Medical Bulletin Amblyopia: an Overview

Amblyopia, or commonly referred as lazy eye, can be defined as a reduction in vision with no demonstrable abnormality of the visual pathway that is not immediately resolved by refractive correction.1 With a prevalence of 3-5%, amblyopia represents a major public health problem. In fact, amblyopia is the leading cause of monocular vision loss in the United States in people younger than 40 years.2 It develops during maturation of the visual pathway and is largely reversible during the first seven to eight years of life. This is known as the 'critical period'. In some situations the critical period may be extended.3