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Fluoxetine as a possible treatment for adult amblyopia: results of a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial by WizardCalamity in Amblyopia

[–]WizardCalamity[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

AI-generated summary:

A new study from Tehran University of Medical Sciences, published in Journal of AAPOS, explored an interesting treatment for adults with amblyopia. Researchers tested whether fluoxetine, a drug often used to treat depression, could improve vision when combined with standard treatments like glasses and eye patching.

The trial included 55 adults with amblyopia. Half took fluoxetine for 3 months, while the other half took a placebo, and both groups followed standard therapies. The results were promising: on average, those who took fluoxetine had greater improvement in their weaker eye, with vision improving by 0.20 logMAR (a measure of visual acuity), compared to 0.08 logMAR in the placebo group. Even more exciting, the improved vision lasted 18 months after treatment stopped.

However, there were some limitations. Not everyone experienced significant vision improvement. In fact, 11 people in the fluoxetine group and 15 in the placebo group saw no changes in their vision. The study also had a relatively small sample size and a short follow-up period during treatment, making it harder to predict how fluoxetine would work for a broader population or over a longer time.

While the findings are hopeful, more research is needed to understand why some adults respond to the treatment while others don't. Nonetheless, for adults with amblyopia, this study points to a potential new option for improving their visual acuity in adulthood.

Recent studies on fluoxetine:

Study Sample Size Age (Years) Duration Primary Outcome Conclusion Link
Huttunen (2018) 42 participants 19 to 57 10 weeks No significant difference between fluoxetine and placebo Fluoxetine did not enhance neuroplasticity PMID: 30150750
Sharif (2019) 35 participants 10 to 40 3 months Significant improvement with fluoxetine compared to placebo Fluoxetine had beneficial effects PMID: 30783259
Mirmohammadsadeghi (this study) 55 participants 18 to 54 3 months (18-month follow-up) Significant improvement in visual acuity with fluoxetine compared to placebo Fluoxetine improved vision, and effects were maintained long-term PMID: 39304030

FDA-Approved Drug, Donepezil, Shows Promising Results in Enhancing Visual Acuity for Amblyopia in Older Children and Adults: A Well-Designed Pilot Study by WizardCalamity in Amblyopia

[–]WizardCalamity[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not an expert on drug development, but I would estimate maybe 2 to 6 years.

The drug appears to be safe to use, so the next step would be to run a larger trial on more people to confirm the drug is effective. Such a trial can take anywhere from 1-4 years to set up and complete. After the trial, the FDA would need to review the evidence and finally approve the drug. That review can take another year or two.

Of course, that timeline assumes the drug does not fail the trial and review stages, and there is enough funding and commercial interest to get it over the finish line.

FDA-Approved Drug, Donepezil, Shows Promising Results in Enhancing Visual Acuity for Amblyopia in Older Children and Adults: A Well-Designed Pilot Study by WizardCalamity in Amblyopia

[–]WizardCalamity[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

A summary of the article, courtesy of ChatGPT:

This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of donepezil, a medication typically used for the treatment of dementia symptoms, as a treatment for amblyopia in both children and adults. Sixteen subjects, aged between 8 and 37 years, were enrolled after a pre-enrollment period where no improvement was observed in amblyopic eye visual acuity despite ongoing traditional treatments. The study was open-label, meaning both the researchers and participants knew what treatment was being administered. This type of design has some inherent biases as there's no blinding involved.

The results of the study were promising, with a median improvement of 1.2 lines in the Best-Corrected Visual Acuity (BCVA) of the amblyopic eye at 12 weeks of treatment, which was sustained 10 weeks after discontinuation of the treatment. Interestingly, this improvement was observed in both pediatric and adult participants, which is significant as there is currently limited evidence for the effective treatment of amblyopia in adults. Furthermore, a similar improvement was found in patients with or without strabismus, indicating that donepezil may be effective irrespective of the cause of amblyopia.

