Dr. Grossman’s Blog

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Children need eye exams too, and, according to a new paper published in Pediatrics it is important that they get checked before they start school.  The US Preventive Services Task Force guidelines recommend that kids visit an eye doctor at least once between ages 3 and 5.  There is some debate as to whether exams for children between 1 and 3 are beneficial and likely to uncover problems.

The main concern is amblyopia, often called “lazy eye.”  It affects 2-4% of preschool children and is optimally treated, often with eye patching, between ages 3 and 5.  Tests also rule out strabismus and refractive errors.

There has been some professional debate regarding the efficacy of testing young children’s eyes, but there seems to be some consensus that newer testing technology does make these early exams a good idea.

Source: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/736518?src=rss

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Depth perception, the ability to see our 3D world, relies on the eyes’ ability to work as a perfect team.  In people with an eye imbalance or amblyopia, also known as lazy eye, one team member (one eye) is stronger than the other and depth perception becomes compromised.

A study published in Current Biology presents a new way to correct sensory eye dominance.  Researchers call it a “push-pull training method” that proved to improve depth perception in study participants.

When caught early, amblyopia (lazy eye) in children can be corrected through covering the stronger eye so that the weaker eye is forced to do the work of seeing.  This new method is focused on adults who do not respond as well to such strategies.  The researchers’ new approach involves making the two eyes compete to see an image but giving the weaker eye an advantage so that it learns how to win, so to speak.

Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/204763.php

For more on binocular conditions, visit our website.

Amblyopia or “lazy eye” can lead to vision loss in a person’s weaker eye if it goes untreated.  Luckily, if amblyopia is diagnosed and worked on before age seven, more than three quarters of children can achieve at least 23/30 vision.

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Because there are concerns that caregivers can miss the signs of amblyopia, experts are looking into a better way to diagnose the problem.

A program in Iowa sponsored by he University of Iowa and the Iowa Lions Clubs worked together over the last decade to screen almost 150,000 children using technology called the PhotoScreener.  According to the source of this story, MedicalNewsToday.com, this device “records the pattern of light reflected through each of the child’s pupils as the child’s eyes are photographed.”

The PhotoScreener is also helpful in finding such conditions as  unequal visual acuity between the two eyes (anisometropia), high nearsightedness, high farsightedness, astigmatism, and strabismus.

For more on ways that Vision Therapy can help amblyopia and other eye convergence problems, please visit our website.

The medical term for “lazy eye” is amblyopia, and researchers at New York University have found a neurological cause for the condition.

Amblyopia is actually the result of developmental problems in the brain and its neurons, rather than the eye itself.  Also, they have found that the issue is not only related to problems in the visual cortex (the part of the brain that processes images), but from other parts of the brain as well.

For a list of eye diseases, their causes, and treatment plans, please visit our website.

Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/200780.php

Researchers at Chinese University of Hong Kong and the International Eye Center of Shantou University have discovered that acupuncture can help children suffering from “lazy eye” or amblyopia.  The children received acupuncture on five points five days a week for 25 weeks.  The treatment provides a 40-60% chance of curing the condition that occurs when a healthy eye does not receive the correct signals from the brain.

For more on lazy eye and other binocular conditions, click here.

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