Amblyopia was first described in the 1600s. The condition may make people ineligible to be pilots or police officers. The word amblyopia is from Greek ἀμβλύς amblys, meaning "blunt", and ὤψ ōps, meaning "sight". Signs and symptoms
Many people with amblyopia, especially those who only have a mild form, are not aware they have the condition until tested at older ages, since the vision in their stronger eye is normal. People with amblyopia typically have poor stereo vision, since it requires both eyes. They further may have, on the affected eye, poor pattern recognition, poor visual acuity, and low sensitivity to contrast and motion.Amblyopia is characterized by several functional abnormalities in spatial vision, including reductions in visual acuity, contrast sensitivity function, and vernier acuity, as well as spatial distortion, abnormal spatial interactions, and impaired contour detection. In addition, individuals with amblyopia have binocular abnormalities such as impaired stereoacuity (stereoscopic acuity) and abnormal binocular summation. Also, central vision in amblyopes is more crowded than central vision in normal observers.These deficits are usually specific to the amblyopic eye. Subclinical deficits of the "better" eye have also been demonstrated.People with amblyopia also have problems of binocular vision such as limited stereoscopic depth perception and usually have difficulty seeing the three-dimensional images in hidden stereoscopic displays such as autostereograms. Perception of depth, from monocular cues such as size, perspective, and motion parallax remains normal.
Pegaspargase, sold under the brand name Oncaspar, is a medication used in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Often it is used together with anthracycline, vincristine, and corticosteroids (for example prednisone and dexamethasone). Pegaspargase can be administered either via an intravenous infusion or a intramuscular injection.Known side effects include allergic reactions, coagulopathy, high blood sugar, affected liver function, pancreas inflammation, and blood clots in the brain. There is no data regarding the usage of pegaspargase during pregnancy. Therefor caution should be observed and pegaspargase should only be used during pregnancy when the benefits outweigh the possible risks. Pegaspargase is a modified version of the enzyme asparaginase which has undergone PEGylation. It works by breaking down the amino acid asparagine that are circulating in the bloodstream. The circulating asparagine is essential for the cancer cells to enable growth since they cant produce their own, in contrast to normal cells. The normal cells are therefor less affected by pegaspargase. Pegaspargase was approved for medical use in the United States in 1994. It is on the World Health Organizations List of Essential Medicines. It is made by Sigma-Tau. References
External links
"Pegaspargase". Drug Information Portal. U.S. National Library of Medicine.