Valproate for the Treatment of Residual Amblyopia

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to determine the efficacy of valproate as an adjunct therapy to treat amblyopia beyond the critical period in children aged 8-17 years who have amblyopia of ≥3 lines of interocular best-corrected (with glasses) visual acuity difference. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Does valproate enable clinically meaningful and durable visual recovery from amblyopia? * Do valproate-treated patients show a change in amblyopic eye visual acuity (lines)? Participants will undergo daily patching for 2 hours (standard of care) plus the addition of valproate or placebo for a total of 16 weeks.

Timeline

Start

2026-01-01

Primary completion

2027-09-30

Completion

2027-09-30

Publications

• Background Stewart CE, Fielder AR, Stephens DA, Moseley MJ. Treatment of unilateral amblyopia: factors influencing visual outcome. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2005 Sep;46(9):3152-60. doi: 10.1167/iovs.05-0357.
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• Background Shmal D, Mantero G, Floss T, Benfenati F, Maya-Vetencourt JF. Restoring vision in adult amblyopia by enhancing plasticity through deletion of the transcriptional repressor REST. iScience. 2024 Mar 14;27(4):109507. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109507. eCollection 2024 Apr 19.
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• Background Monti B, Polazzi E, Contestabile A. Biochemical, molecular and epigenetic mechanisms of valproic acid neuroprotection. Curr Mol Pharmacol. 2009 Jan;2(1):95-109. doi: 10.2174/1874467210902010095.
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• Background Gaier ED, Hunter DG. Advances in Amblyopia Treatment: Paradigm Shifts and Future Directions. Int Ophthalmol Clin. 2017 Fall;57(4):117-128. doi: 10.1097/IIO.0000000000000184. No abstract available.
• Background Falcone MM, Hunter DG, Gaier ED. Emerging therapies for amblyopia. Semin Ophthalmol. 2021 May 19;36(4):282-288. doi: 10.1080/08820538.2021.1893765. Epub 2021 Mar 3.
• Background Holmes JM, Beck RW, Kraker RT, Astle WF, Birch EE, Cole SR, Cotter SA, Donahue S, Everett DF, Hertle RW, Keech RV, Paysse E, Quinn GF, Repka MX, Scheiman MM; Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group. Risk of amblyopia recurrence after cessation of treatment. J AAPOS. 2004 Oct;8(5):420-8. doi: 10.1016/S1091853104001612.
• Background Bhola R, Keech RV, Kutschke P, Pfeifer W, Scott WE. Recurrence of amblyopia after occlusion therapy. Ophthalmology. 2006 Nov;113(11):2097-100. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2006.04.034.
• Background Kelly KR, Jost RM, Wang YZ, Dao L, Beauchamp CL, Leffler JN, Birch EE. Improved Binocular Outcomes Following Binocular Treatment for Childhood Amblyopia. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2018 Mar 1;59(3):1221-1228. doi: 10.1167/iovs.17-23235.
• Background Giaschi D, Chapman C, Meier K, Narasimhan S, Regan D. The effect of occlusion therapy on motion perception deficits in amblyopia. Vision Res. 2015 Sep;114:122-34. doi: 10.1016/j.visres.2015.05.015. Epub 2015 Jun 4.
• Background Stewart CE, Moseley MJ, Georgiou P, Fielder AR. Occlusion dose monitoring in amblyopia therapy: status, insights, and future directions. J AAPOS. 2017 Oct;21(5):402-406. doi: 10.1016/j.jaapos.2017.06.018. Epub 2017 Sep 7.
• Background Repka MX, Wallace DK, Beck RW, Kraker RT, Birch EE, Cotter SA, Donahue S, Everett DF, Hertle RW, Holmes JM, Quinn GE, Scheiman MM, Weakley DR; Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group. Two-year follow-up of a 6-month randomized trial of atropine vs patching for treatment of moderate amblyopia in children. Arch Ophthalmol. 2005 Feb;123(2):149-57. doi: 10.1001/archopht.123.2.149.
• Background Wallace DK; Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group; Edwards AR, Cotter SA, Beck RW, Arnold RW, Astle WF, Barnhardt CN, Birch EE, Donahue SP, Everett DF, Felius J, Holmes JM, Kraker RT, Melia M, Repka MX, Sala NA, Silbert DI, Weise KK. A randomized trial to evaluate 2 hours of daily patching for strabismic and anisometropic amblyopia in children. Ophthalmology. 2006 Jun;113(6):904-12. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2006.01.069.
