Medical Therapies of Amblyopia: Translational Research to Expand Our Treatment Armamentarium.

Amblyopia is a developmental brain disorder in which vision is lost due to asymmetric or inadequate visual stimulation early in life. Although amblyopia is responsive to treatment if therapy is initiated early, treatment of older children and adults is usually unsuccessful due to closure of a window of cortical brain plasticity. Extensive basic research has been devoted to understanding modulators in shaping the visual cortex during the critical period of plasticity, and to providing potential clinical applications of neurotransmitters in the treatment of amblyopia. Current pharmacological treatments are reviewed from basic science research extending into clinical use, focusing on the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor donezepil, serotonin receptor inhibitor fluoxetine, dopamine precursors carbidopa-levodopa, and catecholamine modulator citicoline.