Efficacy of repeated low-level red-light therapy in the prevention and control of myopia in children.

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to determine how different factors influence the effectiveness of repeated low-level red-light (RLRL) therapy in preventing and treating myopia in children. METHODS: Between June 2022 and April 2023, 336 children who visited our hospital due to myopia or significant decreases in hyperopia reserve were enrolled. The children were treated twice daily for three minutes with a head-mounted low-level red-light (single wavelength of 650 nm) therapeutic device. Each of the two treatment sessions was separated by at least four hours. The axial lengths and diopters of the children's eyes were compared before and three months after treatment, and the effects of gender, age, and baseline diopter on the efficacy of RLRL therapy were analyzed. RESULTS: Following three months of treatment, the average axial length of the eyes decreased by 0.031 mm. The condition was better for the boys than for girls, but the difference was not statistically significant. As age increased (F = 8.112, P = 0.000) or as the absolute value of baseline myopia degree increased (F = 10.51, P = 0.000), axial lengths of the eyes tended to decrease. The spherical equivalent refraction (SER) of children decreased by an average of 0.012 ± 0.355D. The condition was better for the boys than for girls, but the difference was not statistically significant. SER increased in the direction of hyperopic drift as age increased (F = 2.48, P = 0.031), or as the absolute value of baseline myopia degrees increased (F = 6.835, P = 0.000). There were no obvious side effects following the treatment. CONCLUSION: This study showed that RLRL therapy is a potential efficient, easily operable, and practically feasible method for the prevention and control of myopia.

Generation and characterization of an inducible renal proximal tubule-specific CreERT2 mouse.

Protein reabsorption in renal proximal tubules is essential for maintaining nutrient homeostasis. Renal proximal tubule-specific gene knockout is a powerful method to assess the function of genes involved in renal proximal tubule protein reabsorption. However, the lack of inducible renal proximal tubule-specific Cre recombinase-expressing mouse strains hinders the study of gene function in renal proximal tubules. To facilitate the functional study of genes in renal proximal tubules, we developed an AMN CreERT2 knock-in mouse strain expressing a Cre recombinase-estrogen receptor fusion protein under the control of the promoter of the amnionless (AMN) gene, a protein reabsorption receptor in renal proximal tubules. AMN CreERT2 knock-in mice were generated using the CRISPR/Cas9 strategy, and the tissue specificity of Cre activity was investigated using the Cre/loxP reporter system. We showed that the expression pattern of CreERT2-mEGFP in AMN CreERT2 mice was consistent with that of the endogenous AMN gene. Furthermore, we showed that the Cre activity in AMN CreERT2 knock-in mice was only detected in renal proximal tubules with high tamoxifen induction efficiency. As a proof-of-principle study, we demonstrated that renal proximal tubule-specific knockout of Exoc4 using AMNCreERT2 led to albumin accumulation in renal proximal tubular epithelial cells. The AMN CreERT2 mouse is a powerful tool for conditional gene knockout in renal proximal tubules and should offer useful insight into the physiological function of genes expressed in renal proximal tubules.

The effect of virtual reality technology in children after surgery for concomitant strabismus.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the effect of virtual reality (VR) technology in children after surgery for concomitant strabismus. Methods: A total of 200 children with concomitant exotropia or concomitant esotropia were randomly divided into a training group and a control group according to the single even number random method (100 cases in each group). Patients in the training group received VR intervention training within 1 week after surgery. Patients in the control group did not receive any training. Results: Six months after the surgery, the orthophoria (the far or near strabismus degree was ≤8Δ) rate was significantly higher in the training group than in the control group (P = 0.001), while the eye position regression rate (compared to the strabismus degree within 1 week after the surgery, the amount of regression >10Δ) was significantly lower in the training group than in the control group (P = 0.001). Six months after the surgery, the number of children with simultaneous vision and remote stereovision was significantly higher in the training group than in the control group (P = 0.017 and 0.002, respectively). The differences in the number of patients with peripheral stereopsis, macular stereopsis, and stereopsis in macular fovea centralis at 1, 3, and 6 months after the surgery between the training and the control groups were not statistically significant (P = 0.916, 0.274, and 0.302, respectively). Conclusion: The intervention of VR technology after strabismus correction effectively improved children's visual function and maintained their eye position.

Prevalence of and factors associated with myopia in primary school students in the Chaoyang District of Beijing, China.

PURPOSE: To determine the prevalence of and risk factors for myopia in primary school children in Chaoyang District, Beijing. METHODS: This cross-sectional prevalence survey was conducted in September to October 2011 in 4 schools randomly chosen from among the 126 primary schools in Chaoyang District. Students were assessed with autorefractometry under cycloplegia and checked with retinoscopy for accuracy. Questionnaires were completed by the students' parents. RESULTS: Myopia was present in 36.7 ± 0.7% of 4249 students aged 5-14 years old. The prevalence of myopia in girls (38.6 ± 1.1%) was significantly higher than in boys (35.0 ± 1.0 %) (p = 0.015) and increased with age (p < 0.001), with the highest prevalence observed in children aged ≥11 years (67.5 ± 1.8%). After adjustment, having a myopic parent (aOR 3.10; 95% CI 2.49-3.86), incorrect reading posture (aOR 2.09; 95% CI 1.75-2.50), reading a book at a distance of <20 cm (aOR 1.60; 95% CI 1.16-2.21), studying at home for >3 h daily (aOR 1.50; 95% CI 1.12-2.01), studying for >1 h continuously (aOR 1.21; 95% CI 1.02-1.45), and reading extracurricular books that utilize a font larger than that used in textbooks (aOR 0.74; 95% CI 0.59-0.94) were all significantly associated with myopia. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of myopia among primary school children in Beijing increased with age, and was significantly higher in girls ≥10 years old. Myopia was significantly associated with parental myopia, reading posture, distance between the eyes and the book being read, font size used in extracurricular reading material, time spent studying at home, and the duration of continuous study time.