• Background Holmes JM, Lazar EL, Melia BM, Astle WF, Dagi LR, Donahue SP, Frazier MG, Hertle RW, Repka MX, Quinn GE, Weise KK; Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group. Effect of age on response to amblyopia treatment in children. Arch Ophthalmol. 2011 Nov;129(11):1451-7. doi: 10.1001/archophthalmol.2011.179. Epub 2011 Jul 11.
• Background Stewart CE, Moseley MJ, Stephens DA, Fielder AR. Treatment dose-response in amblyopia therapy: the Monitored Occlusion Treatment of Amblyopia Study (MOTAS). Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2004 Sep;45(9):3048-54. doi: 10.1167/iovs.04-0250.
• Background Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group Writing Committee; Rutstein RP, Quinn GE, Lazar EL, Beck RW, Bonsall DJ, Cotter SA, Crouch ER, Holmes JM, Hoover DL, Leske DA, Lorenzana IJ, Repka MX, Suh DW. A randomized trial comparing Bangerter filters and patching for the treatment of moderate amblyopia in children. Ophthalmology. 2010 May;117(5):998-1004.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2009.10.014. Epub 2010 Feb 16.
• Background Holmes JM, Kraker RT, Beck RW, Birch EE, Cotter SA, Everett DF, Hertle RW, Quinn GE, Repka MX, Scheiman MM, Wallace DK; Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group. A randomized trial of prescribed patching regimens for treatment of severe amblyopia in children. Ophthalmology. 2003 Nov;110(11):2075-87. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2003.08.001.
• Background Repka MX, Beck RW, Holmes JM, Birch EE, Chandler DL, Cotter SA, Hertle RW, Kraker RT, Moke PS, Quinn GE, Scheiman MM; Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group. A randomized trial of patching regimens for treatment of moderate amblyopia in children. Arch Ophthalmol. 2003 May;121(5):603-11. doi: 10.1001/archopht.121.5.603.
• Background Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group.. A randomized trial of atropine vs. patching for treatment of moderate amblyopia in children. Arch Ophthalmol. 2002 Mar;120(3):268-78. doi: 10.1001/archopht.120.3.268.
• Background Hatt SR, Leske DA, Castaneda YS, Wernimont SM, Liebermann L, Cheng-Patel CS, Birch EE, Holmes JM. Understanding the Impact of Residual Amblyopia on Functional Vision and Eye-related Quality of Life Using the PedEyeQ. Am J Ophthalmol. 2020 Oct;218:173-181. doi: 10.1016/j.ajo.2020.05.039. Epub 2020 Jun 5.
• Background Gonzalez EG, Wong AM, Niechwiej-Szwedo E, Tarita-Nistor L, Steinbach MJ. Eye position stability in amblyopia and in normal binocular vision. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2012 Aug 9;53(9):5386-94. doi: 10.1167/iovs.12-9941.
• Background Chung ST, Kumar G, Li RW, Levi DM. Characteristics of fixational eye movements in amblyopia: Limitations on fixation stability and acuity? Vision Res. 2015 Sep;114:87-99. doi: 10.1016/j.visres.2015.01.016. Epub 2015 Feb 7.
• Background Subramanian V, Jost RM, Birch EE. A quantitative study of fixation stability in amblyopia. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2013 Mar 19;54(3):1998-2003. doi: 10.1167/iovs.12-11054.
• Background Birch EE, Kelly KR, Giaschi DE. Fellow Eye Deficits in Amblyopia. J Binocul Vis Ocul Motil. 2019 Jul-Sep;69(3):116-125. doi: 10.1080/2576117X.2019.1624440. Epub 2019 Jun 4.
• Background Birch EE, Jost RM, Wang YZ, Kelly KR, Giaschi DE. Impaired Fellow Eye Motion Perception and Abnormal Binocular Function. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2019 Aug 1;60(10):3374-3380. doi: 10.1167/iovs.19-26885.
• Background Kelly KR, Cheng-Patel CS, Jost RM, Wang YZ, Birch EE. Fixation instability during binocular viewing in anisometropic and strabismic children. Exp Eye Res. 2019 Jun;183:29-37. doi: 10.1016/j.exer.2018.07.013. Epub 2018 Jul 10.
• Background McKee SP, Levi DM, Movshon JA. The pattern of visual deficits in amblyopia. J Vis. 2003;3(5):380-405. doi: 10.1167/3.5.5.
• Background Birch EE. Amblyopia and binocular vision. Prog Retin Eye Res. 2013 Mar;33:67-84. doi: 10.1016/j.preteyeres.2012.11.001. Epub 2012 Nov 29.

Drugs

Indications