Neuroscience

Novel approach reverses amblyopia in animals

Amblyopia is the most common cause of vision loss in children, according to the U.S. National Eye Institute. It arises when visual experience is disrupted during infancy, for example by a cataract in one eye. Even after the ...

Ophthalmology

Atropine plus patching increases visual acuity in amblyopic eyes

(HealthDay)—For children with severe amblyopia, combined atropine and patching therapy (CAPT) results in greater mean improvement of amblyopic eye visual acuity (VA) compared with patching alone, according to a study published ...

Neuroscience

Research suggests expanding amblyopia treatment approaches

When University of California, Irvine neurobiologist Carey Y.L. Huh, Ph.D., set her sights on discovering more about amblyopia, she brought personal insight to her quest. As a child, Huh was diagnosed with the condition, ...

Neuroscience

Bright lights outdoors may help treat lazy eye in children

The maturation of visual acuity in both amblyopia and myopia may be closely associated with the development of pathways signaling bright features in the brain, according to research published in the Journal of Neuroscience ...

Pediatrics

Lower self-perception observed in children with amblyopia

(HealthDay)—Children with amblyopia have significantly lower mean peer acceptance and physical competence scores at age 3 to 7 years, according to a study published online Feb. 14 in JAMA Ophthalmology.

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Amblyopia

Amblyopia, also known as lazy eye, is a disorder of the visual system that is characterized by a vision deficiency in an eye that is otherwise physically normal, or out of proportion to associated structural abnormalities of the eye. It has been estimated to affect 1–5% of the population.

Amblyopia means that visual stimulation either fails to transmit or is poorly transmitted through the optic nerve to the brain for a continuous period of time. It can also occur when the brain "turns off" the visual processing of one eye, to prevent double-vision, for example in strabismus (crossed-eyes). It often occurs during early childhood, resulting in poor or blurry vision. Amblyopia normally affects only one eye in most patients. However, it is possible, though rare, to be amblyopic in both eyes, if both fail to receive clear visual images. Detecting the condition in early childhood increases the chance of successful treatment, especially if detected before the age of five. The earlier it is detected, and the underlying cause corrected with spectacles and/or surgery, the more successful the treatment in equalizing vision between the two eyes.

The colloquialism "lazy eye" is frequently used to refer to amblyopia. The term "lazy eye" is imprecise because it is a layman's term for strabismus, particularly exotropia.

This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA