(ATLANTA) A National Eye Institute (NEI) study, conducted at more than 40 sites nationwide including Emory Eye Center, has found that atropine drops, given once a day to treat amblyopia or lazy eye -- the most common cause of visual impairment in children -- work as well as the standard treatment of patching one eye. This research finding in the Amblyopia Treatment Study may lead to better compliance with treatment and improved quality of life in children with this eye disorder. These results appear in the March issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.

After six months of treatment, researchers found that the drug atropine, when placed in the unaffected eye once a day, can work as well as eye patching and may encourage better compliance. Compliance is an important factor in the success of amblyopia therapy. Treatment should be started when the child is young, since amblyopia is more effectively treated in children under seven years of age. Timely and successful treatment for amblyopia in childhood can prevent lifelong visual impairment.

"These results are encouraging because in some patients with amblyopia, the drops are an attractive alternative to patching therapy," says Scott Lambert, MD, a pediatric ophthalmologist at Emory Eye Center and an investigator in the NEI study. "The drops are certainly easier to administer than trying to keep a patch on young patients who may attend daycare or who may be allergic to the patch adhesive. Additionally, the drops are a good alternative for older children who may have a sense of stigma with a patch," he says.

Amblyopia, or lazy eye, is a condition of poor vision in an otherwise healthy eye because the brain has learned to favor the other eye. Although the eye with amblyopia looks normal, there is interference with normal visual processing that limits the development of a portion of the brain responsible for vision. The most common causes of amblyopi
'"/>

Contact: Joy Bell
jbell@emory.edu
404-778-3711
Emory University Health Sciences Center
13-Mar-2002

Page: 1 2 3
Related medicine news :

1. Study of energy and health in Africa focuses spotlight on charcoal and forest management
2. Study shows promise in identifying kidney failure
3. Study shows patch therapy may be as effective as oral medications
4. Study shows soy is well accepted in school lunches
5. Study finds that coordinating care of chronically ill patients does not increase liability
6. Study provides new estimates of the causes of child mortality worldwide
7. Study finds factors linked to substance use disorder relapse among health care professionals
8. Study finds majority of women willing to accept cervical cancer vaccine for self and children
9. Study shows use of budesonide reduced the risk of asthma related events by 40% in children
10. Study shows risk of cardiac death after radiation for breast cancer has dramatically decreased
11. Study shows acrylamide in baked and fried food does not increase risk of breast cancer in women