Prismatic bifocals may reduce myopia progression in children.

The Los Angeles Times (1/12, Roan) reports that, according to a study published Jan. 12 in the Archives of Ophthalmology, "treating nearsightedness early in its course with bifocal lenses instead of single-vision lenses may reduce the ultimate severity of the condition." In a study of "135 Chinese Canadian children who were diagnosed with progressive myopia," researchers assigned "the children...to wear either single-vision lenses, bifocals, or bifocals with prism, a type of correction that is ground into lenses to help the eyes work together and enhance near vision." Two years later, "the slowest rate of progression was among children who wore prismatic bifocals; a 58% difference in the rate of progression compared to children wearing single-vision lenses."
MedPage Today (1/11, Phend) reported that while "a prescription for regular bifocals reduced progression to -0.96 D, compared with the -1.55 D seen with single-vision glasses over a 24-month period," the prismatic bifocals proved "to be more effective, with a drop of only 0.70 D over the same period." Medscape (1/11, Lowry) also covered the story.