Improvement of therapy for amblyopia

Abstract

The term ‘amblyopia’ originates from the Greek language and literally means dimness or dullness of vision. In time, the condition has been defined in a variety of ways, very much depending on the prevailing patho-physiological concept about its etiology. In general, amblyopia can be defined as a unilateral or bilateral decrease in visual acuity for which no organic cause can be found on physical examination of the eye. It is caused by a refractive error (one foveal image is more blurred than the other); strabismus (ocular misalignment causing each eye to have a different image on the fovea) or, more rarely, deprivation of a clear retinal image (physical obstruction, e.g. infantile cataract, ptosis) (von Noorden 1967; 1985; von Noorden and Campos 2002). Amblyopia usually presents itself during the ophthalmological examination by the ophthalmologist or the orthoptist as a reduced visual acuity in one or both eyes, in the presence of a r