The FDA (Food and Drug Administration), the US federal body that regulates drugs and foods, has given the green light to a new eye drop for presbyopia, a visual disorder linked to the age that affects the ability to focus on the nearby objects. The product is called VIZZ and promises to temporarily improve the vision closely, offering an alternative to reading glasses. However, the effect is limited in time and flow.
How it acts
The active ingredient contained in eyelets is acechlidine, a chemical used in Europe since the seventies for the treatment of glaucoma. The drug stimulates the contraction of the iris muscles, causing a reduction in the pupillary diameter. This process improves the depth of the field and allows you to see better up close, just as it happens when you regulate the opening of the diaphragm in a camera.
Despite the beneficial effect, the duration of the action is limited: the visual effect begins to manifest about 30 minutes after the instillation and runs out within 10 hours. This makes Vizz a temporary solution, indicated for those who want to do without the glasses up close only at certain times of the day.
Because the eye drops cannot replace reading glasses definitively
Jesús Téllez Vázquez, ophthalmologist quoted by the Spanish newspaper The vanguardexpressed some reserves on the effectiveness of the eye drops. According to the specialist, Vizz’s action mechanism is comparable to the closure of the diaphragm of a camera: the less light enters, the greater the depth of the field. However, this can involve problems in not very enlightened environments, making it difficult to carry out activities such as driving at night or working in conditions of poor visibility.
In addition, the approval of the FDA is based on a single clinical trial considered to be of quality, an element that raises doubts about the scientific solidity of the evaluation. Further tests and the experience of real users will be needed to establish the real efficacy and safety of the hills in the long term.
Maria Isabel Canut, president of the Catalan of ophthalmology, also showed skepticism. The expert defines the “inaccurate and temporary” treatment, underlining that Vizz can in any way replace the reading glasses permanently. In its opinion, the eye drops can represent a valid occasional option only for those who present an initial presbyopia, with a defect between 1 and 1.5 diopters, and no other visual disorder.
According to estimates, in Italy there are about 28 million people with presbyopia, while at a global level the numbers reach 2 billion. Vizz presents itself as an interesting novelty, but intended for sporadic and non -decisive use. For many, reading glasses will still remain indispensable in everyday life.
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