# Brazilian best practice guidelines for amblyopia diagnosis and management

## TL;DR

This paper provides guidelines for diagnosing and managing amblyopia, emphasizing effective treatments and new possibilities due to neural plasticity.

## Contribution

The paper proposes updated Brazilian best practice guidelines for amblyopia treatment and highlights new treatment possibilities due to neural plasticity.

## Key findings

- Amblyopia causes perceptual deficits in both eyes, including visual acuity and motion perception changes.
- Effective treatment includes eyeglasses and patching, especially in children under 7 years old.
- Neural plasticity in the amblyopic brain suggests potential for new treatments beyond childhood.

## Abstract

This study aimed to propose a guideline for amblyopia treatment and follow-up.
Studies show that amblyopia leads to a series of perceptual deficits, including
loss of visual acuity, stereoacuity, and contrast sensitivity. Perceptual
changes are also found in the sound eye, such as those involving the types of
motion perception. The gold standard of treatment remains the prescription of
eyeglasses, when indicated, and patching of the dominant eye. The treatment is
mostly effective in patients aged <7 years and must be discontinued
gradually, tapering off patching for at least 5 weeks. Atropine may be performed
for penalization in hyperopic children whose amblyopic eye has better visual
acuity under cycloplegia than the fellow eye. The discovery of significant
neural plasticity in the amblyopic brain after the critical period opens
possibilities for new treatment modalities even after childhood.