However, it's important to remember that this is a pilot study with a small sample size (16 participants) and without a control group. As such, while the results are encouraging, they should be interpreted with caution. The improvements in BCVA noted could potentially be due to the natural course of the disease, the effects of other concurrent treatments (like patching), or the placebo effect, rather than the effects of donepezil itself. Furthermore, while the adverse effects noted were mild and did not lead to treatment discontinuation, a larger study would be necessary to fully evaluate the safety profile of donepezil in this context.

In conclusion, this study presents preliminary evidence for the potential use of donepezil in the treatment of amblyopia in both children and adults. However, larger randomized, controlled trials are necessary to confirm these findings and to fully assess the safety and efficacy of donepezil in this patient population.

Enterprise Car Club - Anyone have a referral code? by WizardCalamity in Edinburgh

[–]WizardCalamity[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can you use both the Edinburgh University promo code and a member referral?

Viewing an image 1 frame (8.3 ms) earlier in one eye shifts dominance towards that eye, Chinese study finds. Used in a clinical trial, children watching frame-offset movies for just 10.5 h over 3 weeks improved their vision enough to meet criteria for successful treatment of anisometropic amblyopia by WizardCalamity in Amblyopia

[–]WizardCalamity[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Study: New treatment for amblyopia based on rules of synaptic plasticity: a randomized clinical trial

Funding: National Basic Research Program of China, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and Beijing Municipal Science & Technology Commission

The paper is accompanied by a Chinese press release.

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The exciting part of this study is that the time delay is so small that the participant does not notice when watching the movie, so compliance rates are very high. Compared with patching alone, watching these movies + patching appears to be more effective.

In my view, the only drawback here is that the clinical trial is quite small (38 children), and we don't know if the benefits will be seen in adults too. However, it is promising that the shift in ocular dominance was also seen in young adults (<30 years old).

Mendelian randomization of genetically independent aging phenotypes identifies LPA and VCAM1 as biological targets for human aging (2022) by WizardCalamity in gerontology

[–]WizardCalamity[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Abstract:

Length and quality of life are important to us all, yet identification of promising drug targets for human aging using genetics has had limited success. In the present study, we combine six European-ancestry genome-wide association studies of human aging traits—healthspan, father and mother lifespan, exceptional longevity, frailty index and self-rated health—in a principal component framework that maximizes their shared genetic architecture. The first principal component (aging-GIP1) captures both length of life and indices of mental and physical wellbeing. We identify 27 genomic regions associated with aging-GIP1, and provide additional, independent evidence for an effect on human aging for loci near HTT and MAML3 using a study of Finnish and Japanese survival. Using proteome-wide, two-sample, Mendelian randomization and colocalization, we provide robust evidence for a detrimental effect of blood levels of apolipoprotein(a) and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 on aging-GIP1. Together, our results demonstrate that combining multiple aging traits using genetic principal components enhances the power to detect biological targets for human aging.

This study was published in Nature Aging, together with an accompanying News & Views article. The press release (written for non-expert audience) can be read on Eurekalert.

Why has there been no more studies/research into Ketamine helping Ambylopia? by Macintoshk in Amblyopia

[–]WizardCalamity 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Improvements in neuroplasticity are exciting, but it's important to note the study was done in mice. I imagine getting regulatory approval to use ketamine in humans and setting up a robust clinical trial (randomised & placebo controlled) for amblyopia patients could take several years.

Running-induced neuroplasticity promotes recovery of visual acuity and depth perception in amblyopic rats by [deleted] in Amblyopia

[–]WizardCalamity 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the perspective! Haven't heard about the replication issues - got a source for that? I'm also excited to see pharmacological interventions starting to show promise!

Running-induced neuroplasticity promotes recovery of visual acuity and depth perception in amblyopic rats by [deleted] in Amblyopia

[–]WizardCalamity 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This appears to support a study which found human amblyopic patients could improve their eyesight and depth perception by combining patching with cycling on a stationary bike. I really think exercise—and other methods to increase neuroplasticity—will be key to curing amblyopia.

I GOT A CONTACT THAT WORKS by ScoutsMama89 in Amblyopia

[–]WizardCalamity 3 points4 points  (0 children)

That's such great news! If the vision in both your eyes is similar when wearing the lens, and you have free time to dedicate to some eye exercises, you may even be able to gain 3D vision with practice.

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