To verify the changes of mesopic and photopic contrast sensitivity function of sound eye whose visual acuity was kept the same after occlusion therapy in the amblyopic children. Fourteen sound eyes of amblyopic children (mean; 7.67 years; S.D., 1.50 years) who kept their visual acuity the same after the occlusion therapy were tested. The children had 6 hours of part-time patch therapy for 3 months prior to this examination. Among 14 amblyopic children, 8 were anisometric and 6 were strabismic amblyopes. Using the visual capacity analyzer which measures the minimal contrast level at from low to high spatial frequencies, the contrast sensitivity of sound eye was measured, under both photopic and mesopic condition, before and after 3 months of occlusion therapy. Comparing the contrast sensitivity of sound eye after the occlusion therapy to that before the occlusion, there was no statistical difference in photopic condition. When it comes to mesopic condition, the contrast sensitivity decreased at the intermediate spatial frequency level (3-13 c.p.d, p=0.028) after the occlusion therapy. The occlusion caused statistically significant decrease in mesopic contrast sensitivity, when the visual acuity was not changed after the occlusion therapy. It may indicate that mesopic contrast sensitivity can be considered as a useful tool for early detection of hidden occlusion amblyopia.
Amblyopia/*physiopathology/*therapy ; Child ; *Contrast Sensitivity ; Humans ; Orthoptics ; Visual Acuity

The authors report two cases of suddenly deteriorated accommodative esotropia with amblyopia during part-time occlusion therapy. A 7-year-old girl with right accommodative esotropia, which was well controlled, showed marked increase in esodeviation after part-time occlusion and regained orthophoria without occlusion. This phenomenon was repeated. Recession of both medial recti was performed and orthophoria was well maintained at both distant and near targets. Accommodative esotropia of a 9-year-old boy with glasses also showed a striking increase in esodeviation after part-time occlusion. The authors recommended wearing only glasses without occlusion or surgery and he recovered fusion. Three months later, orthophoria was maintained at distant target, with 8PD esophoria at near target with glasses. Although this complication should be considered before occlusion therapy, it must be taken continuously if needed, because an increase of the deviation size with occlusion may simply reflect a true deviation and may not be a poor prognostic sign.
*Accommodation, Ocular ; Amblyopia/physiopathology/therapy ; Child ; Esotropia/*etiology/physiopathology ; Eyeglasses ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; *Sensory Deprivation

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to investigate the role of the pattern visual evoked potential (pVEP) as a predictor of occlusion therapy for patients with strabismic, anisometropic, and isometropic amblyopia. The secondary aim was to compare the characteristics of pVEP between strabismic and anisometropic amblyopia. METHODS: This retrospective comparative case series included 120 patients who had received occlusion therapy or a glasses prescription for correction of strabismic, anisometropic, and isometropic amblyopia (20 patients had strabismic amblyopia, 41 patients had anisometropic amblyopia, and 59 patients had isometropic amblyopia). For each patient, the value of the P100 latency on pVEP at the time of the initial diagnosis of amblyopia was collected. Subsequently, the P100 latency was compared according to types of amblyopia. Fifty of 120 patients (7 patients with strabismic amblyopia, 21 patients with anisometropic amblyopia, and 22 patients with isometropic amblyopia) who were followed-up for longer than 6 months were divided into two groups based on the value of their P100 latency (Group 1, P100 latency 120 msec or less; Group 2, P100 latency longer than 120 msec.) The amount of visual improvement after occlusion therapy or glasses was compared between two study groups. RESULTS: The mean P100 latency was 119.7+/-25.2 msec in eyes with strabismic amblyopia and 111.9+/-17.8 msec in eyes with non-strabismic (anisometropic or isometropic) amblyopia (p=0.213). In Group 1, the mean visual improvement after occlusion therapy or glasses was 3.69+/-2.14 lines on Dr. Hahn's standard test chart; in Group 2, the mean improvement was 2.27+/-2.21 lines (p=0.023). CONCLUSIONS: The P100 latency on pVEP at the time of initial diagnosis was significantly related to the visual improvement after occlusion therapy or glasses in patients with strabismic, anisometropic, and isometropic amblyopia. Therefore, it was presumed that patients with a delayed P100 latency might have less visual improvement after occlusion therapy or glasses. In addition, there was no apparent difference in P100 latency between patients with strabismic and non-strabismic (anisometropic or isometropic) amblyopia.
Adolescent ; Amblyopia/*physiopathology/*therapy ; Anisometropia/physiopathology/therapy ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Evoked Potentials, Visual/*physiology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; *Sensory Deprivation ; Strabismus/physiopathology/therapy ; Treatment Outcome ; Visual Acuity

OBJECTIVETo explore electrophysiology mechanism of acupuncture for treatment and prevention of visual deprivation effect.

