Neurosciences News

An 80-year-old woman was transferred from an outside hospital to the emergency department at Tufts Medical Center for ophthalmological evaluation around midnight. In a matter of hours, she had developed bilateral, progressive ophthalmoplegia and complete vision loss. She endorsed worsening “swelling” of the left upper eyelid and numbness around the left eye and cheek for the past 2 days. She also reported a 1-week history of pain in the left forehead and temple, as though her jaw felt “locked.” Her primary care physician had recently discovered ethmoidal and sphenoidal sinus disease on a CT scan and started her on oral amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, which she was unable to take due to nausea and vomiting.

The annual Women in Ophthalmology Summer Symposium will take place in San Diego from Aug. 10 to 13 with a restructured format, new content and more networking opportunities, meeting chair Lisa Nijm, MD, JD, told Healio.com/OSN.

BALTIMORE — A higher incidence of Bell’s palsy in recent years may be attributed to increasing rates of herpes zoster infection, according to research presented at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology annual meeting.

A 73-year-old man was referred to the neuro-ophthalmology service for evaluation of headache with associated right upper eyelid ptosis. Two weeks before presentation, he noted the onset of right-sided periorbital headache, which intensified upon lying down. The headache was intermittent but worsened over the subsequent days, and this corresponded with drooping of his right upper eyelid. He went to his local emergency department, where a non-contrast CT scan of his head was unremarkable. The following day he saw an ophthalmologist, and he was presumptively diagnosed with cluster headache.

It is my pleasure to announce exciting changes to our editorial board. In an effort to continually evolve in covering ophthalmology, I met recently with the editorial team of OSN to make some significant changes to the board.

A 36-year-old Hispanic man with no significant medical or ocular history was referred to the Tufts New England Eye Center with complaints of double vision and drooping of his left upper eyelid. Three months before presentation, he presented to an outside emergency department with complaints of sudden onset dizziness and double vision. He did not recall any other symptoms at that time. Workup was pursued at the outside hospital; Lyme titer, TSH, acetylcholine receptor antibodies, CT and MRI of the brain, and lumbar puncture were all normal or negative. His symptoms subsequently resolved within a few days, and no further investigation was pursued.

A 36-year-old Hispanic man with no significant medical or ocular history was referred to the Tufts New England Eye Center with complaints of double vision and drooping of his left upper eyelid. Three months before presentation, he presented to an outside emergency department with complaints of sudden onset dizziness and double vision. He did not recall any other symptoms at that time. Workup was pursued at the outside hospital; Lyme titer, TSH, acetylcholine receptor antibodies, CT and MRI of the brain, and lumbar puncture were all normal or negative. His symptoms subsequently resolved within a few days, and no further investigation was pursued.

Jeffrey L. Goldberg, MD, PhD, at Hawaiian Eye 2017.

KOLOA, Hawaii ― At Hawaiian Eye 2017, Andrew G. Lee, MD, discusses what danger signs to look for in pupil cases that may indicate the need for the general ophthalmologist to refer to a neuro-ophthalmologist.

Upward and outward movement of the eyeball on attempted voluntary lid closure is called Bell’s phenomenon, as named by Charles Bell. This is a common clinical finding in 75% of normal individuals. The significance of this is often felt in those eyes that have ptosis and require surgical correction.