The Chris Wolfe Podcast: when does belief help us act, and when does belief get ahead of the data?

Episode Description
In this year-end episode, Chris Wolfe, OD takes a step back from protocols, products, and positioning statements to examine a more fundamental question in clinical care: when does belief help us act, and when does belief get ahead of the data?

Throughout the year, we’ve emphasized that belief during the comprehensive exam is what drives action. If doctors and teams do not truly believe something matters, it does not get prioritized. But belief has a failure mode. When belief outpaces evidence, especially in pediatric care, it can distort expectations, decision-making, and policy.

Using the FDA’s decision on low-dose atropine as a case study, this episode explores how belief forms, how it spreads, and where it may diverge from what the publicly available data actually show. This is not an argument against myopia management or atropine therapy. It is an attempt to slow the conversation down and examine effect size, study design, endpoints, and uncertainty with clarity and humility.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode
Why myopia management itself is not the controversy, but certainty often is

How belief influences behavior in the comprehensive exam, for better and for worse

What the FDA actually said in its Complete Response Letter on SYD-101

How professional statements and press releases can amplify belief beyond available data

What the STAR trial poster does and does not show, including effect size and subgroup uncertainty

Why modest effect sizes behave differently in real-world clinical practice

How to think about dose, endpoints, and population selection without oversimplifying

Why belief should motivate action, but evidence should calibrate expectations

Key Sources Referenced in This Episode
FDA and Manufacturer Statements
Sydnexis Complete Response Letter Press Release
Sydnexis Receives Complete Response Letter from FDA for SYD-101 to Slow Pediatric Myopia Progression
https://www.sydnexis.com/news/sydnexis-receives-complete-response-letter-from-fda-for-syd-101

Sydnexis Phase III STAR Trial Topline Data Press Release
Sydnexis Announces Topline Pivotal Data from Phase 3 STAR Trial
https://www.sydnexis.com/news/sydnexis-announces-topline-pivotal-data-from-phase-3-star-trial

UK Approval Announcement (Based on STAR Data)
Sydnexis Announces UK Approval of Ryjunea by Partner Santen
https://www.sydnexis.com/news/sydnexis-announces-uk-approval-of-ryjunea

Professional Organization Statements
AAOMC Public Statement
AAOMC Calls for Access to Proven Myopia Therapies as Low-Dose Atropine Gains Global Approvals
https://aaomc.org

AAPOS Commentary on Nonapproval of SYD-101
Available via LinkedIn and Healio OSN

Clinical Commentary and Analysis
Kyle Klute, OD – Optometry Simplified
My Alternative Take on Atropine, Fast Progressors, and Effect Size (NNT Analysis)
https://optometrysimplified.com/posts/optometry-simplified-weekly-my-alternative-take-on-atropine-fast-progressors-in-glaucoma-lab-test-ordering-and-more

Strongly recommended for a detailed discussion of effect size and Number Needed to Treat. This episode references Kyle’s framework without reproducing his calculations.

Review of Myopia Management – Ashley Wallace Tucker, OD
What Does the FDA Decision on SYD-101 Mean for Eye Care?

Review of Optometry – Paul Karpecki, OD
Sydnexis Snubbed

Review of Optometry – Cory Lappin, OD
Optometric Physician Commentary on SYD-101

Healio OSN – Ed Wilson, MD and John Hovanesian, MD
AAPOS: Nonapproval of SYD-101 Has Important Implications

Why This Episode Matters
This episode is not about picking sides. It is about learning to sit in uncertainty without abandoning action. It challenges listeners to examine where belief helps patient care and where belief may unintentionally replace careful analysis.

If you manage myopia, counsel parents, interpret clinical trials, or influence policy, this episode is designed to help you think more clearly, not more loudly.

Connect and Continue the Conversation
If this episode resonated with you, or if you found yourself uncomfortable in parts of it, that reaction is worth exploring. Thoughtful medicine requires both conviction and restraint.

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