An eye drop that improves close-range vision could make misplaced reading glasses less of an inconvenience for many of the 128 million Americans who suffer from age-related deficits in near vision. Vuity, which became available by prescription on Thursday, is a once-a-day treatment that can help users see up close without affecting their long-range vision.

“For anybody who doesn’t want to fiddle with reading glasses, this might be a really helpful alternative,” said Dr Scott M. MacRae, an ophthalmologist at the University of Rochester’s Center for Visual Science. Dr MacRae was not involved in the clinical trials for the drug, which was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in late October.

Nearly 90 per cent of US adults over 45 have problems with close-range vision, a condition known as presbyopia that typically worsens over time. To focus on close objects, the eye’s lens must change shape, yet it becomes less flexible as people age, making this process difficult. “Your ability to zoom in decreases,” Dr MacRae said.
People who suffer from presbyopia often find they need to hold a book at arm’s length or turn on a bright light to read it, said Dr George O. Waring IV, an ophthalmologist and the medical director of the Waring Vision Institute in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. Typically, eye doctors recommend that people with presbyopia wear over-the-counter or prescription reading glasses when they need to see up close, but Vuity may also be an option for them, he said.

New York Times News Service