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PloS One 2024The aim of this pilot study was to determine whether viewing an immersive 3D movie with large disparities in a cinema resulted in improved visual acuity (VA),...
PURPOSE
The aim of this pilot study was to determine whether viewing an immersive 3D movie with large disparities in a cinema resulted in improved visual acuity (VA), stereoscopic depth perception (ST), and improved eye alignment in residual amblyopic children and children without amblyopia.
METHODS
A total of 24 children aged between 5 and 12 years with a history of anisometropic and/or strabismic amblyopia, that had been previously treated and who currently have residual amblyopia (N = 14), and in children with typical development without amblyopia (N = 10) viewed the movie in 3D Sing 2 in a cinema for 110 minutes. Visual acuity, stereoacuity and ocular deviation were assessed before viewing the movie, and three months later. Stereoacuity and ocular deviation were also measured immediately after viewing the movie.
RESULTS
We observed an improvement in visual acuity in the non-dominant (amblyopic) eye 3 months after viewing the movie in the amblyopic group (P<0.001). Stereopsis improved immediately after viewing the movie (P = 0.02), and after 3 months by ≈ 40% (P = 0.01). Moreover, improvements in stereopsis were also observed in children without amblyopia (P = 0.04). No significant changes in ocular deviation were observed in either group.
CONCLUSIONS
These pilot results suggest that brief exposure to large disparities by viewing a 3D movie in a cinema can help to improve stereopsis and visual acuity in children aged 5‒12 years with previously treated amblyopia, and provide a rationale for a randomized clinical trial.
Topics: Humans; Amblyopia; Child; Pilot Projects; Visual Acuity; Female; Male; Child, Preschool; Depth Perception; Motion Pictures
PubMed: 38917142
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0305401 -
Medicine Jun 2024To evaluate the usefulness of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Eye Health Screening Program for 3-year-old children, which combines the Single-Picture Optotype Visual... (Observational Study)
Observational Study
Combination of 2 test methods, single-picture optotype visual acuity chart and spot™ vision screener, in the eye health screening program for 3-year-old children in Tokyo: A retrospective, observational study.
To evaluate the usefulness of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Eye Health Screening Program for 3-year-old children, which combines the Single-Picture Optotype Visual Acuity Chart (SPVAC) and Spot™ Vision Screener (SVS) tests. This was a retrospective, observational, matched study. Patients who underwent the eye health screening program and had abnormalities were classified into 3 groups according to the outcomes of the SPVAC (SPVAC-passed, SPVAC-P; SPVAC-failed, SPVAC-F) and SVS (SVS-passed, SVS-P; SVS-failed, SVS-F) tests as follows: SPVAC-P/SVS-F, SPVAC-F/SVS-P, and SPVAC-F/SVS-F. We evaluated the age at examination, SPVAC and SVS test success rates, and SVS refractive power. Additionally, the rates of refractive error, amblyopia, and strabismus were compared among the 3 groups. The SPVAC-P/SVS-F, SPVAC-F/SVS-P, and SPVAC-F/SVS-F groups comprised 158, 28, and 74 eyes, respectively. The mean age was 37.4 months. The success rates of the SPVAC and SVS tests were 69.8% and 96.2%, respectively. The mean SVS hyperopia value in the SPVAC-F/SVS-F group (2.71 ± 1.50 D) was significantly higher than that of the SPVAC-P/SVS-F group. The mean SVS astigmatism and myopia values were -2.21 diopter (D) ± 1.09 D and -3.40 ± 1.82 D, respectively; they did not differ significantly from that of the SPVAC-P/SVS-F group. Significant differences were observed in the refractive error, amblyopia, and strabismus rates among the 3 groups. Regarding disease determination, no significant difference was observed among participants who passed and failed the SPVAC test, regardless of the outcome of the other test. However, a significant difference was observed between those passing and failing the SVS tests. The SPVAC method used to screen 3-year-old children should be modified to commence at 42 months of age or be replaced with a single Landolt C test. The SVS test is useful for screening younger patients. Furthermore, the SVS test showed that the degree of hyperopia was higher in patients who did not pass the SPVAC test.
Topics: Humans; Retrospective Studies; Child, Preschool; Male; Female; Vision Screening; Tokyo; Visual Acuity; Strabismus; Refractive Errors; Amblyopia; Vision Tests
PubMed: 38905427
DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000038488 -
Vision Research Jun 2024It is important to understand the development of meridional anisotropies in neurotypical children since those with poor visual development, such as amblyopia, can have...
