Amblyopia, commonly known as lazy eye, is the eye condition noted by reduced vision not correctable by glasses or contact lenses and is not due to any eye disease. The brain, for some reason, does not fully acknowledge the images seen by the amblyopic eye. This almost always affects only one eye but may manifest with reduction of vision in both eyes.
Below are papers published by researchers studying the effects of various treatment types on older children and adults with amblyopia.
Research Done By Dr. Mohamed Moussa
The Moving Dynamic Random Dot Stereosize Test: Validity and Repeatability
The purpose of this study was to develop the MDRS (Moving Dynamic Random dot Stereosize test) for measuring stereopsis objectively for use later in the evaluation of infants, preschool children and people who cannot be evaluated with other tests.
To read this abstract, please click here.
Full article citation: Moussa, Mohamed & Leat, Susan & Faubert, Jocelyn. (2003). The Moving Dynamic Random Dot Stereosize Test: Validity and Repeatability. Journal of pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus. 40. 341-8. 10.3928/0191-3913-20031101-07.
Iseikonic Lenses Effect in Patients with Anisometric Amblyopia
This study investigated the effects of iseikonic lenses in amblyopic patients with regards to binocularity and eye movement.
To view the poster, please click here.
Full poster citation: Moussa, M., Ahmed A., Daw, K., Raza, A., & Higazy, M. (2020). Iseikonic lenses effect in patients with anisometric amblyopia. Journal of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development, 6(3), 271.
Video Game Treatments
A dichoptic custom-made action video game as a treatment for adult amblyopia
Written by Indu Vedamurthy, Mor Nahum, Samuel J. Huang, Frank Zheng, Jessica Bayliss, Daphne Bavelier, and Dennis M. Levi
Stereoacuity, reading speed, contrast sensitivity and visual acuity were shown to improve in amblyopic adults after playing a novel video game combining action gaming, perceptual learning and dichoptic presentation.
To read this paper in full, please click here.
The iPod binocular home-based treatment for amblyopia in adults: efficacy and compliance
Written by Robert F Hess, Raiju Jacob Babu, Simon Clavagnier, Joanna Black, William Bobier, and Benjamin Thompson
Portable video game treatments on the iPod, convenient for home use, improved binocular perception in adults and thus represents a viable option for treatment of adult amblyopia.
To read this paper in full, please click here.
Dichoptic training improves contrast sensitivity in adults with amblyopia
Written by Jinrong Li, Daniel P. Spiegel, Robert F. Hess, Zidong Chen, Lily Y.L. Chan, Daming Deng, Minbin Yu, and Benjamin Thompson
Dichoptic video game training, with either an iPod touch or video goggles, improved contrast sensitivity in amblyopic adults by potentially modifying the neural systems that control contrast sensitivity.
To read the paper in full, please click here.
Mechanisms of recovery of visual function in adult amblyopia through a tailored action video game
Written by Indu Vedamurthy, Mor Nahum, Daphne Bavelier and Dennis M. Levi
Amblyopic adults playing a novel video game showed improved visual acuity and stereopsis in some cases, and decreased visual suppression.
To read the paper in full, please click here.
Virtual Reality Treatment
Amblyopia treatment of adults with dichoptic training using the virtual reality oculus rift head mounted display: preliminary results
Written by Peter Žiak, Anders Holm, Juraj Halička, Peter Mojžiš and David P Piñero
Use of a virtual reality head mounted display in adults with amblyopia was shown to be an effective method of improving visual acuity.
To read this paper in full, please click here.
Virtual Interactive Environment for Low-Cost Treatment of Mechanical Strabismus and Amblyopia
Written by Aratã Andrade Saraiva, Matheus Pereira Barros, Alexandre Tolstenko Nogueira, N. M. Fonseca Ferreira and Antonio Valente
A low cost treatment method that used a virtual reality game displayed on a smartphone with Google Cardboard was shown to be an effective form of rehabilitation in amblyopic patients aged 8-39 years old.
To read this paper in full, please click here.
Recovering stereo vision by squashing virtual bugs in a virtual reality environment
Written by Indu Vedamurthy, David C. Knill, Samuel J. Huang, Amanda Yung, Jian Ding, Oh-Sang Kwon, Daphne Bavelier and Dennis M. Levi
Adults with weak impressions of three dimensionality due to amblyopia and/or strabismus showed improved stereoacuity after being trained in a virtual reality environment to squish bugs.
To read this paper in full, please click here.
Transcranial Treatment
The effect of transcranial direct current stimulation on contrast sensitivity and visual evoked potential amplitude in adults with amblyopia
Written by Zhaofeng Ding, Jinrong Li, Daniel P. Spiegel, Zidong Chen, LilyChan, Guangwei Lu, Junpeng Yuan, Daming Deng, Minbin Yu and Benjamin Thompson
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can modify responses of the visual cortex to information from adult amblyopic eyes, providing a good foundation for further clinical studies on tDCS in adults with amblyopia.
To read this paper in full, please click here.
Improving visual functions in adult amblyopia with combined perceptual training and transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS): a pilot study
Written by Gianluca Campana, Rebecca Camilleri, Andrea Pavan, Antonella Veronese and Giuseppe Lo Giudice
Researchers investigated the effect of a short perceptual training regime in combination with high frequency transcranial random noise stimulation (hf-tRNS) in adults with amblyopia and found that visual acuity and contrast sensitivity function improved.
To read this paper in full, please click here.
Occlusion Therapy
Efficiency of the occlusion therapy with and without levodopa-carbidopa in amblyopic childrenA tertiary care centre experience
Written by Ishfaq Ahmad Sofi, Satish K Gupta, Anuradha Bharti, and Tariq G Tantry
Levodopa-carbidopa treatment was used in addition to occlusion therapy and was shown to improve visual acuity in older children with amblyopia.
To read this paper in full, please click here.
Occlusion therapy in older children with amblyopia
Written by V. Kavitha, S. Chaitra, and Mallikarjun M. Heralgi
In children aged 9-18, occlusion therapy was shown to be a more effective treatment for amblyopia than solely spectacle correction.
To read this paper in full, please click here.
Lens Treatment
Visual acuity improvement in adult amblyopic eyes with an iris-fixated phakic intraocular lens: Long-term results
Written by Jan A. Venter, Martina Pelouskova, Steven C. Schallhorn, and Barrie M. Collins
Adults with amblyopia were shown to have improved visual acuity five years after implantation with iris-fixated phakic intraocular lenses (pIOLs) showing that this method is a safe and effective option for treatment.
To read this paper in full, please click here.