The Effect of Light Deprivation on Visual Functions in Adult Amblyopes

Amblyopia is a significant health problem, affecting up to 4% of the population in the United States. Amblyopia, commonly known as "lazy eye," is a developmental visual disorder in which one or both eyes suffer from poor vision as a result of being disadvantaged in early life. Strabismus, or eye misalignment, such as crossed eyes (esotropia) or wandering eyes (exotropia), and anisometropia, or a power difference between the eyes, are the most common causes of amblyopia. If conventional treatment, such as patching the better seeing eye, is not initiated during the critical period of visual development, lasting visual impairment may persist throughout life. This critical period of visual development has been thought to end around age 10. However, recent research has demonstrated that the critical period of visual development can be extended into adulthood. Complete light deprivation in animal models has restored plasticity in the visual cortex and has demonstrated drastic recovery of vision in amblyopic eyes. The objective of this pilot study is to evaluate the impact of complete light deprivation on visual function in a cohort of human adults with severe amblyopia from anisometropia.