It is important to understand the development of meridional anisotropies in neurotypical children since those with poor visual development, such as amblyopia, can have different patterns of meridional anisotropies. While the oblique effect is usually observed in adults, neurotypical children who have normal 20/20 visual acuity tend to demonstrate a horizontal effect electrophysiologically. In this longitudinal study, orientation-specific visual evoked potentials (osVEPs) and psychophysical grating acuity were used to investigate the changes in the meridional anisotropies in children aged 3.8 to 9.2 years over two visits averaging four months apart. While it was hypothesized that the electrophysiological horizontal effect may shift towards an oblique effect, it was found that the electrophysiological horizontal effect persisted to be present in response to the suprathreshold moderate contrast 4 cycles-per-degree grating stimuli. Psychophysical grating acuity, however, demonstrated an oblique effect when assessed binocularly. In addition, a significant effect of visit, representing an increase in the average age over this period, was observed in the average osVEP C3 amplitudes (4.5 μV) and psychophysical grating acuity (0.28 octaves or approximately 1-line on the logMAR chart). These findings are relevant when evaluating amblyopia treatments and interventions, as it confirms the necessity to take into account of the effect of normal maturation and learning effects when evaluating young children. Special attention should also be given to children with early-onset myopia and high astigmatism even when their visual acuity is 20/20 as the electrophysiological findings are suggestive of poor visual development, which warrants further investigation.
PubMed: 38896923
DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2024.108439 -
BioRxiv : the Preprint Server For... Jun 2024Amblyopia is a developmental disorder associated with reduced performance in visually guided tasks, including binocular navigation within natural environments. To help...
Amblyopia is a developmental disorder associated with reduced performance in visually guided tasks, including binocular navigation within natural environments. To help understand the underlying neurological disorder, we used fMRI to test the impact of amblyopia on the functional organization of scene-selective cortical areas, including the posterior intraparietal gyrus scene-selective (PIGS) area, a recently discovered region that responds selectively to ego-motion within naturalistic environments (Kennedy et al., 2024). Nineteen amblyopic adults (10 female) and thirty age-matched controls (12 female) participated in this study. Amblyopic participants spanned a wide range of amblyopia severity, based on their interocular visual acuity difference and stereoacuity. The visual function questionnaire (VFQ-39) was used to assess the participants' perception of their visual capabilities. Compared to controls, we found weaker scene-selective activity within the PIGS area in amblyopic individuals. By contrast, the level of scene-selective activity across the occipital place area (OPA), parahippocampal place area (PPA), and retrosplenial cortex (RSC)) remained comparable between amblyopic and control participants. The subjects' scores on "general vision" (VFQ-39 subscale) correlated with the level of scene-selective activity in PIGS. These results provide novel and direct evidence for amblyopia-related changes in scene-processing networks, thus enabling future studies to potentially link these changes across the spectrum of documented disabilities in amblyopia.
PubMed: 38895262
DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.05.597579 -
IScience Jun 2024The association between visual abnormalities and impairments in cerebral blood flow and brain region potentially results in neural dysfunction of amblyopia....
The association between visual abnormalities and impairments in cerebral blood flow and brain region potentially results in neural dysfunction of amblyopia. Nevertheless, the differences in the complex mechanisms of brain neural network coupling and its relationship with neurotransmitters remain unclear. Here, the neurovascular coupling mechanism and neurotransmitter activity in children with anisometropic amblyopia (AA) and visual deprivation amblyopia (VDA) was explored. The neurovascular coupling of 17 brain regions in amblyopia children was significantly abnormal than in normal controls. The classification abilities of coupling units in brain regions differed between two types of amblyopia. Correlations between different coupling effects and neurotransmitters were different. The findings of this study demonstrate a correlation between the neurovascular coupling and neurotransmitter in children with AA and VDA, implying their impaired neurovascular coupling function and potential molecular underpinnings. The neuroimaging evidence revealed herein offers potential for the development of neural therapies for amblyopia.
PubMed: 38883835
DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109988 -
Cureus May 2024Objective In this study, we aimed to evaluate the choroidal thickness in patients with unilateral strabismic amblyopia by using spectral domain-enhanced depth...
