U.S. Research Finds Stroke and Brain Injury Patients can Increase their Visual Field with VRT.
05/03/2007
BOSTON, MA -- May 3, 2007 -- A short course of vision restoration therapy (VRT) helps patients with visual field defects recover some of their lost vision, researchers reported here at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) 59th annual meeting.
Jose G. Romano, M.D., associate professor, neurology division, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, presented findings in 161 patients who underwent a six-module course of VRT. Each module lasts 4 weeks.
All subjects had developed post-chiasmatic lesions and homonymous visual field defects more than 3 months after their injury.
"After stroke or traumatic brain injury, as many as 25% of patients may have visual field problems," Dr. Romano said in interview on May 2nd. "As a result, they have difficulty performing routine activities such as reading and driving."
These patients have limited treatment options, he continued. "When patients have weakness, we send them to physical therapy," he said. "When they have speech difficulties, we send them to speech therapy. But when they can't see, we only have compensatory strategies that may be helpful but do not restore vision."
With VRT, patients typically undergo clinical assessment and diagnostic testing followed by an individually tailored program that aims to improve their visual field deficit and is intended for twice-daily, six-month, use at home. Through a specific pattern of visual stimuli that target the border between the seeing and the blind field, users can gradually expand their visual fields and restore lost vision.
The study found that 70% of patients had an improvement in stimuli detection that was greater than 3%. "Research has shown that an improvement greater than 3% correlates with functional improvements in day-to-day activities," Dr. Romano noted.
The mean average improvement in stimulus detection in the study was 12.8%.
Neither age, time from onset of visual field defect, or type of visual field defect affected outcomes.
Overall, the results support prior European studies that documented the effectiveness of this intervention in adult brain-injured patients with visual field loss, Dr. Romano said.
Jose G. Romano, M.D., associate professor, neurology division, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, presented findings in 161 patients who underwent a six-module course of VRT. Each module lasts 4 weeks.
All subjects had developed post-chiasmatic lesions and homonymous visual field defects more than 3 months after their injury.
"After stroke or traumatic brain injury, as many as 25% of patients may have visual field problems," Dr. Romano said in interview on May 2nd. "As a result, they have difficulty performing routine activities such as reading and driving."
These patients have limited treatment options, he continued. "When patients have weakness, we send them to physical therapy," he said. "When they have speech difficulties, we send them to speech therapy. But when they can't see, we only have compensatory strategies that may be helpful but do not restore vision."
With VRT, patients typically undergo clinical assessment and diagnostic testing followed by an individually tailored program that aims to improve their visual field deficit and is intended for twice-daily, six-month, use at home. Through a specific pattern of visual stimuli that target the border between the seeing and the blind field, users can gradually expand their visual fields and restore lost vision.
The study found that 70% of patients had an improvement in stimuli detection that was greater than 3%. "Research has shown that an improvement greater than 3% correlates with functional improvements in day-to-day activities," Dr. Romano noted.
The mean average improvement in stimulus detection in the study was 12.8%.
Neither age, time from onset of visual field defect, or type of visual field defect affected outcomes.
Overall, the results support prior European studies that documented the effectiveness of this intervention in adult brain-injured patients with visual field loss, Dr. Romano said.
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