Adults Should Be Treated Too

We wish to add to the article on current methods of visual rehabilitation (1) the successful treatment for amblyopia and anisometropia.

It has been ascertained that the brain of adults can remain plastic. In earlier decades, it was assumed that treating amblyopia was successful only in early childhood. Even in adults, vision can be improved by consistently treating the eye resulting in better vision (2, 3). The prognosis for improved vision in the amblyopic eye depends crucially on whether central fixation is present. But even in eccentric fixation, the patient’s vision can be improved by means of pleoptic treatment (2, 3). Even older patients with loss of vision in the eye with formerly normal vision as a result of age related macular degeneration showed an improvement in vision in the amblyopic eye without macular degeneration (4). The conclusion: treating amblyopia can improve vision not only in children but also in adolescents and adults.

In spite of these important results the primary aim should always be systematic treatment of amblyopia in early childhood.

DOI: 10.3238/arztebl.2012.0342a

Prof. Dr. med. Dieter Schmidt
Universitäts-Augenklinik, Freiburg

Dieter.Schmidt@uniklinik-freiburg.de