Ocular development in children - Version 1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Structural and functional aspects of ocular development in children
IRAS ID
117836
Contact name
Fiona Cruickshank
Contact email
Research summary
Most infants are born with significant glasses prescription, notably long sightedness. However, this generally disappears as the eye grows. This reduction in prescription is called emmetropisation. Why some eyes remain with significant prescriptions into adulthood, some eyes develop an increasing need for glasses, whereas others “emmetropise“ is currently unknown.
As humans rely on central vision, it has long been thought that signals from the central retina (the light sensitive layer at the back of the eye)dominate the process of emmetropisation. However, evidence from animal studies of myopia (short-sightedness) development suggests that the peripheral retina makes a larger contribution. It is unclear to what degree this is applicable to the development of the human eye.
This study will look at both eye structure and function in both children with healthy eyes and children with certain eye conditions, to further understand which areas of the retina are most crucial in sending the signals that drive ocular growth in humans.
This study will recruit children aged 5 to 15 with both central and peripheral retinal conditions, along with children with healthy eyes. Each participant will be required to attend one clinic appointment at Aston University where measurements of glasses prescription, eye shape, light sensitivity and retinal imaging will be taken. Some young adults with healthy eyes will also be recruited to enable comparisons between developing eyes and adult eyes to be made. Data collection and subject recruitment is expected to continue over a period of two years.
This study aims to be the first comprehensive study of the relationship between central and peripheral retinal signals in developing human eyes,in order to assess the extent to which they contribute to the development of myopia.REC name
West Midlands - Coventry & Warwickshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/WM/0332
Date of REC Opinion
20 Sep 2013
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion