Purpose: To investigate the morphological or functional differences of retina in amblyopia.
Materials and methods: Forty-one patients with unilateral strabismic, anisometropic or combined amblyopia were included in the study. A control group was composed of 16 normal children. All participants were tested with optical coherence tomography (OCT) and pattern electroretinography (PERG). The findings from amblyopic and nonamblyopic eyes were compared among the amblyopic groups. Also, amblyopic and nonamblyopic eyes were compared with the healthy control eyes.
Results: No significant difference was found in OCT parameters for amblyopic and nonamblyopic eyes among the amblyopic groups (p > 0.05). In the combined and anisometropic groups, ganglion cell complex (GCC) was found to be significantly increased in both amblyopic and nonamblyopic eyes compared to the control group (p < 0.05). In strabismic amblyopia, significant reduction in GCC thickness and increase in foveal thickness were found, compared to nonamblyopic eyes (p = 0.019, p = 0.08). There were no significant differences in PERG amplitude and latency between the amblyopic and the nonamblyopic eyes in amblyopic groups (p > 0.05). PERG amplitude in amblyopic eyes was found to be significantly decreased compared with that in normal eyes (p < 0.05). When the nonamblyopic eyes were compared with the control group, only the anisometropic amblyopia group demonstrated significant reduction in amplitude and prolongation in latency (p = 0.002, p = 0.026).
Conclusion: We found no significant differences in morphological and functional measures among amblyopic groups. However, we detected significant differences in the retinal function and morphology of both amblyopic and nonamblyopic eyes compared with healthy control eyes.