METHODSEighteen healthy 15-day Evans rats were randomly divided into a normal group, a model group and an acupuncture group, 6 rats in each one. Deprivation amblyopia model was established by monocular eyelid suture in the model group and acupuncture group. Acupuncture was applied at "Jingming" (BL 1), "Chengqi" (ST 1), "Qiuhou" (EX-HN 7) and "Cuanzhu" (BL 2) in the acupuncture group. The bilateral acupoints were selected alternately, one side for a day, and totally 14 days were required. The effect of acupuncture on visual evoked potential in different spatial frequencies was observed.

METHODSUnder three different kinds of spatial frequencies of 2 X 2, 4 X 4 and 8 X 8, compared with normal group, there was obvious visual deprivation effect in the model group where P1 peak latency was delayed (P<0.01) while N1 -P1 amplitude value was decreased (P<0.01). Compared with model group, P1 peak latency was obviously ahead of time (P<0.01) while N1-P1 amplitude value was increased (P<0.01) in the acupuncture group, there was no statistical significance compared with normal group (P>0.05). Under spatial frequency of 4 X 4, N1-P1 amplitude value was maximum in the normal group and acupuncture group. With this spatial frequency the rat's eye had best resolving ability, indicating it could be the best spatial frequency for rat visual system.

CONCLUSIONThe visual system has obvious electrophysiology plasticity in sensitive period. Acupuncture treatment could adjust visual deprivation-induced suppression and slow of visual response in order to antagonism deprivation effect.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Amblyopia ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Animals ; Evoked Potentials, Visual ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Long-Evans

No abstract available.
Amblyopia/physiopathology/*therapy ; Evoked Potentials, Visual/*physiology ; Humans ; Monitoring, Physiologic/*methods ; Prognosis ; *Sensory Deprivation ; Treatment Outcome ; Visual Acuity

No abstract available.
Amblyopia/physiopathology/*therapy ; Evoked Potentials, Visual/*physiology ; Humans ; Monitoring, Physiologic/*methods ; Prognosis ; *Sensory Deprivation ; Treatment Outcome ; Visual Acuity

PURPOSE: To determine the outcome of part-time occlusion therapy in children with anisometropic amblyopia detected after they were 8 years of age. METHODS: We analyzed 29 eyes with anisometropic amblyopia in children 8 years of age and older. The mean age was 8.79+/-0.98 (range 8~12) years old. The subjects whose best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) did not improve by two lines or better within 2 weeks of wearing glasses full-time were prescribed occlusion therapy for 6 hours a day outside of school hours, along with the instruction to wear glasses full-time. Subjects who complied with occlusion for more than 3 hours a day were considered to comply well. RESULTS: The major component of the anisometropia was hyperopia in 51.7% of the subjects, and hyperopia plus astigmatism was found in 24.1%. The mean pretreatment BCVA score was 0.51+/-0.23 (LogMAR). Compliance was 89.66%. The mean posttreatment BCVA was 0.03+/-0.01 (LogMAR), and the success rate, based on a posttreatment BCVA of 0.1 (LogMAR) and better, was 96.43%. It took an average of 4.79+/-3.35 months to reach the desired posttreatment BCVA. The mean posttreatment stereopsis was 79.78+/-37.61 seconds of arc. The recurrence rate was 8%. The visual improvement was related to the degree of compliance (p=0.000). The time taken to reach the posttreatment BCVA was shorter in subjects with a better pretreatment BCVA (p=0.019), but it did not relate to the compliance (p=0.366). CONCLUSIONS: The most common component of anisometropia detected after 8 years of age was hyperopia. The part-time occlusion therapy, which had been carried out after school hours, was successful in most cases.
Visual Acuity ; Treatment Outcome ; Time Factors ; *Sensory Deprivation ; Male ; Humans ; Follow-Up Studies ; Female ; Child ; Amblyopia/physiopathology/*therapy

OBJECTIVETo compare the differences in the therapeutic effect on child amblyopia between auricular point sticking therapy and routine complex treatment.

METHODSTwo hundreds and thirty cases of amblyopia were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 120 cases (212 eyes) were in the observation group and 110 cases (194 eyes) were in the control group. The observation group was treated with auricular point sticking therapy. The main points were Yan (eye), Shenmen, Gan (liver), Pi (spleen) and Shen (kidney), etc. The control group was treated with routine complex treatment, such as wearing glasses, shade therapy and family refined performance therapy. The changes of vision were observed after treatment in the two groups. The follow-up was 3 years.

