Special contact lenses or eye drops can reduce a patient’s final prescription by half in the School of Optometry’s Myopia Control Clinic. That means thinner lenses and also a much lower risk of serious eye problems, including glaucoma and cataracts.
UAB Eye Care researchers are looking for healthy, nearsighted children between the ages of 5-12 to participate in a study. The study is being done to see if low-dose eye drops of a drug called atropine can help prevent nearsightedness from getting worse. Participants will be randomized to either 0.01% atropine eye drops or placebo eye drops. Participants will use the study eye drop in each eye nightly for two years. Then, there will be 6-months of no eye drops. Study visits start with an enrollment visit and a randomization visit. Then, participants will see their study doctor every 6 months for about 2.5 years. Each visit will be about 1 to 1.5 hours. Study visits are no-cost, and participants are compensated for their time. Glasses may also be provided by the study. If you are interested in learning more about this study, please call Jenifer Montejo at 205-996-0203 or send an email to Dr. Kathy Weise at kweise@uab.edu.
