title: Outcome of conventional treatment for adult amblyopia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To ascertain whether conventional treatment can improve visual function in adults with amblyopia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixteen patients aged 21-67 years old were instructed to wear glasses for refractive correction and to patch the non-amblyopic eye for at least 1 h per day. Visual acuity, measured with crowded optotypes for distance and near acuity, was checked every 3 months, and followed for a mean (SD) of 14.1 (4.2) months. Prognostic factors related to the subsequent results, an improvement of 3 or more lines logMAR in distance visual acuity, were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 16 patients, 5 (31 %) improved 3 or more lines of distance and 5 (31 %) in near acuity. The mean improvement in distance was 2.4 lines logMAR (95 % CI 1.4-3.5) and 2.4 lines logMAR for near acuity (95 % CI 1.5-3.3). Patients aged under 45 years (p = 0.0357) and with severe amblyopia (p = 0.0337), defined as a corrected distance visual acuity of worse than -0.699 logMAR, were associated with a good response.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Conventional treatment may improve the visual acuity of amblyopic eyes even in adult patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2-5-1 Shikata-cho, Kita-ku, Okayama, Okayama, 700-8558, Japan, fumiko-k@mvf.biglobe.ne.jp.
authors.forename: Fumiko
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kishimoto
authors.forename: Chiaki
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fujii
authors.forename: Yoshie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shira
authors.forename: Kayoko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hasebe
authors.forename: Ichiro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hamasaki
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ohtsuki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000550:Amblyopia / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D001458:Bandages; D003867:Depth Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D005139:Eyeglasses; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology; D012683:Sensory Deprivation; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult