Glasses May Reduce Light-Triggered Migraines

Axon Optics FL41 Glasses may lower migraines triggered by light

(RxWiki News) Photophobia, or light sensitivity, is common among migraine sufferers. Reducing light-triggered migraines may be as simple as slipping on a pair of rose-colored glasses.

Axon Optics has announced its rose-tinted FL-41 glasses, which were designed with a special coating capable of blocking light that triggers migraines.

As many as 90 percent of those who suffer from migraines report sensitivity to light.

"See a doctor if you have difficulty managing migraines."

The glasses are priced between $89 and $149, and include styles such as regular glasses, glasses that fit over existing lenses and reading glasses. They are available with an indoor tint, or ones better suited as sunglasses.

The company also can add a prescription for those who wear glasses for vision correction, and frames are available in three colors, allowing users to personalize them to their taste.

Company developers call the glasses "natural migraine relief." Axon Optics, and the subsequent development of the FL-41 glasses was born out of research that began at the University of Utah. Researchers at the University of Utah John A. Moran Eye Center conducted several studies focused on photophobia. Research also indicated that the FL-41 glasses reduce light sensitivity.

During a pair of 2009 studies published in journal Ophthalmology, 56 participants with benign essential blepharospasm, a progressive neurological condition with involuntary muscle contractions, increased eye blinking and light sensitivity, and 26 patients without the disorder wore either FL-41 glasses or gray-tinted lenses.

Moran Eye Center researchers found that patients in both groups improved, though the FL-41 lenses were superior for reading, fluorescent light sensitivity and overall light sensitivity.

A small 1991 study published in journal Headache also found that rose-tinted glasses could benefit migraine patients suffering from light sensitivity. During that study 20 children with migraines were asked to wear either a rose-colored tint or density matched blue tint glasses for four months.

Both groups suffered from fewer headaches after one month,but only children wearing the rose-tinted glasses sustained the improvement for the entire four-month study period. Among children wearing the rose-tinted glasses, migraines declined from an average of six per month to less than two per month.

Axon Optics unveiled its first line of glasses designed to assist those with migraines caused by light sensitivity in June 2011. The company also is working to develop next generation glasses, and expects to unveil contact lenses capable of filtering light wavelengths that trigger migraines as soon as this summer following the completion of additional clinical trials.

Review Date: 
April 17, 2012