PurposeTo evaluate whether there was a difference in peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and foveal thickness between amblyopic and normal individuals with optical coherence tomography.Materials and methodsSixty patients, 30 patients with hypermetropic anisometropic amblyopia and 30 normal emmetropic subjects, were enrolled in this study. The eyes of the participants were divided into three groups: 30 eyes of 30 patients with amblyopia (A), 30 fellow eyes of the amblyopic patients (B), and 30 eyes of 30 normal subjects (C). Emmetropic normal subjects included cases with normal visual acuity and unremarkable ocular examinations. After routine ophthalmic examination, peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer and foveal thickness measurements were measured by time-domain optical coherence tomography and compared among the three groups.ResultsThe difference in RNFL thickness between amblyopic eyes, fellow eyes of the amblyopic patients, and normal eyes of the emmetropic subjects was not clinically significant. However, the mean foveal thickness was significantly thicker in amblyopic eyes versus the fellow eyes and normal subjects’ eyes.ConclusionOur results suggest that amblyopia seems to have an effect on the foveal thickness, but not on the RNFL thickness.
BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of neural vision therapy, also termed perceptual vision therapy, in enhancing best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and contrast sensitivity function in amblyopic patients.MethodsThis prospective study enrolled 99 subjects previously diagnosed with unilateral hypermetropic amblyopia aged 9–50 years. The subjects were divided into two groups, with 53 subjects (53 eyes) in the perceptual vision therapy group and 46 subjects (46 eyes) in the control group. Because the nature of the treatment demands hard work and strict compliance, we enrolled the minimal number of subjects required to achieve statistically significant results. Informed consent was obtained from all subjects. Study phases included a baseline screening, a series of 45 training sessions with perceptual vision therapy, and an end-of-treatment examination. BCVA and contrast sensitivity function at 1.5, 3, 6, 12, and 18 cycles per degree spatial frequencies were obtained for statistical analysis in both groups. All subjects had follow-up examinations within 4–8 months. With the exception of one subject from the study group and two subjects from the control group, all subjects had occlusion during childhood. The study was not masked.ResultsThe results for the study group demonstrated a mean improvement of 2.6 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) lines in visual acuity (from 0.42 to 0.16 logMAR). Contrast sensitivity function improved at 1.5, 3, 6, 12, and 18 cycles per degree spatial frequencies. The control group did not show any significant change in visual acuity or contrast sensitivity function. None of the treated eyes showed a drop in visual acuity. Manifest refractions remained unchanged during the study.ConclusionThe results of our study demonstrate the efficacy of perceptual vision therapy in improving visual acuity. The 2.6 logMAR lines improvement in visual acuity is encouraging, and is consistent with the results of previous studies. However, long-term follow-up and further studies are needed.
While consistency was observed in all methods in terms of sphere and spherical equivalence, consistency dropped in cylindrical values and no consistency was observed in axis values. It is important to take this point into consideration, especially in axis measurements.
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