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  • Red-Light Therapy for Myopia Control

    By Lynda Seminara
    Selected by Russell N. Van Gelder, MD, PhD
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    Journal Highlights

    Ophthalmology, May 2022

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    Progressive myopia raises the risk of irreversible visual impairment, so prevention and control are crucial. As spending extra time outdoors in bright light has been found to reduce myopia risk, some researchers recommend glass walls and ceilings for schools. However, this strategy is costly and challenging. As an alternative, Jiang et al. proposed delivering light directly to the retina for short periods, through a device that emits red light at a wavelength of 650 nm. In a prospective multicenter trial, these investigators tested low-level ex­posure to red-light therapy as a method to control myopia. Their data showed that the treatment is effective, safe, and highly acceptable to users.

    For this single-masked, parallel-group study, the authors enrolled my­opic children (aged 8 to 13 years) with spherical equivalent refraction (SER) between –1 and –5 D, anisometropia of ≤1.50 D, astigmatism of ≤2.50 D, and BCVA of ≥0.0 logMAR. The children were assigned randomly to the inter­vention group (red light + single-vision spectacle [SVS]) or the control group (SVS only).

    The red-light therapy was given at home and supervised by parents. A desktop device delivered the light at illuminance of roughly 1,600 lux and power of 0.29 mW for a 4-mm pupil (class I classification). For a 12-month period, the treatment was administered twice daily, five days per week. Each session lasted three min­utes, and the interval between treat­ments was at least four hours.

    Main outcomes were changes in axi­al length and SER from baseline to each follow-up visit (months 1, 3, 6, and 12). Children who had at least one follow-up visit were included in the efficacy analysis, which was conducted with longitudinal mixed models.

    Of the 264 enrollees, 246 (93.2%) qualified for data analysis(117 treated patients plus 129 controls). Results showed a 12-month axial elongation and SER progression of 0.13 mm and –0.20 D in those treated with red light, versus 0.38 mm and –0.79 D in controls. There were no severe adverse events related to the red-light therapy, and no structural damage was seen on OCT scans. The median rate of treatment compliance was 75%.

    The authors noted that double-masked, placebo-controlled studies of low-level red-light therapy are needed to evaluate long-term efficacy and safety, to look for possible rebound effects, and to determine optimal de­vice settings and treatment regimens.

    The original article can be found here.