Objective In this study, we aimed to evaluate the choroidal thickness in patients with unilateral strabismic amblyopia by using spectral domain-enhanced depth imaging-optical coherence tomography (SD-EDI-OCT) (Heidelberg Engineering GmbH, Heidelberg, Germany). Methods Twenty-five children with strabismic amblyopia and 20 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were included in this study. Seven sections were obtained, each comprising 25 repetitive images from each section at 200-micron intervals, and measurements were taken from nine different points at vertical and horizontal lines (1 and 3 mm from the subfoveal, superior, inferior, temporal, and nasal regions), centered on the fovea, using SD-EDI-OCT. Choroidal thickness values were obtained by measuring the distance between the basal border of the retinal pigment epithelium and the choroidoscleral border. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare choroidal thickness between the amblyopic and the control groups. Results The mean age of children with amblyopia and that of controls were 8.4 ±2.7 and 9.9 ±3.3 years, respectively (p=0.120). The mean subfoveal choroidal thickness was 372.8 ±78.9 μm in amblyopic eyes and 372.4 ±79.3 μm in the fellow eyes, both of which were thicker than the control eyes (310.9 ±76.3 μm; p<0.05 for each). Similarly, the mean values for the choroidal thickness of the amblyopic children at 1 mm nasal (320 ±86 μm), 1 mm superior (363 ±70 μm), and 3 mm superior (336 ±62 μm) were also significantly thicker than those of the corresponding control eyes (p<0.05 for each). There was a negative correlation between the subfoveal choroidal thickness and axial length (r=-0.332, p=0.005). There were no correlations between the choroidal thickness, age, and visual acuity. Conclusions The choroidal thicknesses of strabismic and fellow eyes were similar in patients with strabismic amblyopia. However, the choroidal thickness of both eyes in strabismic children was significantly thicker than those of the healthy controls. Emmetropization may be defective in both eyes of strabismic amblyopic patients.
PubMed: 38868277
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.60219 -
BMC Ophthalmology Jun 2024The long-term visual outcomes in spasmus nutans patients is largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to characterize visual outcomes and identify comorbid...
BACKGROUND
The long-term visual outcomes in spasmus nutans patients is largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to characterize visual outcomes and identify comorbid ophthalmic conditions in patients with spasmus nutans.
METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed the charts of consecutive patients diagnosed with spasmus nutans between 2000 and 2020. Demographic information, ophthalmic characteristics, and neuroimaging results were assessed over time.
RESULTS
Of the 32 patients included in the study, 13 (41%) were female. Underlying medical conditions included a diagnosis of Trisomy 21 in 6 (19%) and prematurity in 8 (25%). Twenty-one patients (66%) self-reported as a race other than Caucasian. 18 patients (56%) had non-private health insurance and 1 (3%) was uninsured. Mean age at diagnosis and resolution were 16 months (range 45 months) and 48 months (range 114 months), respectively. All 32 patients had nystagmus, 31 (97%) had head nodding and 16 (50%) had ocular torticollis. Mean follow-up was 66 months (range 185 months). On initial presentation, 6/32 (19%) had an amblyogenic refractive error and mean best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in the better-seeing eye was 0.78 Logarithm of the Minimum Angle of Resolution (LogMAR) (range 1.24). In a sub-analysis that included patients with > 1 exam (n = 23), 17/20 (85%) had an amblyogenic refractive error and mean BCVA in the better-seeing eye was 0.48 LogMAR (range 1.70). At the final exam, 12 patients had measurable stereopsis, eight had strabismus, and three had undergone strabismus surgery. Eight patients required treatment for amblyopia.
CONCLUSIONS
We found a high prevalence of amblyogenic refractive error, strabismus and amblyopia among patients with spasmus nutans. Children with spasmus nutans benefit from ongoing ophthalmic follow-up until they are past the amblyopic age range, even after resolution of nystagmus.
Topics: Humans; Female; Male; Retrospective Studies; Visual Acuity; Child, Preschool; Child; Infant; Follow-Up Studies; Nystagmus, Pathologic; Amblyopia; Strabismus
PubMed: 38867186
DOI: 10.1186/s12886-024-03494-7 -
BMC Ophthalmology Jun 2024To evaluate the clinical findings of patients with SOP who underwent surgery.
BACKGROUND
To evaluate the clinical findings of patients with SOP who underwent surgery.
METHODS
This historical cohort study was performed on 1057 SOP patients managed with surgery in Farabi Hospital, Iran, from 2011 to 2022.
RESULTS
There were 990 (93.7%) patients with unilateral SOP with the mean age of 21.8 ± 14.8 years. Of these, 715 patients (72.2%) were diagnosed with congenital SOP, and 275 patients (27.8%) had acquired SOP (P < 0.001). In contrast, 67 (6.3%) patients were diagnosed with bilateral SOP, with the mean age of 19.4 ± 15.6 years. Among these, 18 cases exhibited the masked type. The mean angle of vertical deviation in primary position at far in unilateral and bilateral cases was 15.6 ± 8.3 and 13.3 ± 9.1 △, respectively (P < 0.001). In unilateral cases, abnormal head posture (AHP) was detected in 847 (85.5%) patients and 12 (1.2%) had paradoxical AHP. Amblyopia was found in 89 (9.9%) unilateral and 7 (10.3%) bilateral cases. Solitary inferior oblique myectomy, was the most common surgery in both unilateral (n = 756, 77.1%) and bilateral (n = 35, 52.2%) patients. The second surgery was performed for 84 (8.6%) unilateral and 33 (49.3%) bilateral cases (P < 0.001). The prevalence of amblyopia and the mean angle of horizontal deviation were significantly higher in patients who needed more than one surgery (all P < 0.05).
