Axial Length of Myopia: A Review of Current Research

Abstract

Myopia, or nearsightedness, is a worldwide common type of refractive error. It is a non-life-threatening disorder with huge social and economic consequences due to its increasing prevalence. Axial length (AL) is the primary determinant of non-syndromic myopia. It is a parameter representing the combination of anterior chamber depth, lens thickness and vitreous chamber depth of the eye. AL can also be treated as an endophenotype of myopia and may provide extra advantages in the investigation of its genetic basis. The study of AL will not only identify the determinants of eye elongation, but also provide aetiological evidence for myopia. The purpose of this review is to outline the current state of AL research. Epidemiological evidence, genetic determinants, the relationship with other eye components and relative animal models of AL are summarised.

SLITRK6 mutations cause myopia and deafness in humans and mice

“…This size difference in axial length was not apparent in newborn mice, as determined in serial sections of freshly frozen eyes (Figure 3), which indicates that SLITRK6 regulates eye growth after birth. It is known that axial length is the endophenotype of myopia in animal models, with greater length being associated with more severe myopia (27). Consequently, Slitrk6 KO mice appear to closely mimic the human phenotype involving myopia, in association with the previously documented deafness.…”

Reply to letter to the editor: Subfoveal Choroidal Thickness as a Predictor of Treatment Response to Anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Therapy for Polypoidal Choroidal Vasculopathy

“…However, we found no significant difference in refractive error between good-responders and poor-responders (+0.41 ± 1.55 diopter vs. -0.25 ± 1.24 diopter, P = 0.157). Since axial length and refractive error are highly correlated [1,2], we may safely assume that there would be no significant difference in axial length between the two groups. Therefore, we do not think that a lack of axial length analysis should affect our finding.…”

Reply to a letter to the editor: Diabetic Retinal Pigment Epitheliopathy: Fundus Autofluorescence and Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography Findings

“…As our study was limited by its retrospective design, local/systemic and environmental factors affecting CT could not be evaluated owing to limited data availability. Axial length is highly correlated with the spherical equivalent [3]; however, we did not evaluate the axial lengths in the DRPE and PDR groups. As we mentioned in the Results section of the manuscript, there were no differences in the baseline characteristics, including the spherical equivalent, presence of hypertension, and insulin use, between the DRPE and PDR groups.…”