J Korean Ophthalmol Soc.  2009 Nov;50(11):1692-1697.

Long-Term Study of Levodopa/Carbidopa for Refractory Childhood Amblyopia

• Kim YH
• Ko SB
• Cho YA
• Kim SH

Abstract

PURPOSE
To evaluate the long-term (12 to 30 months) effect of L-dopa with part-time occlusion in patients in which occlusion therapy failed. METHODS: Seventeen eyes of 12 amblyopic children who failed with part-time occlusion (4 to 8 hours/day) treatment for a minimum period of 6 months were studied. The follow-up period was 12 to 30 months. The average best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) before treatment was 0.28+/-0.20 (0.05-0.5). After full informed consent was obtained from their parents, the children received levodopa (2 to 4 mg/kg) for 8 weeks combined with part-time occlusion and spectacles.
RESULTS
The average age of the subjects was 7.0+/-2.7 years and the mean follow-up period was 23.7+/-7.7 (12 to 30) months. After the administration of levodopa for 8 weeks, 9 eyes (53%) showed improvement in BCVA, and only 4 eyes showing a mean regression of 0.20+/-0.11 logMAR visual acuities. The BCVA reached the maximum value after a mean of 8.47 months. After 8 weeks from baseline, 13 eyes (76%) reached the maximum BCVA. After 12 to 30 months of follow-up, 12 out of 17 eyes (70.6%) showed a BCVA improvement of 0.14+/-0.19 logMAR.
CONCLUSIONS
After the long-term (12 to 30 months) follow-up, L-dopa with part-time occlusion in patients in which occlusion therapy failed showed improved visual acuities in 76% of the cases.

Keyword

Amblyopia; L-dopa

MeSH Terms

Amblyopia
Child
Eye
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Informed Consent
Levodopa
Parents
Visual Acuity
Levodopa

Figure

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  Figure 1. Average best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of patients with improved visual acuity after administration of levodopa for 8 weeks (9 eyes).(* the log of minimum angle of resolution visual acuity)

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  Figure 2. Changes in best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in all patients after dopamine administration. (* BCVA=best corrected visual acuity; † wks=weeks; ‡ mons=months)

Reference

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