Short-term results of wearing spectacle lenses with embedded rings of highly aspherical lenslets Stellest™ for myopia control

Purpose: to evaluate near visual work performance of those wearing spectacles with Stellest™ lenses and the impact of their continuous wear on refraction changes, accommodation and binocular interaction after 6 months from the start of use. Material and methods. 35 children aged 8-13 with myopia of 3.15 ± 0.19 D were prescribed eyeglasses with Stellest™ lenses. 32 children with myopia of 2.68 ± 0.18 D who used monofocal glasses served as control. Visual performance, refraction, axial length (AL), accommodation and binocular interaction were assessed. Results. According to the Burdon test, the number of errors in counting letters in Stellest™ glasses was 4.5 ± 0.64, whilst in monofocal glasses it was- significantly less, 2.96 ± 0.42 (p < 0.05); the rate of test progress was the same in the two groups. After 6 months from the start of wearing Stellest™ glasses, the objective cycloplegic refraction increased by 0.11 ± 0.04 D, the average year progression rate (YPR) was 0.22 ± 0.08 D. In contrast, the children wearing monofocal glasses showed an average refraction increase of 0.35 ± 0.05 D, and the average YPR value of 0.7 ± 0.09 D. In the Stellest™group, YPG drop was observed in 87 % of cases and averaged 0.95 ± 0.11 D. In the control group, YPR was found to drop in 65 % of cases and averaged 0.49 ± 0.1 D. In the Stellest™ group, AL increased by 0.04 ± 0.02 mm; in the control group, the increase in AL was 2.8 times greater — by 0.11 ± 0.02 mm (p < 0.01). In the Stellest™ group, relative accommodation reserves (RAR) increased by 0.88 ± 0.14 D, which is significantly higher than in the group wearing monofocal glasses, where the increase was 0.39 ± 0.12 D (p < 0.01). No differences were revealed between the groups in objective indicators of accommodation and binocular interaction. Conclusion. Wearing spectacles with Stellest™ lenses for 6 months contributes to slowing down the progression of myopia in children. Over the observation period, the refraction increase in the main group was 3.2 times lower than in the control group, whilst AL growth was 2.8 times lower than that in the control group. The children using spectacles with Stellest™ lenses showed a higher increase in RAR as compared to children wearing monofocal spectacles. The accommodation tone and objective accommodation parameters were essentially the same in both groups. Wearing Stellest™ glasses had no pronounced effect on binocular interaction.