TREATMENT FOR ADULT AMBLYOPIA

This article in The Review of Ophthalmology discusses a novel treatment to improve contrast sensitivity in adults with amblyopia. According to the article:

"The NeuroVision system, currently FDA-approved for the treatment of amblyopia in individuals nine years or older is a computerized treatment that forces the patient to identify fine details in visual stimuli.

"After each session, the relevant information is uploaded to a data center where treatment for the next session is customized. Sessions generally last about 30 minutes, with two to four sessions per week, depending on the amount of visual impairment and pace of progression. The company recommends 45 sessions for treating amblyopia and 30 sessions for low myopia. If a patient doesn’t show improvement after 12 consecutive sessions, treatment is terminated.

"In the clinical trial for amblyopia, the improvement was maintained after two years with no further sessions, except for adults with strabismus who continued to favor the other eye. Those patients needed periodic sessions to maintain the improvement.

"In one study involving 44 amblyopic patients, mean visual acuity improved more than 80 percent (2.5 lines). A pilot study used the Neuro­Vision treatment to address low myopia (-1.5 D or less) in 165 patients. Ninety-two percent gained one line or more; 73 percent gained two lines or more; 38 percent gained three lines or more; and 14 percent gained four lines or more.

"August L. Reader III MD, FACS, isn’t convinced. 'They need to get some good studies done by ophthalmologists if they want to generate support in the MD community.'

"Medical Services Options (201-670-9999), won’t begin a U.S. marketing campaign until they also have FDA approval for treating low myopia.

"Currently, doctors can purchase an in-office station (including one day of training) for $3,500, or can have patients contact MSO directly. MSO charges patients $2,000 for a full treatment, plus $350/month to rent a computer station, or $1,000 to buy the station outright."

This sounds very intriguing. I'm not convinced but I'm willing to accept it if it truly works. It sounds like there will be a lot of marketing for this in the future and we'll be asked what we think. It behooves us to educate ourselves ahead of the curve. I like the fact that patients can contact the company directly about this without us having to invest anything into it.