Comparison of Features in the Evaluation of Symptomatology and Social Adjustment between Mothers and Other Family Members of Schizophrenic Patients in Japan

This study examined symptomatology and social adjustment evaluated by a key person in the family of schizophrenic outpatients using the Katz Adjustment Scale. Although there were no differences seen in descriptions of symptomatology between 66 cases evaluated by mothers and 38 cases by other family members, significant differences were seen in assessment of social adjustment. Compared to other family members, mothers\u27 expectation toward patients\u27 socially expected activities was higher and mothers showed strong dissatisfaction with patients\u27 free-time activities. Mothers showed more severe attitudes toward patients than other family members, but the evaluation of social adjustment by mothers showed a significant correlation with the severity of BPRS symptom evaluation by psychiatrists

Visual acuity of amblyopic eye under binocular condition and stereopsis in anisometropic amblyopia

　片眼弱視における視機能障害の主な原因のひとつとして，眼間抑制の不均衡，すなわち健眼から弱視眼への抑制の影響が知られている．この不均衡の程度は，日常臨床では片眼を完全に遮閉した状態で測定した一眼の視力（片眼遮閉視力）と両眼を開放した状態で測定した一眼の視力（両眼開放視力）を比較することで評価が可能と考えられている．　これまで，弱視治療により弱視眼の片眼遮閉視力が1.0以上に回復した不同視弱視症例において，眼間抑制の不均衡がどの程度残存しているかは報告者によって異なる見解が示されている．そこで，本研究では，弱視治療により弱視眼の片眼遮閉視力が1.0以上に到達した不同視弱視患者17例を対象に，方向変換ミラーによる両眼開放視力および Titmus stereo test による立体視機能について検討を行った．　その結果，弱視眼の平均両眼開放視力は平均片眼遮閉視力よりも有意に不良であった（p<0.001）．なお，17例中13例（76％）は両眼開放視力が片眼遮閉視力よりも低値を示し，17例中４例（24％）は両眼開放視力と片眼遮閉視力に差がなかった．さらに，両眼開放視力の低下がみられた13例のうち７例（54%）が60秒より不良な立体視を示したが，両眼開放視力が同等であった群は全例が60秒より良好な正常立体視を獲得していた．　以上より，弱視治療により片眼遮閉視力が改善した弱視患者においても，眼間抑制の不均衡が残存している症例が多いことが示唆された．　The imbalance of inter-ocular suppression is known to be one of the main causes of visual dysfunction in unilateral amblyopia. The amount of imbalance can be clinically evaluated by comparing visual acuities (VA) of the amblyopic eye between binocular and monocular viewing conditions.　Previous studies have reported inconsistent findings concerning how much the suppression imbalance remains in patients whose monocular VAs of the amblyopic eye improved to more than 1.0 after treatment. In the present study, we measured VAs of the amblyopic eye under binocular and monocular viewing conditions using mirrors and stereoacuities using the Titmus stereo test. Seventeen patients with anisometropic amblyopia participated in a survey after their monocular VAs of the amblyopic eye improved to more than 1.0.　The results indicated that VAs of the amblyopic eye were significantly lower for the binocular condition than for the monocular condition (p<0.001). Thirteen of the 17 patients (76%) showed lower VAs under binocular viewing compared with monocular viewing. There was no difference in VA between the binocular and monocular conditions in the remaining 4 patients (24%). Their stereoacuities were more than 60 seconds of arc, indicating normal stereopsis, whereas 7 of the 13 patients with lower binocular VAs than monocular VAs (54%) showed stereoacuities lower than 60 seconds of arc. The present study suggests that there exists an imbalance of inter-ocular suppression even after treatment of the amblyopic eye in a substantial number of patients with amblyopia

Effect of amblyopia treatment on choroidal thickness in hypermetropic anisometropic amblyopia using swept-source optical coherence tomography

Abstract Background Recent studies using optical coherence tomography (OCT) have indicated that choroidal thickness (CT) in the anisometropic amblyopic eye is thicker than that of the fellow and normal control eyes. However, it has not yet been established as to how amblyopia affects the choroid thickening. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of amblyopia treatment on macular CT in eyes with anisometropic amblyopia using swept-source OCT. Methods Thirteen patients (mean age: 6.2 ± 2.4 years) with hypermetropic anisometropic amblyopia were included in this study. Visual acuity (VA), axial length (AL), and CT were measured at the enrollment visit and at the final visit, after at least 6 months of treatment. CT measurements were corrected for magnification error and were automatically analyzed using built-in software and divided into three macular regions (subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT), center 1 mm, and center 6 mm). A one-way analysis of covariance using AL as a covariate was performed to determine whether CT in amblyopic eyes changed after amblyopia treatment. Results The average observation period was 22.2 ± 11.0 months. After treatment, VA (logMAR) improvement in the amblyopic eyes was 0.41 ± 0.19 (p < 0.001). SFCT, center 1 mm CT, and center 6 mm CT were significantly thicker in the amblyopic eyes compared with the fellow eyes both before and after treatment (p < 0.05 for all comparisons). There were no significant changes in SFCT, center 1 mm CT, or center 6 mm CT before and after treatment in the amblyopic (p = 0.25, 0.21, and 0.84, respectively) and fellow (p = 0.75, 0.84, and 0.91, respectively) eyes. The correlation between changes in logMAR versus changes in CT after treatment was not significant. Conclusions Although VA in amblyopic eyes was significantly improved after treatment, the choroid thickening of anisometropic amblyopic eyes persisted, and there was no significant change found in the CT after the treatment. Our findings suggest that thickening of the CT in amblyopia is not directly related to visual dysfunction