CONCLUSION
Congenital SOP was more than twice as frequent as acquired SOP and about 90% of unilateral and 50% of bilateral cases were managed with one surgery. Amblyopia and significant horizontal deviation were the most important factors for reoperation.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
The Institutional Review Board approval was obtained from the Tehran University of Medical Sciences (IR.TUMS.FNM.REC.1400.012) and this study adhered to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki and HIPAA.
Topics: Humans; Male; Female; Retrospective Studies; Adult; Oculomotor Muscles; Young Adult; Adolescent; Middle Aged; Child; Ophthalmologic Surgical Procedures; Child, Preschool; Trochlear Nerve Diseases; Iran; Aged; Strabismus; Vision, Binocular; Treatment Outcome; Infant
PubMed: 38867149
DOI: 10.1186/s12886-024-03514-6 -
BMC Ophthalmology Jun 2024Refractive errors, amblyopia, strabismus, and low vision are more common among children with hearing impairments in comparison with their hearing peers. Neglecting...
BACKGROUND AND AIM
Refractive errors, amblyopia, strabismus, and low vision are more common among children with hearing impairments in comparison with their hearing peers. Neglecting visual disorders can pose educational and social problems for these children. The present study aimed to assess the prevalence of refractive errors, amblyopia, strabismus, and low vision among hearing-impaired and deaf students in Kermanshah.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A total of 79 deaf and hearing impaired students within the age range of 7-20 years (mean age of 15.01 ± 2.72) underwent optometric examinations, including autorefractometry, retinoscopy, ophthalmoscopy, slit lamp, visual acuity measurement, and cover-uncover test. Those who needed further evaluation were referred to the Ophthalmology Clinic of Imam Khomeini Hospital.
RESULTS
Regarding the prevalence of refractive errors, 32 (40.5%) subjects had one or a combination of refractive errors, the most common of which was astigmatism (36.7%), followed by amblyopia (15.1%). The most common type of strabismus was latent strabismus (heterophoria) (88.6%), followed by exophoria (81%). Moreover, 3 (3.7%) cases had nystagmus. A significant difference was observed between the prevalence of amblyopia and the degree of hearing loss (P = 0.026), and no significant difference was detected in other cases.
CONCLUSION
As evidenced by the obtained results, refractive errors, amblyopia, strabismus, and low vision are more prevalent among deaf and hearing-impaired children compared to normal children because deaf and hearing-impaired children are not able to convey their vision problems and need to compensate for their poor hearing with an enhanced sense of sight, inattention to these disorders can present these children with serious educational and social problems. Therefore, eye screening examinations are of paramount importance in deaf and hearing-impaired children.
Topics: Humans; Strabismus; Child; Adolescent; Male; Female; Refractive Errors; Vision, Low; Amblyopia; Prevalence; Young Adult; Visual Acuity; Iran; Cross-Sectional Studies; Persons With Hearing Impairments; Deafness; Students
PubMed: 38867144
DOI: 10.1186/s12886-024-03515-5 -
Clinical Ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.) 2024Uncorrected refractive errors (REs) and amblyopia can lead to visual impairment with deleterious effects on quality of life and academic performance. Early detection and...
PURPOSE
Uncorrected refractive errors (REs) and amblyopia can lead to visual impairment with deleterious effects on quality of life and academic performance. Early detection and treatment by community vision care programs, such as the UCI EyeMobile for Children, can aid in addressing preventable vision loss.
METHODS
A total of 5074 children between the ages of 3 and 10 years were screened at 153 locations, including preschools, head start programs, and elementary schools within Orange County (OC), California (CA). Subsequently, 1024 children presented for comprehensive eye examinations. A retrospective analysis of all examined children was conducted, determining the frequency and severity of REs and amblyopia and the spectacle prescription rate by age. Propensity score matching analysis evaluated the effect of median household income on RE and amblyopia frequency.
RESULTS
Among those who failed initial screening and were subsequently examined, significant rates of REs and amblyopia were detected: myopia (24.4%), hyperopia (35.4%), astigmatism (71.8%), anisometropia (8.9%), amblyopia (7.0%), and amblyopia risk (14.4%). A majority (65.0%) of those examined received prescription spectacles from UCI EyeMobile, with around a third requiring a new or updated prescription. The frequency of REs and amblyopia and the spectacle prescription rate were uniform across OC congressional districts. Myopia and amblyopia risk was positively and negatively associated with household income, respectively.
CONCLUSION
The UCI EyeMobile for Children serves as a vital vision care program, providing free vision screening, comprehensive eye examinations, and spectacles. A significant number of children required examination, and a high frequency of REs and amblyopia were detected in examined children, with subsequent provision of prescription spectacles to most children.
PubMed: 38860118
DOI: 10.2147/OPTH.S460879