Restoration of accommodation

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review examines the current status of accommodation restoration concepts with reference to the recent, published peer-reviewed literature with an emphasis on physiological aspects of accommodation and presbyopia. RECENT FINDINGS: The mechanisms of accommodation and the causes of presbyopia are described. The physiological amenability of the accommodative structures in the presbyopic eye to accommodation restoration is discussed. General theoretical concepts of accommodation restoration are introduced. The methods that have been used to assess accommodation restoration, including the use of animal models, drug stimulated accommodation, subjective near-vision tests and objective measurements, are reviewed. SUMMARY: While physiological and clinical evidence supports the notion that accommodation can be restored to the presbyopic eye, progress in this potentially exciting area is hindered by the scarcity of good, large-scale clinical studies using objective measurement techniques to evaluate the outcomes of accommodation restoration concepts.