For most, opening the blinds and heading into their day trouble-free is a privilege taken for granted. Yet for people living with migraine, this is all they want. Avulux – the first clinically proven lens that Australian optometrists are now prescribing for migraine and light sensitivity – is providing a gateway to a normal life for wearers.
For Ms Simone Dow of the Australian progressive metal band Voyager – and Australia’s entry into the 2022-23 Eurovision Song Contest – light is one of her biggest migraine triggers, but the new Avulux lens for migraine and sensitivity has given her career a new lease of life – and longevity.
“As you can imagine, being a musician, you are assaulted with lights on stage,” she says.
“But people don’t realise that you wear a variety of different hats as a musician. You’re also doing a lot of the business administration behind the scenes as well, so you’re on computers and screens and that can be a trigger.”
She now wears Avulux lenses nearly all the time – during gigs but also when she’s shopping, reading, watching TV, or working on the computer.
“The difference has just been remarkable,” she says. “I’m finding most days my symptoms for light sensitivity are at such a manageable level now just from wearing them regularly. I don’t know how I dealt without them; now they’re stuck on my face almost permanently.”
Dow is among patients across Australia who can now access Avulux – the only FDA approved lens of its kind. It has been available in the Australian market since 2020–exclusively through Melbourne-based lens manufacturer CR Labs – which is making it available to the public through independent optometrists.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), migraine ranks among the top 20 most disabling medical conditions, with a significant impact on quality-of-life and productivity and is three times more common in women than men. What can be a devastating neurological disease, it affects approximately 15% of the world’s population – and studies show 80%-90% of people with migraine have light sensitivity.
A research team from the University of Utah in the US, comprising Avulux CEO and co-founder Dr Charles Posternack, noted that light at very specific wavelengths appeared to both worsen light sensitivity and overall discomfort in patients with migraine.
Described as a first for any optical lens, Avulux was able to meet the highest standard of scientific evidence, by proving it was both clinically and statistically better than a placebo, in managing both light sensitivity and light induced pain in subjects with migraine. This occurred after an independently run, randomised, double-masked clinical trial in 2020 comparing the Avulux precision optical filter versus a placebo lens.
From this patented approach, the Avulux precision optical filter was created.
Dr Posternack says his own motivation behind developing the lens was personal. After a long career as a practising physician and senior healthcare executive, he co-founded Avulux to provide his two daughters – who suffer from light sensitivity and migraine – an option that would help them.
Until 2019, options available to people with light sensitivity were scarce – these included dark sunglasses, which could result in chronic dark adaptation, meaning eyes become adapted to darkness and may become even more sensitive to light if used continuously.
“Today, my daughters are two of the many Avulux success stories from around the world,” he says. “Real-world experience shows that 90% of Avulux users find they can resume their daily activities while using Avulux lenses to manage the impact of light. It’s my goal that countless others who suffer from migraine and light sensitivity will enjoy similar life-changing benefits.”
Changing lives
Avulux made its debut in the Australian market when the company expressed interest in working with a local and independent lens lab, according to CR Labs’ professional service manager, Dr Fiona Om.
“CR Labs was excited to collaborate with Avulux to spread awareness about migraine and light sensitivity and to offer a product which provides a point of difference in the independent market,” she says.
Now, CR Labs is an exclusive lens supplier in Australia that offer Avulux in plano and prescription form.
Prior to the introduction of Avulux, eyecare professionals had few, if any, clinically proven lenses to recommend to patients with photophobia, which is why Lakeview Eyecare, in Melbourne’s southeast, had one patient leaving with three pairs.
The practice is among a handful of Australian independents prescribing the Avulux lens to patients who suffer from migraine or are photophobic – with many even reporting they are now medication free.
Lakeview Eyecare practice manager and optical dispenser Ms Belinda Clarey, and optometrist Mr Robert McQualter, say the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Patients are offered an easy to execute trial period and can decide for or against the lens. McQualter says most opt for it.
Often, he says the relief for patients is instant and sometimes has the dual benefits of working as a preventative (if light acts as a migraine trigger) and symptom reliever.
McQualter says the lens can be worn continually if the patient lives with chronic migraine or experiences continuous light sensitivity. It can also be worn during any trigger activities such as screen time or under harsh lighting, at the onset of a migraine attack or aura and when experiencing light sensitivity.
Meanwhile, at Fresh Vision Optometrists in Queensland, Mr Brett Jenkinson’s patient was able to go to work once again after debilitating migraines. While the concept of ‘work’ is a bane to many, for Jenkinson’s patient, it meant she could participate in life. She could open her blinds, and leave the house; trivial things, the rest often take for granted, he says.
As a health practitioner, Jenkinson is no stranger to improving peoples’ lives. But with the Avulux lens, it gives him an additional and unique avenue to achieve this.
“It’s great to know my patient can leave the house more frequently and can now have a more normal existence instead of being regularly debilitated by migraine,” he adds.
Prescribing is simple – the only prerequisite for patients is a migraine diagnosis. They then complete a questionnaire by Avulux.
McQualter says: “The majority of patients that do go through a trial period are happy at the end, compared to those who aren’t – it actually makes a big difference to their day-to-day life.”
Overall, Dr Om says Avulux has received a positive response from optometrists and other allied healthcare professionals across the country.
“In particular, optometrists specialising in behavioural optometry who regularly encounter patients with migraine have embraced the product with open arms. They’ve prescribed Avulux and have reported significant success among their patients, to the extent where some have needed less frequent and lower doses of migraine medication,” she says.
Breakthrough lens design
Research shows that specific blue, amber and red wavelengths of light can increase migraine headache pain while green light can soothe it.
The Avulux lens uses a patented nano-molecular technology to selectively filter harmful wavelengths of light while allowing soothing, green light through. This precise filtration targets wavelengths that induce melanopsin activation.
Melanopsin is a photopigment that is released when cells at the back of the eye, called intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs), are exposed to light in the upper blue and amber range. Research in 2010 linked melanopsin-secreting ipRGCs to pain in people with migraine.
The filtration technology also targets wavelengths that generate larger electrical signals that can lead to pain via the optic nerve.
“People who experience light sensitivity and migraine often find they must retreat to a dark room when symptoms begin,” Dr Posternack says. “This takes them away from their families, friends, work and all the things they love. Using Avulux lenses can be like having their own portable dark room, allowing them to get back to living their life.”
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