LAUSR

INTRODUCTION Peripheral defocus was experimentally found to control the development of refraction. PURPOSE To evaluate peripheral refraction (PR) of myopic eyes in terms of different means of correction and the direction of gaze. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study examined 128 patients (256 eyes) aged 8-14 years (average 11.07±0.39 years) with myopia from -1.0 to -7.0 (average -3.57±0.27 D). PR was measured without correction, in perifocal (PF), monofocal (MF), progressive glasses (PAL), monofocal soft contact lenses (ΜCL) and after orthokeratological (OCL) correction with the gaze directed straightforward or head angled outward, inward, upward and downward; all measurements were performed using binocular open-field auto ref/keratometer. RESULTS PR profile without correction and with contact (OCL, ΜCL) correction does not depend on the direction of the gaze. In glasses, peripheral defocus is different with straightforward and skewed gaze directions. OCL forms a significant myopic defocus throughout the periphery of the retina. When using MCL, hyperopic defocus increases in all zones except the extreme temporal. In MF glasses, hyperopic defocus is formed and enhanced in all areas, significantly greater with skewed gaze than with straightforward. In PALs, myopic defocus is formed with gaze directed upward and downward, as well as at the extreme temporal periphery of the retina with straightforward gaze. In all other zones, hypermetropic defocus increases. In PF, in most zones myopic defocus is formed with all gaze directions. The greatest inhibitory effect on myopia progression is provided by OCL (YPR=0.28 D/year) and PF glasses (YPR=0.26 D/year). CONCLUSION In contrast to correction with contact lenses, PR in glasses does depend on the direction of gaze. The inhibitory effect of the optics correlates with correction of hypermetropic defocus in myopic eyes.