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Refractive adaptation and efficacy of occlusion therapy in untreated amblyopic patients aged 12 to 40 years

  • Neuro-ophthalmology
  • Published:
Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Since neurophysiological and clinical trials have shown evidence for plasticity in the adult visual system, the upper age limit for amblyopia treatment is not rigid. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of occlusion therapy and refractive adaptation in untreated amblyopic patients 12 to 40 years of age.

Methods

In a prospective study, all patients had full orthoptic and ophthalmic assessment including cycloplegic retinoscopy. Patients with a newly prescribed optical correction underwent an 18-week refractive adaptation. All patients were treated with occlusion for 3 h a day for 18 weeks. Acuity gain and responder rates (≥ 0.2 log units) were calculated. The rate of recurrence (visual acuity 9 months after end of the occlusion therapy; ≥ 0.2 log units) and the acuity gain after refractive adaptation were determined. Self-reported compliance to occlusion therapy was assessed.

Results

Median age of patients (n = 24) was 32.4 years (IQR 19.2). Best corrected visual acuity at start of occlusion therapy was 0.35 logMAR (IQR 0.5) and 0.30 (IQR 0.4) logMAR at the end of occlusion therapy, an acuity gain of 0.05 logMAR (P = 0.004). Six (25%) patients had an acuity gain of at least 0.2 logMAR units. Reading acuity was improved from 0.4 logMAR (IQR 0.4) to 0.3 logMAR (IQR 0.4) (P = 0.004).

Visual acuity was stable 9 months after occlusion therapy. The acuity gain after 18 weeks of refractive adaptation was 0.05 logMAR (P = 0.238, n = 8). Acuity gain by correcting refractive errors was 0.25 logMAR (P = 0.006). Twenty-one (92%) of 24 patients achieved full recording in the calendar. Overall compliance was 17% (IQR 38). Only 5 out of 22 (23%) had acceptable compliance (≥ 50%) to occlusion therapy. Improvement of visual acuity was significantly better in patients with at least 50% compliance (P = 0.013). Compliance was worse in non-native patients than in native patients (P = 0.022).

Conclusions

In adulthood, compliance to occlusion therapy is even more challenging than in children. Noncompliance is the main reason for treatment failure. Only a few patients with acceptable compliance to occlusion therapy had a small but significant improvement of visual acuity. The results suggest that some adults with amblyopia retain a degree of cortical plasticity. We found that untreated adult amblyopic patients did not wear optical correction on the amblyopic eye. The highest treatment benefit was achieved by correcting refractive errors prior to following period of refractive adaptation.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the contribution of: Jantien Hofland for help with data collection and research assistence; Ellen van Minderhout and Marleen Vermeulen-Jongen for help in recruiting patients; John Wieja, Elizabeth Wieja, and Prof. Alfred Tóth for English proofreading.

Funding

The study was funded by the Hospital Grant (grant number METC ZWH 11-048) of the Haaglanden Medical Center.

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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Brigitte Simonsz-Tóth.

Ethics declarations

The study was carried out according to the declaration of Helsinki (WMA general assembly in October 2013, Brazil). The Medical Research Ethics Committee Southwest Holland approved the study protocol. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants (and the parents if the child was under age 18) included in the study.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Infomed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

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Simonsz-Tóth, B., Joosse, M.V. & Besch, D. Refractive adaptation and efficacy of occlusion therapy in untreated amblyopic patients aged 12 to 40 years. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 257, 379–389 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-018-4170-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-018-4170-y

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