Jiayi Tan L&S Sciences
Treating Nearsightedness with Atropine Eye Drop
People with high level of nearsightedness will have a 5- to 10-fold chance of developing glaucoma, cataract, and sight-threatening diseases such as retinal detachment later in life. Atropine eye drop is one of the most effective therapies for nearsightedness control. I will conduct a small-scaled randomized controlled trial to understand the impact of eye color on the effectiveness of atropine eye drop. Many studies on atropine have focused on Asian populations, and few studies have compared the effect of atropine between Asians and Europeans, who tend to have much lighter iris color and might respond to the drug differently. A prior animal study has shown that the effect of atropine diminishes quicker in rabbits with lighter iris color but has a more sustained and long-lasting effect on rabbits with darker iris color. Therefore, I aim to investigate if the drug has less therapeutic efficacy on light-irides subjects. and see if patients with light irides require more frequent dosing.
Message To Sponsor
As an international student, I was ineligible for many research opportunities because I don't meet the citizenship requirement. This research opportunity is one of the very few programs that I could apply to. I truly value this experience and can't wait to advance human knowledge on developing treatment for nearsightedness!