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Treatment of amblyopia may help prevent later vision loss, study suggests
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LONDON — The risk of serious vision loss affecting the dominant eye in amblyopic patients is higher than previously assumed, according to a national survey. The results support the treatment of amblyopia during childhood as a means of preventing incapacitating vision loss later in life.
The study was conducted over the course of 2 years throughout the United Kingdom, where the value of screening for amblyopia has recently been questioned. Jugnoo S. Rahi, FRCOphth, and colleagues with the Institute of Child Health identified 370 people with unilateral amblyopia (visual acuity worse than 6/12) who over the course of 1 year had newly acquired visual loss in the non-amblyopic eye. The new vision loss in the non-amblyopic eye ranged from minor to blindness.
Dr. Rahi said the most common reasons for loss of sight were accidents, such as car accidents, sports injuries and job mishaps, according to a report in Reuters.
Treating amblyopia during childhood could be a potentially valuable strategy to prevent vision loss later in life, Dr. Rahi added.
The results are published in the August 24 issue of The Lancet.