|
New Study Supports the Effectiveness of Vision Therapy for Treating Convergence Insufficiency |
National Eye Institute
http://www.nei.nih.gov
Embargoed for release
Monday, October 13, 2008
3:00 p.m. CT
Contact:
National Eye Institute
(301) 496-5248
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
More Effective Treatment Identified for Common Childhood Vision Disorder
Scientists have found a more effective treatment for a common childhood eye
muscle coordination problem called convergence insufficiency (CI). For words
on a page to appear in focus a child’s eyes must turn inward, or converge. In CI,
the eyes do not converge easily, and as a result, additional muscular effort must
be used to make the eyes turn in.
While the majority of eye care professionals treat children diagnosed with CI
using some form of home-based therapy, a new study concludes that office-
based treatment by a trained therapist along with at-home reinforcement is more
effective. The research, reported in the Oct.13 issue of Archives of
Ophthalmology, was funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the
National Institutes of Health.
The 12-week study, known as the Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Trial
(CITT), found that approximately 75 percent of those who received in-office
therapy by a trained therapist plus at-home treatment reported fewer and less
severe symptoms related to reading and other near work. Symptoms of CI
include loss of place, loss of concentration, reading slowly, eyestrain, headaches,
blurry vision, and double vision.
“This NEI-funded study compared the effectiveness of treatment options for
convergence insufficiency,” said Paul A. Sieving, M.D., Ph.D., director of the NEI.
“The CITT will provide eye care professionals with the research they need to
assist children with this condition.”
The CITT, which included 221 children age 9 to 17, is the first to compare three
forms of vision therapy and a placebo therapy option. The first therapy was the
current treatment standard known as home-based pencil push-up therapy, an
exercise in which patients visually followed a small letter on a pencil as they
moved the pencil closer to the bridge of their nose. The goal was to keep the
letter clear and single, and to stop if it appeared double. The second group used
home-based pencil push-ups with additional computer vision therapy. The third
attended weekly hour-long sessions of office-based vision therapy with a trained
therapist and performed at-home reinforcement exercises. The last group was
given placebo vision activities designed to simulate office-based therapy.
After 12 weeks of treatment, nearly 75 percent of children who were given the
office-based vision therapy along with at-home reinforcement achieved normal
vision or had significantly fewer symptoms of CI. Only 43 percent of patients who
completed home-based therapy alone showed similar results, as did 33 percent
of patients who used home-based pencil push-ups plus computer therapy and 35
percent of patients given a placebo office-based therapy.
“There are no visible signs of this condition; it can only be detected and
diagnosed during an eye examination,” said principal investigator Mitchell
Scheiman, O.D., of Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University near
Philadelphia, Pa. “However, as this study shows, once diagnosed, CI can be
successfully treated with office-based vision therapy by a trained therapist along
with at-home reinforcement. This is very encouraging news for parents,
educators, and anyone who may know a child diagnosed with CI.”
A 12-month follow-up study is being conducted to examine the long-term effects
of these CI treatments. Further information about the reported trial, NCT
00338611, can be found at www.clinicaltrials.gov.
Here's the link for the study published in the Archives of Ophthalmology: http://archopht.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/126/10/1336
|
