Neurosciences News

A 41-year-old woman of Chinese descent known to the neuro-ophthalmology service came into the clinic for an urgent visit. She complained of pain in the left eye for a few days that was worse with eye movement. Despite this, there was no change in vision. She reported numbness and tingling in both hands several days earlier, which had been present intermittently for several years.

Optical coherence tomography detected retinal axonal damage after optic neuritis even when patients' visual fields were still normal, a small study found.

A 47-year-old man was seen in the emergency room for decreased left peripheral vision. The visual disturbance had developed insidiously over about 2 weeks. Associated symptoms included a dull frontal headache and photopsias. He denied seeing floaters. On the day of presentation, while trying to make a left turn, a car suddenly appeared in his field of view and the patient narrowly avoided a motor vehicle accident. Later in the day, he saw a woman walking down a staircase holding a young child’s hand. While the patient saw the child’s hand, he could not see the child who was to his left. The patient also noted a sensation of “feeling drunk” despite not consuming alcohol in 21 years. These events prompted the patient to seek medical attention.

Investigators working in India have identified a woman who possesses limited visual skills despite having been blind for most of her childhood due to congenital cataracts. Their case report challenges the concept of a "critical period" for visual development in the brains of children, the investigators said.

OTTAWA — Pharmacological testing for Horner’s syndrome is not always necessary to confirm a diagnosis, according to a professor who spoke at the Sally Letson Symposium, whose theme this year was neuro-ophthalmology.

A supplementary questionnaire to the 25-question National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire may better capture visual problems reported by patients with neuro-ophthalmologic disorders, a study found.

People with peripheral visual field loss demonstrate reduced horizontal eye scanning when walking, compared to normally sighted people, a study found. The results should help define the requirements for head-mounted mobility visual aids for patients with disorders such as retinitis pigmentosa, the study authors said.

Mutations in the gene FRMD7 may cause X-linked idiopathic congenital nystagmus, a study found.

When women enter an ophthalmologist’s office complaining of headaches or sudden visual problems, the physician must be aware that these symptoms can be indicators of neurological conditions that target women. Ophthalmologists are often the first physicians to see patients who are experiencing migraines or the onset of multiple sclerosis, experts say.

A recent discovery that shed light on the mechanism that keeps the cornea free of blood vessels may also have implications for cancer research, according to an investigator.