Amblyopia- sometimes known as a lazy eye- is the loss or lack of development of clear vision in one or both eyes in the absence of pathology. Amblyopia effect ~3.5% of the US population.

Amblyopia is caused when there’s a disruption in the two eyes teaming together in infancy or as a toddler either by:

• a high amount of farsighted (hyperopia)/nearsighted (myopia) and/or astigmatism (light landing at two different points) in one or both eyes
• misalignment of the eyes known as a strabismus (50% of those with strabismus will have amblyopia)
• Deprivation or blockage of light such as in a ptosis, an eyelid covering the visual pathway or congenital cataract, an opacified density of the lens occurring at birth

Symptoms include:

• reduced depth perception
• poor eye-hand coordination
• accident prone
• difficulty with visual information processing
• difficulty with fine eye movements used in reading, which can reduced speed and comprehension

Glasses or contact lens correction is the first line of treatment however often times even if provided with the most perfect prescription the brain is not able to appreciate the clarity of vision and further treatment is necessary.

The Standard Treatment for Amblyopia was occlusion of the better seeing eye either with a patch or atropine eye drops.

These treatments showed improvement in the visual acuity of the amblyopic eye however visual often regressed over time. This regression is likely due to not addressing the problem from a binocular, or a ‘two eye’ vision problem

Patching and atropine drops can also be very challenging for parent to implement and socially difficult for most children. Completing these treatments in a classroom setting can cause difficulty learning due to solely using an eye that has reduced visual acuity, or clarity.

There alternative to patching or atropine drops that is evidence-based and proven effective for nearly all ages. Typically it is easier to treat amblyopia at a younger age due to plasticity, or ability to learn easily of children’s brains, however research has found that neuroplasticity or the ability to change brain function has been proven in nearly all ages.

The treatment uses filters that cancel so it allows the poorer seeing eye to work while the image is blocked from the better seeing eye – however both eyes are receiving input of light so binocular areas of the brain are being utilized.

Useful Links:

• Amblyopia Library