Sight improved quickly in amblyopia

RICHMOND, Va., Oct 19, 2005 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Scientists at the Virginia Commonwealth School of Medicine say they now can offer good news to parents of children suffering from amblyopia.

A research team led by Thomas Krahe and Ary Ramoa says it has found evidence the neural wiring in the brain's visual system is not dismantled by visual deprivation during what is known as the "critical period" of vision development. Rather, the wiring is merely deactivated, capable of being rapidly reactivated when vision is restored.

The researchers say their findings suggest allowing children with amblyopia to use both eyes -- rather than patching the stronger eye to encourage use of the weaker one -- enables better recovery.

Such findings are clinically important because about 3 percent of people suffer loss of visual acuity in one eye during early development.

The scientists also determined blocking protein synthesis in the brain with drugs does not affect recovery. Such protein synthesis is necessary if neuronal re-growth is required for recovery, indicating the basic visual wiring had been preserved during deprivation.

The research appears in the Oct. 20 issue of the journal Neuron.

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