RESULTSThe effective rate was 81.0% (64/79) in the observation group of ametropic amblyopia and 52.2% (36/69) in the control group. The effective rate was 73.1% (49/67) in the observation group of anisometropic amblyopia and 47.7% (31/65) in the control group. The effective rate was 71.2% (47/66) in the observation group of strabismic amblyopia and 45.0% (27/60) in the control group. The therapeutic effect of the observation group was superior to that of the control group (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONAuricular point sticking therapy can obviously improve child visual acuity with simple manipulation.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture, Ear ; Adolescent ; Amblyopia ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Treatment Outcome ; Visual Acuity

PURPOSE: To investigate the relationship between higher-order aberrations (HOAs) and amblyopia treatment in children with hyperopic anisometropic amblyopia. METHODS: The medical records of hyperopic amblyopia patients with both spherical anisometropia of 1.00 diopter (D) or more and astigmatic anisometropia of less than 1.00 D were reviewed retrospectively. Based on the results of the amblyopia treatment, patients were divided into two groups: treatment successes and failures. Using the degree of spherical anisometropia, subjects were categorized into mild, moderate, or severe groups. Ocular, corneal, and internal HOAs were measured using a KR-1W aberrometer at the initial visit, and at 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month follow-ups. RESULTS: The results of the 45 (21 males and 24 females) hyperopic anisometropic amblyopia patients who completed the 12-month follow-up examinations were analyzed. The mean patient age at the initial visit was 70.3 months. In total, 28 patients (62.2%) had successful amblyopia treatments and 17 patients (37.8%) failed treatment after 12 months. Among the patient population, 24 (53.3%) had mild hyperopic anisometropia and 21 (46.7%) had moderate hyperopic anisometropia. When comparing the two groups (i.e., the success and failure groups), ocular spherical aberrations and internal spherical aberrations in the amblyopic eyes were significantly higher in the failure group at every follow-up point. There were no significant differences in any of the HOAs between mild and moderate cases of hyperopic anisometropia at any follow-up. When the amblyopic and fellow eyes were compared between the groups there were no significant differences in any of the HOAs. CONCLUSIONS: HOAs, particularly ocular spherical aberrations and internal spherical aberrations, should be considered as reasons for failed amblyopia treatment.
Aged ; Amblyopia/complications/physiopathology/*therapy ; Anisometropia/complications/physiopathology/*therapy ; Cornea/*pathology/physiopathology ; *Eyeglasses ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hyperopia/complications/physiopathology/*therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Refraction, Ocular/*physiology ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; *Visual Acuity

PURPOSE: To investigate the relationship between higher-order aberrations (HOAs) and amblyopia treatment in children with hyperopic anisometropic amblyopia. METHODS: The medical records of hyperopic amblyopia patients with both spherical anisometropia of 1.00 diopter (D) or more and astigmatic anisometropia of less than 1.00 D were reviewed retrospectively. Based on the results of the amblyopia treatment, patients were divided into two groups: treatment successes and failures. Using the degree of spherical anisometropia, subjects were categorized into mild, moderate, or severe groups. Ocular, corneal, and internal HOAs were measured using a KR-1W aberrometer at the initial visit, and at 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month follow-ups. RESULTS: The results of the 45 (21 males and 24 females) hyperopic anisometropic amblyopia patients who completed the 12-month follow-up examinations were analyzed. The mean patient age at the initial visit was 70.3 months. In total, 28 patients (62.2%) had successful amblyopia treatments and 17 patients (37.8%) failed treatment after 12 months. Among the patient population, 24 (53.3%) had mild hyperopic anisometropia and 21 (46.7%) had moderate hyperopic anisometropia. When comparing the two groups (i.e., the success and failure groups), ocular spherical aberrations and internal spherical aberrations in the amblyopic eyes were significantly higher in the failure group at every follow-up point. There were no significant differences in any of the HOAs between mild and moderate cases of hyperopic anisometropia at any follow-up. When the amblyopic and fellow eyes were compared between the groups there were no significant differences in any of the HOAs. CONCLUSIONS: HOAs, particularly ocular spherical aberrations and internal spherical aberrations, should be considered as reasons for failed amblyopia treatment.
Aged ; Amblyopia/complications/physiopathology/*therapy ; Anisometropia/complications/physiopathology/*therapy ; Cornea/*pathology/physiopathology ; *Eyeglasses ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hyperopia/complications/physiopathology/*therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Refraction, Ocular/*physiology ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; *Visual Acuity