Bill Harvey: Bent twig of darkness

Ours is a profession where the clinical and the commercial both play a role. In some ways, this may serve as a model of how any modern health service needs to operate. There are, however, occasions where commercial interests may colour the messages that might be inferred from research.

The current interest in myopia and myopia therapy is a good example of where it is important to remain focused on the actual evidence base. Though I have heard some colleagues suggest that the health implications for myopia have been somewhat over-dramatised, the fact that high myopia has a strong correlation with eye disease (for example, the risk of maculopathy is up to 40 times greater) does in my view make any successful attempt to reduce progression worthwhile.