More BrandsA duo of Canadian researchers has published the results of a study suggesting that total darkness could be the answer to restoring vision. As revealed by their publication in the Current Biology Journal, the experiment was conducted on kittens with amblyopia, a condition popularly known as ‘lazy eye’.
The kittens used in the study had their amblyopia induced through monocular deprivation, which is to say depriving one eye of visual input. Kevin Duffy and Donald Mitchell, the Dalhousie University researchers behind the experiment, kept the animals in complete darkness for ten days and the subsequent examination established a dramatic and swift vision recovery. Further examinations indicated that vision restoration was linked to neurofilament loss. Since neurofilaments stabilise the visual system, their absence leaves the system free to self-correct.
According to Duffy and Mitchell, immersion in darkness allows certain parts of the visual system to regress to an early developmental stage, which is characterised by a greater flexibility. Duffy said that it may be possible to increase brain plasticity and trigger a recovery from conditions such as amblyopia without using drugs. Immersion in total darkness appears to produce a remarkable recovery by resetting the central visual pathways, he added.
The results of the study offer hope for treating children with amblyopia. This visual impairment develops early in life and a lack of treatment can cause permanent vision loss. Duffy and Mitchell continue their research, looking to establish how long the darkness immersion course should last. They believe that no drug is likely to produce the results achieved by this therapy.
