Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists)
-
Ophthalmic Physiol Opt · Jul 1996
A preliminary investigation into the aetiology of Meares-Irlen syndrome.
A recent double-masked placebo-controlled trial has confirmed that some children experience a reduction in symptoms of eyestrain and headache when they read through individually prescribed coloured filters and has shown that this benefit cannot be solely attributed to a placebo effect. People who are helped by coloured filters in this way have been described as having "Meares-Irlen syndrome'. We investigated the mechanism of this benefit by studying the optometric and visual perceptual characteristics of the children in the double-masked study. ⋯ However, these factors seemed to be correlates of Meares-Irlen syndrome rather than the underlying cause. Pattern glare, a sensitivity to striped patterns (e.g. lines of text), was prevalent in our sample and was significantly associated with the subjects' symptoms. The spatial contrast sensitivity function was normal.