Aim: To test the hypothesis that amblyopic neuroretina may have an altered thickness when compared to the normal.
Methods: Twenty-five amblyopic, young patients between the ages of 7 and 11 years old were studied. The interested neuroretina areas are defined into 10 sub-regions according to superior-inferior, nasal-temoral, and peri-para axis, which cross the fovela structure. The thicknesses of ten, defined macular regions were separately measured by optical coherence tomography (OCT) and analyzed by t-test.
Results: The average thickness of neuroretina in the exact foveola of the amblyopic eyes is larger than that of normal eyes (P<0.05), but the other nine regions have no significant difference. Interestingly, in both the normal and amblyopic eyes, the temporal area looks thinner than other quadrants (P<0.05).
Conclusion: Thickness alteration may be associated with amblyopic disorders in young patients. Studying a larger volume of subjects of similar age is required to confirm this observation.
Keywords: amblyopia; macula flava; optical coherence tomography.