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  • Visual Improvements Appear to Remain Long Term After Binocular Amblyopia Treatment

    Pediatric Ophth/Strabismus

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    Review of: Binocular home treatment for amblyopia: Gains stable for one year

    Wygnanski-Jaffe T, Moshkovitz A, Kushner B, et al. American Journal of Ophthalmology, June 2024

    An observational, nonrandomized, optional extension of the pivotal 16-week randomized controlled trial for the eye tracking–based CureSight binocular system looked at rates of pediatric amblyopia recurrence following cessation of treatment.

    Study Design

    The follow-up study included only the patients in the active-treatment arm who completed the full 16 weeks of the original trial (120 total hours), met the definition of successful treatment (either ≥0.2 logMAR improvement or attainment of ≤0.2 logMAR best-corrected visual acuity [VA] with ≥0.1 logMAR improvement), and did not receive additional amblyopia treatment. Patients were evaluated at 12 and 52 weeks after treatment was stopped.

    Outcomes

    Thirty-eight successfully treated patients were evaluated 12 weeks after treatment completion, and at that time point there was a significant gain in VA (0.27 logMAR) from what was seen at the baseline visit of the original trial. There was no significant change in VA improvement in the amblyopic eye from what was noted at the immediate post-treatment visit. Twenty-seven patients were evaluated at the 52-week time point, and the gain in VA above baseline was still 0.20 logMAR, indicating long-term improvement.

    Limitations

    The study included just the patients who did not receive additional treatment for amblyopia after the 16 weeks of active treatment. Amblyopia recurred in 7 patients between the 2 post-treatment time points, and their change in VA was not included in the study. In addition, only 27 of the 43 patients treated in the original clinical trial were included at the 1-year mark.

    Clinical Significance

    Dichoptic binocular treatment for 16 weeks improved VA in the amblyopic eye of included patients. While the patients who did not meet the definition of amblyopia recurrence showed stable vision at 12 weeks, there was a slight decrease in vision at 52 weeks. More studies are needed to determine the overall effectiveness and long-term stability of VA following treatment with this system.

    Financial Disclosures: Dr. Brenda Bohnsack discloses no financial relationships.