Abstract
Partial blindness after brain injury has been considered non-treatable. To evaluate whether patients with visual-field defects can profit from computer-based visual restitution training (VRT), two independent clinical trials were conducted using patients with optic nerve ( n = 19) or post-chiasmatic brain injury ( n = 19). In post-chiasma patients, VRT led to a significant improvement (29.4%) over baseline in the ability to detect visual stimuli; in optic nerve patients, the effects were even more pronounced (73.6% improvement). Visual-field enlargements were confirmed by the observation of a visual-field expansion of 4.9°–5.8° of visual angle and improved acuity in optic nerve patients. Ninety five percent of the VRT-treated patients showed improvements, 72.2% confirmed visual improvements subjectively. Patients receiving a placebo training did not show comparable improvements. In conclusion, VRT with a computer program improves vision in patients with visual-field defects and offers a new, cost-effective therapy for partial blindness.
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Acknowledgements
We thank U. Bunzenthal, E. Berger and K. Hahn for excellent technical and administrative assistance and U. Schiefer (U. Tübingen) and K. Saatman (U. Pennsylvania) for helpful technical and editorial comments. Supported by DFG Sa 433/6-2, the Cultural Ministry of Sachsen-Anhalt and the Kuratorium ZNS.
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Kasten, E., Wüst, S., Behrens-Baumann, W. et al. Computer-based training for the treatment of partial blindness. Nat Med 4, 1083–1087 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/2079
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2079
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