Violet light (VL), 360–400 nm wavelength, is contained in the sunlight and is an effective element for myopia suppression. This study is to investigate the safety and efficacy of novel eyeglasses that emit VL from the frames. This is a double-masked, randomized, pilot clinical trial conducted in a clinic in Japan. Forty-three children with myopia were enrolled. Participants were randomly assigned to two groups, wearing VL-emitting eyeglass frames (VLf) that emitted VL of 310 μW/cm² (VLf group, n = 22) or pseudo-placebo eyeglass frames with a minimal emission of VL (<10 μW/cm²) (control group, n = 21). The exposure time was 3 h per day. The primary outcomes were visual acuity, tear film break-up time, corneal endothelial cell density, and the slit-lamp/fundus examinations. The secondary outcome was the 6-month changes in the axial lengths and cycloplegic refractions. Forty-one (95%) participants were included; twenty-one in the VLf group and twenty in the control group. No significant differences were seen in any safety evaluation. Significant changes were seen in axial elongation, choroidal thickness, and cycloplegic refractions in the subgroup analysis of 8- to 10-year-old children (p < 0.05), but otherwise no significant differences were seen. The VLf showed short-term safety and effectiveness against myopia progression.

Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) is one of the most frequent complications experienced after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Reportedly, dysbiosis and severe damage to the microbiome are also closely associated with GVHD. Herein, we aimed to elucidate the positive and negative effects of the administration of various antibiotics in a murine model of cGVHD. For allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (allo-BMT), bone marrow from B10.D2 mice were transplanted in BALB/c mice to induce cGVHD. The cGVHD mice were orally administered ampicillin, gentamicin (GM), fradiomycin, vancomycin, or the solvent vehicle (control group). Among the antibiotic-treated mice, the systemic cGVHD phenotypes and ocular cGVHD manifestations were suppressed significantly in GM-treated mice compared to that in control mice. Inflammatory cell infiltration and fibrosis in cGVHD-targeted organs were significantly attenuated in GM-treated mice. Although regulatory T cells were retained at greater levels in GM-treated mice, there were significantly fewer Th17 cells and interleukin (IL)-6-producing macrophages in cGVHD-targeted organs in these mice. Collectively, our results revealed that orally administered GM may exert positive effects in a cGVHD mouse model.

Background: myopia prevalence is high among Japanese schoolchildren, but the underlying causes are unclear. Objective: To examine the distributions of ocular biometry and refraction and their associations with lifestyle variables among Japanese schoolchildren. Methods: This cross-sectional school-based study included 2140 children aged 3–14 years in Tokyo, Japan, and evaluated the distributions under non-cycloplegic conditions and the associated environmental factors. Results: The prevalence of spherical equivalent (SE) ≤−0.75 diopter among preschoolers (aged 3–6 years), elementary school students (aged 6–11 years), and junior high school students (aged 12–14 years) was 49.7%, 72.4%, and 87.7%, respectively. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that the time spent using digital devices was associated positively with lens thickness (β = 0.010; p < 0.050) but not SE, axial length, or vitreous chamber depth. The time spent reading was associated negatively with lens thickness (β = −0.012; p < 0.050), SE (β = −0.152; p < 0.010), axial length (β = 0.110; p < 0.001), and vitreous chamber depth (β = 0.110; p < 0.001). Conclusions: The data indicated that almost half of preschoolers may be myopic. The association with the lens thickness differed depending on the type of near work performed.

Purpose: To investigate the changes in axial length (AL) elongation and other ocular parameters before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Design: A longitudinal school-based study. Participants: Public elementary schoolchildren in Tokyo (grades 1-6; age, 6-12 years) participated in this study from 2018 to 2021. Methods: All participants underwent eye examinations and provided written consent to measurements of the noncycloplegic refraction and ocular biometry including AL, among others. The students' parents also completed a questionnaire about the students' lifestyles. We included the right eye in our analysis and compared the changes in the ocular parameters among the periods using a linear mixed-effects model for repeated measures and examined the univariate and step-wise multiple regression analyses to evaluate the associations between myopia and other covariates. Main Outcome Measures: Changes in AL elongation and other ocular parameters from 2018 to 2019 (prepandemic), that of 2019 to 2020 (immediately after the pandemic onset), and that of 2020 to 2021 (during the pandemic). Results: A total of 578 students before the pandemic period, 432 immediately after the pandemic onset, and 457 during the pandemic period were evaluated. The changes in the ALs and spherical equivalents (SEs) a year before, immediately after onset, and during the pandemic were 0.31 mm/-0.20 diopter, 0.38 mm/-0.27 diopter, and 0.28 mm/-0.47 diopter, respectively (ALs, P < 0.001; SEs, P = 0.014). The results of the questionnaire showed that time spent outdoors daily had changed during the 3 years to 79, 63, and 77 minutes/day, respectively (P < 0.001). Time spent using smartphones or tablets increased year by year to 41, 52, and 62 minutes/day (P < 0.001). The greatest AL elongation occurred during the period when the shortest amount of time was spent outdoors during the 3 years. Conclusions: These results suggested that the school closures and decreasing time spent outdoors might have caused greater AL elongation among schoolchildren in Tokyo; however, it is possible that, although the time spent in near work still increased, the return to the time spent outdoors to the prepandemic levels may have affected the slowing of AL elongation after lockdown.

Background/Objectives: Preceding studies have reported the efficacy of multifocal contact lenses (MFCLs) in slowing myopia progression. Recently, a novel type of MFCL, i.e., extended depth-of-focus (EDOF) contact lens (CL), was designed. Here, we retrospectively investigated myopia progression associated with EDOF CL wear. Methods: Twenty-four consecutive myopic children (24 eyes; mean age, 13.9 years) received EDOF CLs to control myopia progression and participated in the study. We measured the axial length (AL), spherical equivalent (SE), and choroidal thickness (CT) at baseline and after 1 year of lens wear and compared the changes. Results: The mean baseline AL, SE, and CT were, respectively, 26.31 mm, −6.38 diopter (D), and 235 μm, and at 1 year 26.40 mm (p = 0.03), −6.61 D (p = 0.05), and 244 μm (p = 0.18). The AL decreased in 20.8% of cases (≧−0.05 mm/year), whereas 20.8% and 58.4% of cases had stabilization of the AL or an increased AL (≧+0.05 mm/year), respectively. The patients with a decreased AL engaged in a mean outdoor activity time of 200.6 min/day, the patients with an increased AL (≧+0.05 mm/year) engaged in a mean outdoor activity time of 126.7 min/day. The change in the AL was correlated significantly with the change in the CT (β = −0.46, p < 0.05), and 80% of patients with a shortened AL had increased CT (≧+20 μm/year). Conclusions: Our data showed that the AL stabilized or decreased in over 40% of myopic patients wearing EDOF CLs.