VUITY side effects were minimal but Mr Bittner says other companies are looking to develop similar treatments without eye redness or headaches. Source: Freepik.
There’s new hope for people who suffer from Presbyopia with research showing that VUITY drops could help older people rid of blurry vision.
Presbyopia is a condition that affects people as they age, causing blurry near vision which essentially makes it difficult for a person to focus on close objects. According to Health Direct this usually starts happening around the age of 40, when the eye lens becomes harder and less flexible making it more difficult to read and carry out near-vision activities.
Experts say that this continues until about the age of 65, with it being a “natural part of ageing” and no way to avoid it. Glasses and contact lenses are the most used form of treatment but VUITY drops are being hailed as the new alternative.
Approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), VUITY is a prescription eye drop that can work within 15 minutes of being applied and according to clinical studies can last up to six hours. Researchers used pilocarpine, a well known “eye care therapeutic” according to the FDA, in order to develop the treatment.
Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh Robert Bittner commented in his article on The Conversation that he was hesitant as to whether it would actually work.
“As an optometrist, I was initially sceptical,” he said.
“Prior to the release of these eye drops – called VUITY – people would either need glasses, contacts, or eye surgery to alleviate presbyopia. But after learning how these eye drops work, I recognized that for many people, they could offer an easier and safer way to see clearly again.”
Studies were carried out on 750 people aged between 40 and 55 and were asked to use the eye drops every day over a 30-day period. From this researchers determined there were no serious associated risks besides some eye redness and headaches, present in less than 5 per cent of participants.
VUITY has yet to be approved in Australia.
