic presbyopic patients.