Changes of axial length measured by IOL master during 2 years in eyes of adults with pathologic myopia.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the change of the axial length measured by IOL Master in adults with high myopia during a 2-year period. DESIGN: Open-label, consecutive, prospective longitudinal case series. METHODS: One hundred and eighty-five eyes of 185 consecutive patients with bilateral high myopia (myopia ≤ -6 diopters (D) or axial length ≥ 26.5 mm) were studied. The mean age of the patients was 48.4 ± 12.2 years, with a range of 22 to 84 years. The axial length, the anterior chamber depth, and the radius of curvature of the cornea were measured by IOL Master at the initial examination and at 2 years after the first visit. The significance of the changes in the axial length after the 2-year periods was determined. Multiple regression analyses were performed to identify the factors which were significantly associated with the increase of the axial length. RESULTS: The mean axial length increased significantly from 29.35 ± 1.80 mm to 29.48 ± 1.85 mm in 2 years, a mean increase of 0.13 mm with a range of -0.12 to 1.10 mm. The difference in the increase of the axial length between the patients with and without a posterior staphyloma was not significant. Among the possible explanatory factors, age, axial length, anterior chamber depth, the radius of curvature of the cornea, and intraocular pressure at the initial examination, the increase in the axial length was significantly and positively correlated with the axial length at the initial examination. CONCLUSIONS: The measurement by IOL Master in a large population of highly myopic patients clearly showed that the axial length continued to increase in a span of 2 years even in the 4th decade of life. The eyes with longer axial length showed a greater increase of axial length, suggesting the possibility that the more myopic eyes become more myopic with increasing age.

Clinical characteristics of patients with congenital high myopia.

BACKGROUND: Four cases of congenital high myopia showing similar myopic fundus changes. CASES: The clinical characteristics of four cases of congenital high myopia are presented, and the long-term course of one of these cases is described. OBSERVATIONS: One patient had a history of preterm delivery; however, the remaining patients had no ocular or systemic abnormalities that could account for the congenital myopia. All of the cases showed similar fundus findings, including tilting of the optic disc, temporal conus, and tessellated fundus. A type II posterior staphyloma was found in three of the cases. All of the patients had best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) ≥ 0.4. One patient was followed for 30 years (from 6 to 36 years of age), and during those 30 years, the posterior fundus showed only a slight enlargement of a myopic conus and slight increase of the tilting of the optic disc despite a 3.0-mm increase in the axial length, and final BCVA was 1.0 OU. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term follow-up showed that the posterior fundus did not change radically and good vision as maintained in spite of a significant increase in the axial length.

Long-term changes in axial length in adult eyes with pathologic myopia.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the long-term changes of the axial length in adults with high myopia. DESIGN: Open-label, consecutive, retrospective case series. METHODS: The medical records of 101 patients (184 eyes) with high myopia (myopia ≥-6 diopters or axial length ≥26.5 mm) were studied. The axial length of the eye was measured by A-scan ultrasonography. The significance of the changes in the axial length during follow-up was determined. The effects of the age, axial length, and the presence of a posterior staphyloma at the initial examination on the axial length elongation were determined. RESULTS: The mean follow-up period was 8.2 years. The median axial length increased significantly from 28.6 mm at the initial examination to 29.4 mm at the final examination in the 184 eyes. The axial length remained stable (≤1-mm difference) in 69%, whereas the axial length increased by more than 1 mm in 31% of the eyes. For these 31%, the median axial length increased by 1.55 mm. An increase of the axial length per year was significantly greater in older patients than their younger cohorts, and the increase in eyes with a posterior staphyloma was significantly greater than in eyes without a staphyloma. Multiple regression analyses showed that the axial length elongation was positively and significantly correlated with patient age at the initial examination. CONCLUSIONS: In highly myopic adult patients, the axial length continued to increase. Older individuals with posterior staphyloma were more susceptible to having a larger increase in the axial length. A progression of posterior staphyloma with increasing age is considered a key factor for the continuous increase of axial length in adults with high myopia.

Long-term pattern of progression of myopic maculopathy: a natural history study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the long-term progression pattern of myopic maculopathy and to determine the visual prognosis of each progression stage. DESIGN: Retrospective, observational case series. PARTICIPANTS: The medical records of 806 eyes of 429 consecutive patients with high myopia (refractive error more than -8.00 diopters [D] or axial length > or =26.5 mm) who were followed for 5-32 years were reviewed. METHODS: Participants had complete ophthalmological examinations including best-corrected visual acuity, axial length measurements, fluorescein angiography, and color fundus photography, at least once a year. The presence and type of posterior staphyloma was determined by binocular stereoscopic ophthalmoscopy. The types of myopic maculopathy included tessellated fundus, lacquer cracks, diffuse chorioretinal atrophy, patchy chorioretinal atrophy, choroidal neovascularization (CNV), and macular atrophy. None of the patients had received any type of treatment for the maculopathy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The longitudinal long-term progression pattern and the visual prognosis of each type of fundus lesion. RESULTS: During the mean follow-up of 12.7 years, 327 of the 806 highly myopic eyes (40.6%) showed a progression of the myopic maculopathy. The most commonly observed patterns were from tessellated fundus to the development of diffuse atrophy and lacquer cracks, an increase in the width and progression to patchy atrophy in eyes with lacquer cracks, an enlargement of the diffuse atrophy, and the development of patchy atrophy in eyes with diffuse atrophy, and an enlargement and fusion of patches of atrophic areas in eyes with patchy atrophy. Eyes with tessellated fundus, lacquer cracks, diffuse atrophy and patchy atrophy at the initial examination progressed to the development of CNV. Eyes with CNV developed macular atrophy. The fusion of patchy atrophy, the development of CNV, and macular atrophy all led to significant visual decreases. A posterior staphyloma was observed more frequently in eyes that showed progression from tessellated fundus, diffuse atrophy, and patchy atrophy than those without a progression. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that myopic maculopathy tends to progress in approximately 40% of highly myopic eyes, and the pattern of progression affects the visual prognosis. Preventive therapy targeting posterior staphyloma should be considered to prevent the visual impairment caused by the progression of myopic maculopathy.