Page 18 - The Indian Optician Digital Edition July-August 2021

IACLE IACLE is now supported by leading global contact lens
ANNOUNCES
OPHTECS AS A
NEW SPONSOR
The International
Association of Contact Lens
Educators (IACLE) has a new
Bronze Sponsor – Ophtecs
Corporation, a contact lens care
solution manufacturer based in
Japan.
IACLE President Professor
Philip Morgan welcomed the
Association’s new sponsor,
saying, “It’s fantastic news
for IACLE and our members
that we welcome Ophtecs as
a new sponsor. The sponsors
are an integral part of IACLE
activity, and the Executive
Board regularly speak with
our sponsor colleagues to
update them on our work, and
to discuss issues facing our
members. With this in mind, we
look forward to working with
our colleagues at Ophtecs and
all our sponsors to continue our
work towards IACLE’s mission of
developing outstanding contact
lens educators.”
Founded in 1981, Ophtecs
aims to provide comfortable
lens wear for all types of contact
lens wearers. This has led to
the company developing
unique and innovative contact
lens care solutions which are
distributed in over 15 countries.
The company’s corporate
mission is to ‘Contribute to the
Global Ophthalmic Field’ and
they continue to develop new
products by having the care for
contact lens wearers at heart.
| JULY-AUGUST 2021 | 14 CONTACT LENS NEWS
manufacturers: Platinum Sponsor Alcon, Gold Sponsor
CooperVision, Silver Sponsor Johnson & Johnson Vision,
Bronze Sponsor Bausch + Lomb and Ophtecs and Donor
Sponsor Euclid.
RESEARCHERS ROOT FOR
MULTIFOCALS FOR MIDDLE
AGE PATIENTS
According to a study published in Ophthalmic and
Physiological Optics, researchers from the Southern California
College of Optometry, recommend early multifocal lens
intervention for patients who are nearing 40 years of age even
though there is no major difference seen in the comfort level
between multifocal and single lens wear.
“Research examining how aspheric multifocal contact lenses
affect accommodation reports mixed conclusions,” Erin Rueff,
OD, PhD, FAAO, of the Southern California College of Optometry,
and colleagues wrote. “Due to this difficulty in accommodative
measurement, assessing symptoms of visual discomfort may be
an optimal way to determine if visual fatigue is alleviated by a
multifocal contact lens.”
The research team conducted a random, participant-masked,
crossover clinical trial that included 84 subjects between 30 and
40 years of age who reported discomfort wearing soft contact
lenses. They fitted the participants with single vision and multifocal
contact lenses and asked them to wear the lenses for 2 weeks each.
After this, they measured for contact lens discomfort symptom
severity using the Contact Lens Dry Eye Questionaire-8 (CLDEQ-8)
and the Convergence Insufficiency Symptom Survey (CISS).
The results thus obtained showed an interaction between
lens type and age group, with participants in the under 35 age
group preferring the single lens for immediate distance (P = .003)
and overall vision (P = .002). Symptom scores for all participants
improved with the single vision (CLDEQ-8 P < .001; CISS P < .001)
and the multifocal lens (CLDEQ-8 P < .001; CISS P < .001). However,
no noticeable difference was seen in survey scores between the
single vision and multifocal lens.
“These results suggest that wearers approaching 40 years
with symptoms of contact lens discomfort may benefit from a
multifocal contact lens earlier than typical clinical practice,” Rueff
and colleagues concluded. “These findings directly impact clinical
care and encourage eye care providers to consider multifocal
contact lens correction in uncomfortable contact lens wearers.”