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Effect of fluoxetine on adult amblyopia: a placebo-controlled study combining neuroplasticity-enhancing pharmacological intervention and perceptual training

View ORCID ProfileHenri J. Huttunen, J. Matias Palva, Laura Lindberg, Satu Palva, Ville Saarela, Elina Karvonen, Marja-Leena Latvala, Johanna Liinamaa, Sigrid Booms, Eero Castrén, Hannu Uusitalo
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/327650
Henri J. Huttunen
1Herantis Pharma Plc, 02600 Espoo, Finland
2Neuroscience Center, HiLIFE, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
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  • ORCID record for Henri J. Huttunen
J. Matias Palva
2Neuroscience Center, HiLIFE, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
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Laura Lindberg
3Department of Ophthalmology, Helsinki University Hospital, 00029 Helsinki, Finland
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Satu Palva
2Neuroscience Center, HiLIFE, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
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Ville Saarela
4PEDEGO Research Unit, University of Oulu, 90014 Oulu, Finland
5Oulu University Hospital and Medical Research Center, 90029 Oulu, Finland
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Elina Karvonen
4PEDEGO Research Unit, University of Oulu, 90014 Oulu, Finland
5Oulu University Hospital and Medical Research Center, 90029 Oulu, Finland
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Marja-Leena Latvala
6Department of Ophthalmology, University of Tampere, School of Medicine, 33014 Tampere, Finland
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Johanna Liinamaa
4PEDEGO Research Unit, University of Oulu, 90014 Oulu, Finland
5Oulu University Hospital and Medical Research Center, 90029 Oulu, Finland
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Sigrid Booms
1Herantis Pharma Plc, 02600 Espoo, Finland
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Eero Castrén
2Neuroscience Center, HiLIFE, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
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Hannu Uusitalo
6Department of Ophthalmology, University of Tampere, School of Medicine, 33014 Tampere, Finland
7Tays Eye Center, Tampere University Hospital, 33521 Tampere, Finland
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ABSTRACT

Amblyopia is a common visual disorder that is treatable in childhood. However, therapies have limited efficacy in adult patients with amblyopia. Fluoxetine can reinstate early-life critical period-like neuronal plasticity and has been used to recover functional vision in adult rats with amblyopia. This phase 2, randomized, double-blind (fluoxetine vs. placebo), multicenter clinical trial examined whether or not fluoxetine can improve visual acuity in amblyopic adults. This interventional trial included 42 participants diagnosed with moderate to severe amblyopia. Subjects were randomized to receive either 20 mg fluoxetine (n=22) or placebo (n=20). During the 10-week treatment period, all subjects performed daily computerized perceptual training and eye patching. There was no significant difference in treatment efficacy between the groups. Visual acuity at the primary endpoint had significantly improved over baseline in both the fluoxetine (−0.167 logMAR) and placebo (−0.194 logMAR) groups (both p < 0.001). Because patching alone is not effective in adults, the visual acuity improvement likely resulted from perceptual training. There was a positive correlation between visual acuity improvement and the perceptual training time. While this study failed to provide evidence that fluoxetine enhances neuroplasticity, our data support the usefulness of perceptual training for vision improvement in adults with amblyopia.

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Posted May 25, 2018.
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Effect of fluoxetine on adult amblyopia: a placebo-controlled study combining neuroplasticity-enhancing pharmacological intervention and perceptual training
Henri J. Huttunen, J. Matias Palva, Laura Lindberg, Satu Palva, Ville Saarela, Elina Karvonen, Marja-Leena Latvala, Johanna Liinamaa, Sigrid Booms, Eero Castrén, Hannu Uusitalo
bioRxiv 327650; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/327650
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Effect of fluoxetine on adult amblyopia: a placebo-controlled study combining neuroplasticity-enhancing pharmacological intervention and perceptual training
Henri J. Huttunen, J. Matias Palva, Laura Lindberg, Satu Palva, Ville Saarela, Elina Karvonen, Marja-Leena Latvala, Johanna Liinamaa, Sigrid Booms, Eero Castrén, Hannu Uusitalo
bioRxiv 327650; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/327650

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