Abstract
Purpose :
Although the number of people suffering myopia has been increasing, therapeutic solutions have not been well established. Recent reports indicated that inflammatory conditions may be involved in progression of myopia. The disturbance of dietary balance in polyunsaturated fatty acids has been documented to be associated with chronic inflammatory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. In this study, we tried to explore the relationship between fatty acid metabolism and myopia progression using an experimental murine model of lens- induced myopia.
Methods :
By using -30 diopter (D) lenses, myopia was induced in right eyes of 3-week-old male C57B6/J mice. Zero D lenses were applied to their left eyes as controls. The animals were randomly divided into two groups. One of the groups was fed with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids containing chows and the other was with omega-6. The refraction and the axial length were measured before and 5 weeks after induction of myopia.
Results :
Compared to the omega-6 group (n=6), refractive changes in the omega-3 group (n=6) were significantly suppressed (omega-6: -9.25±1.25 D vs. omega-3: +2.16±2.40 D, p<0.001). For interocular refractive changes, the omega-3 group significantly suppressed myopic shift compared with the omega-6 group (omega-6: -17.80±2.67 D vs. omega-3: -4.31±3.70 D, p<0.001). Axial elongation was also suppressed in the omega-3 group compared with the omega-6 group (0.33±0.02 mm vs. 0.29±0.03 mm, p<0.05). For interocular axial length changes, the omega-3 group significantly suppressed myopic shift compared with the omega-6 group (0.058±0.014 mm vs. -0.001±0.013 mm, p<0.001).
Conclusions :
Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids showed a suppressive effect against myopic refractive and morphological changes in mice.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.