Brain structure in children with congenital visual disorders and visual impairment.

The final analysis had only 5 children with severe visual impairment and 5 children with mild-to-moderate visual impairment, so the estimates are unstable. The study compared different rare eye disorders together, and each disorder may have its own brain effects. The design was cross-sectional, so it cannot show when or how the brain differences developed. No child had profound visual impairment with no vision at all, so the most severe end is not represented. Vision level was measured with different tests for children who could not see logMAR optotypes, so acuity could not be analysed as one continuous measure. Participants were selected for no central nervous system involvement, no motor impairment, and age-appropriate school performance, so the findings may not apply to children with complex disabilities. Two children with visual impairment were excluded because MRI data quality was poor.

The only funding statement in the supplied text names Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity; no further conflict-of-interest details are given.

Do not conclude that these brain differences explain a child's daily abilities or need therapy. The study was cross-sectional, had only five children in each visual impairment group, and did not measure function.