Internet-based perceptual learning in treating amblyopia

Purpose: Amblyopia is a common childhood condition, which affects 2%-3% of the population. The efficacy of conventional treatment in amblyopia seems not to be high and recently perceptual learning has been used for treating amblyopia. The aim of this study was to address the efficacy of Internet-based perceptual learning in treating amblyopia. Methods: A total of 530 eyes of 341 patients with amblyopia presenting to the outpatient department of West China Hospital of Sichuan University between February 2011 and December 2011 were reviewed. A retrospective cohort study was conducted to compare the efficacy of Internet-based perceptual learning and conventional treatment in amblyopia. The efficacy was evaluated by the change in visual acuity between pretreatment and posttreatment. Results: The change in visual acuity between pretreatment and posttreatment by Internet-based perceptual learning was larger than that by conventional treatment in ametropic and strabismic amblyopia (p<0.05), but smaller than that in anisometropic and other types of amblyopia (p<0.05). The improvement in visual acuity by Internet-based perceptual learning was larger for patients with amblyopia not younger than 7 years (p<0.05). The mean cure time of patients with amblyopia by Internet-based perceptual learning was 3.06 +/- 1.42 months, while conventional treatment required 3.52 +/- 1.67 months to reach the same improvement (p<0.05). Conclusions: Internet-based perceptual learning can be considered as an alternative to conventional treatment. It is especially suitable for ametropic and strabismic patients with amblyopia who are older than 7 years and can shorten the cure time of amblyopia.