ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To compare the thickness of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and the macular volume and of normal and amblyopic eyes between children and adults who had strabismic or anisometropic amblyopia. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with unilateral amblyopia were consecutively included from June 2006 to June 2007. The macular volume and the RNFL thickness were measured using OCT and compared depending on the type of amblyopia, either strabismic or anisometropic, and the age of the patients, either children (3-10 years old) or adults (18 years old or older). RESULTS: Fifty-six patients were included. In the child group (n=27), there was no significant difference in RNFL thickness and macular volume between amblyopic and normal eyes in both anisometropic and strabismic amblyopia. In the adult group (n=29), the RNFL was statistically thicker in amblyopic eyes only in the subgroup of anisometropic amblyopia (114+/-10.3mum in the amblyopic eyes versus 103+/-9.8mum in the normal eyes, p=0.02). No difference was found in RNFL thickness and macular volume in strabismic amblyopia. When anisometropic amblyopic eyes in children were compared to those of adults, the spherical equivalence was more positive (p=0.03) and RNFL was thicker (p=0.02) in the adult group, whereas visual acuity was not significantly different between the two groups. In strabismic amblyopia, no difference was found in spherical equivalence, RNFL thickness, and macular volume, whereas visual acuity was better in children's amblyopic eyes as compared to those of adults (p=0.05). CONCLUSION: The difference in RNFL thickness is related to the difference of refraction between normal and amblyopic eyes, and between children and adults, independently of visual acuity and the mechanism of amblyopia.