Waterloo researchers find potential cure for adults with lazy eye

Researchers at the University of Waterloo working in collaboration with China'sSun Yat-sen University say they've found the firstpotential treatment for adults with lazy eye.

In a news release, the Canadianuniversity said research done with their Chinese counterparts hasshown "low voltage electric currentscan temporarily improve sight in adult patients with lazy eye, or amblyopia."

Until fairly recently, the prevailing view was that if adults couldn't developamblyopia, they couldn't be treated for it.- Ben Thompson, UW professor

According to the WebMDwebsite,the condition is associated with children who don't experience the normal development of vision and often plagues one eye.

If left untreated in youth, it was previously thought that the vision impairment would become permanent.

Ben Thompson, an assistant professor at the University of Waterloo, said this potential treatment option is a new revelation for adults with the condition.

"Until fairly recently, the prevailing view was that if adults couldn't develop amblyopia, they couldn't be treated for it,"saidThompson. "This was the same for anyone with brain-based vision problems they're often told there's nothing that can be done about their vision loss."

Vision improved by currents

Patients had their primary visual cortex exposed to 20 minutes oftranscranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied to the surface of their head. The brainstimulation exerciseused constant, mild electricalcurrents in a painless way throughelectrodes.

"They found the treatment temporarily increased the response of that part of the brain to visual information from the lazy eye," the release said, adding, "tDCS also improved patients' ability to see low contrast patterns."

The results were made public this monthin Scientific Reports, an open access journal available online.

"It's a long-held view that adults can't be treated for lazy eye because their brains no longer have the capacity to change," said Thompson. "We demonstrate here that adults do have the capacity, especially when it comes to vision."