THE CONVERSATIONS AROUND HOW TO BETTER MEET the most under-addressed refractive state continues to grow and evolve as this hot topic in eyecare meets new innovations, technologies, and procedures.

Thanks for joining the conversation here at Presbyopia Physician as we build a community around the evolution of presbyopia therapies. As we’ve seen with the twice-daily expansion of Vuity’s indication and label, at the center of this evolution is the patient experience. The presbyopic patient’s visual needs and changing demands throughout the day, week, or weekend create a moving target—a target with various “guns” pointed at it. As we have learned, and continue to learn, presbyopia is not a “nail,” and our only tool is not a “hammer.”

This being said, it’s time to break out the big guns and move forward with tackling this unmet visual need.

With pharmacologic treatment continuing to progress, we look at new results from Visus and Vuity’s new twice-a-day indication. Choices are emerging, and a physician’s personal experience can help with patient treatment decisions, as discussed here. How medications can affect accommodation is an important consideration, and we have that included here as well. Further, we have an article about managing an unhappy IOL patient, and some musings on how artificial intelligence (AI) may play a role in presbyopia treatment. We look at advancements in several areas with articles on Nyxol’s proposed night vision disturbance indication, early experience using B+L’s Apthera IOL, EssilorLuxottica’s Varilux XR series progressive lens, and the B+L Infuse Multifocal contact lens. Finally, we debut a new feature, the Clinical Case Corner, to see how different physicians approach the same case.

With AI becoming such an interesting topic, we asked ChatGPT to explain presbyopia. Here’s part of what it told us:

Presbyopia is a common age-related vision condition that affects the ability to see objects up close. It typically becomes noticeable in individuals around the age of 40 and continues to progress as they get older. Presbyopia occurs as the lens of the eye loses its flexibility, making it difficult to focus on close-up objects. The exact cause of presbyopia is not fully understood, but it is believed to be related to age-related changes in the lens of the eye. The lens gradually becomes thicker and less flexible over time, leading to a decreased ability to change focus between distant and near objects. If you are experiencing vision changes or difficulty with near vision, it is recommended to visit an eye care professional for a comprehensive eye examination.

Chief Co-Editors

Jacob Lang, OD, and Elizabeth Yeu, MD

Dr. Yeu joined Virginia Eye Consultants in 2013, has been a partner since 2014, and continues her commitment to residency training in ophthalmology as an assistant professor of ophthalmology at the Eastern Virginia Medical School. She is medical director of the CVP Mid-Atlantic Surgery Center and sits on the board of directors for the Virginia Eye Foundation.

Dr. Lang is the lead optometrist at Associated Eye Care in Minnesota and is the director of the practice’s ocular disease residency program. He specializes in cornea and ocular surface diseases, as well as therapeutic contact lenses and surgical comanagement. He is also adjunct clinical faculty at the Illinois College of Optometry, The Ohio State University, and Salus University.