The Vuity eye drops is the new therapy that will allow to see better to all those people who have a diagnosis of presbyopia and that in order to read they had to activate various survival strategies such as increasing the font size on their smartphones or maximizing the brightness of the computer to be able to read.
Thanks to US Food and Drug Administration, the army of over 40s is safe: the institution has in fact approved a new eye drops for the treatment of presbyopia, offering people a simple and effective way to see and read better.
The results on Vuity eye drops were published in the journal The Convertation.
Vuity eye drops: this is how it works
Many parts of the human eye interact with incoming light to produce a clear image. The first thing that is struck by light is the cornea, the transparent outer layer that initially bends the light. Light then passes through the iris and pupil, which can shrink or grow to let more or less light into the eye.
The light then travels through the lens, which further bends the light and precisely focuses it on the center of the retina. Finally, the light signal is transferred to the optic nerve at the back of the eye for the brain to translate it as an image.
To get a sharp image, our eyes must adapt to the distance of an object. In order to do this, they perform three main steps to focus on objects that are close to us: the eyes point towards the object to be focused, and the lens of the eye changes shape to the pupils which narrow.
Once you have your eye on what interests you, a small muscle in the eye contracts, changing the shape of the lens to make it thicker. The thicker the lens, the more the light bends as it passes through it. At the same time, the pupils narrow to block some of the incoming light from other objects in the distance.
When light bounces off an object and enters the eye directly, the rays of light in the center are what provide a clear image. Blocking light scattering by narrowing the pupil helps sharpen the image of nearby objects.
It is possible to simulate this process using a camera of any smartphone: the first thing to do is to point the camera towards something far away; in the second step, you move the distance in the image, keeping it about 6 inches apart. The image will begin to blur, but as the camera lens shrinks, the image will be in focus.
Going back to presbyopia, it is the inability of the eyes to focus on nearby objects, which results in blurry images. In principle, it has its onset around the age of 40 and progresses to reach the highest levels around the age of 60. Researchers are aware that the main cause of presbyopia is age, but the scientific community has begun to question the underlying dynamics..
One theory suggests that as lenses age, they become heavier and cannot change shape as easily. Another theory suggests that the muscle that pulls the target weakens with age. Presbyopia is likely to occur due to a combination of both phenomena. Regardless of the cause, the result is that when observing nearby objects, the eyes are no longer able to bend incoming light enough to direct it to the center of the retina. Instead, the light is focused to a point behind the retina, resulting in blurry vision.
There are two main things an eye does to focus on nearby objects: the lens changes shape and the pupil shrinks. Since presbyopia limits the ability of the lens to change shape, Vuity eye drops compensate by helping the pupil to shrink. Constriction of the pupil reduces the amount of light scattering.
This causes the light entering the eye to be better focused on the retinathus creating a wider range of distances in which objects are in focus and allowing people to see both near and distant objects clearly.
After putting the Vuity eye drops in your eyes, it takes about 15 minutes for the active ingredient to do so pilocarpine, you start giving results. Pilocarpine is a drug first discovered in the late 1800s and can be used as a therapy for glaucoma and ocular hypertension. The effect on the volunteers lasted about six hours.
Smaller pupils mean less light enters the eye. While this is not a problem during the day when there is a lot of sun, it can cause difficulty seeing in low light conditions. Aside from these negatives, the most common side effects of Vuity eye drops are headache and redness of the eyes.
One bottle will cost around $ 80, requires a prescription, and will last for nearly a month when used daily. For some people, it could be a great alternative to or in addition to glasses or surgery.
Although Vuity eye drops may be the first FDA-approved eye drops for the treatment of presbyopia, researchers are studying other therapeutic methodologies. Some are developing eye drops which include i NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) to help narrow the pupil, similar to Vuity eye drops.
Other teams of scientists are developing drops that soften and reduce the weight of the lens to promote easier focusing. Finally, some early research has shown that pulsed electrostimulation of the eye muscles can help strengthen them and improve people’s ability to bend their lenses.
Selina McGeeoptometrist and member of the‘American Academy of Optometryhas explained: “Many Americans have to deal with presbyopia, which typically starts around 40 years, and they rely on reading glasses or resort to gimmicks such as zooming in on their digital devices to see up close. With the new eye drops, those with age-related blurred near vision can ask their ophthalmologist for a visit and discuss the various options available to manage this common condition ”.
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