Partial Balint's syndrome and left homonymous hemianopsia presenting after resection of a right occipito-parietal glioblastoma.

A 66-year-old left-handed male was admitted to our acute inpatient rehabilitation (AIR) unit following a resection of the right occipito-parietal glioblastoma. He presented with symptoms of horizontal oculomotor apraxia, contralateral optic ataxia and left homonymous hemianopsia. We diagnosed this patient with partial Bálint's syndrome (BS)- oculomotor apraxia, optic ataxia but not simultanagnosia. BS is typically caused by bilateral posterior parietal lesions, but we here describe a unique case due toresection of a right intracranial tumor. A short AIR stay allowed our patient to learn how to compensate for visuomotor and visuospatial deficits, and improved his quality of life significantly.

Trans-synaptic Retrograde Degeneration in the Human Visual System: Slow, Silent, and Real.

Degeneration of neuron and axons following injury to cells with which they synapse is termed trans-synaptic degeneration. This phenomenon may be seen in postsynaptic neurons (anterograde) or in presynaptic neurons (retrograde). Retrograde trans-synaptic degeneration (RTSD) of the retinal ganglion cells and retinal nerve fiber layer following injury to the occipital lobe has been well documented histologically in animal studies, but its occurrence in the human retina was, for many years, felt to be limited to cases of neonatal injury during a critical period of neuronal development. Over the last decade, imaging techniques such as MRI and optical coherence tomography have allowed us to visualize and quantify RTSD and analyze its time course and relationship to degree of vision loss and age of cortical injury. A deeper understanding of RTSD in the human visual system may allow us to interfere with its occurrence, potentially allowing for greater recovery following visual cortex injury.

Characteristics and surgical strategies for posterior clinoid process meningioma: two case reports and review of the literature.

Clinical and radiological features or characteristics of posterior clinoid process (PCP) meningiomas have rarely been described because of their extreme scarcity and terminological confusion. Therefore, the strategies in the surgical intervention for PCP meningiomas have not been well established. Moreover, the presence of deep and critical neuroanatomical structures and relatively high morbidity, which can be difficult to predict preoperatively, make their surgical excision more challenging. We report two surgical cases of PCP meningioma and discuss the appropriate assessment of preoperative features and surgical strategies with review of the literature. Our study suggests that PCP meningioma may be characterized by the anterior displacement of internal carotid artery, and infero-laterally shifted posterior communicating arteries, and homonymous hemianopsia, a distinctive clinical feature. One of the key issues in PCP meningioma surgery is preservation of the optic nerve. Unlocking the optic nerve by anterior clinoidectomy and dissection, the falciform ligament is the important step to preserve vision for larger tumors. Complication with the perforators is also hazardous of these challenging surgeries than anterior clinoid meningiomas for their specific neuroanatomical structures and might not be feasible to avoid even with additional techniques and critical monitoring. A combination and multi-staged-surgical approach can be options of tailor-made surgical strategy in cases with tumor adhesion to the perforators.

Homonymous Hemianopsia Due to Posterior Cortical Atrophy.

A 63-year-old woman presented to her ophthalmologist complaining of reading difficulties for two years. Ophthalmological examination revealed a homonymous hemianopsia. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan was interpreted as normal, but positron emission tomography (PET) showed areas of posterior brain hypometabolism. This case highlights the high diagnostic suspicion that ophthalmologists should have regarding posterior cortical atrophy (including the visual variant of Alzheimer disease) in patients complaining of reading difficulties in the setting of a normal ophthalmic examination.

Use of yoked prisms in patients with acquired brain injury: a retrospective analysis.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this retrospective study was to determine the clinical practices for prescribing yoked prisms, as well as to assess related patient responses, in a sample of visually-symptomatic patients having acquired brain injury (ABI). METHODS: The clinical records of individuals with acquired brain injury (ABI) that were assessed for yoked prisms were reviewed retrospectively. This query resulted in 60 patient records for analysis between January 2011 and December 2012. The following diagnostic groups were analysed: homonymous hemianopsia (HH)/homonymous quadranopsia, abnormal egocentric localization (AEL) and visual neglect. RESULTS: HH/homonymous quadranopsia (58.3%) was the primary indication to prescribe yoked prisms, followed by visual neglect/unilateral spatial inattention (USI) (40.0%) and AEL (11.7%). The most common favourable patient responses were increased awareness of their blind visual field and improved gait, mobility and balance. The magnitude and direction of prisms prescribed were dependent upon the subjective responses in patients manifesting AEL. In contrast, base direction was dependent upon the direction of visual field loss in patients with HH/homonymous quadranopsia and visual neglect. CONCLUSIONS: Two-thirds of the present sample population responded favourably to the yoked prisms. The results of the present study should prove useful to clinicians for the successful prescription of yoked prisms as a treatment modality in patients presenting with the above three diagnoses.

Isolated ipsilateral abducens nerve palsy and contralateral homonymous hemianopsia associated with unruptured posterior cerebral artery aneurysm: A rare neurological finding.

Cranial nerve palsies can be presenting signs of intracranial aneurysms. There is a classic pairing between an aneurysmal vessel and adjacent nerves leading to cranial neuropathy. Isolated abducens nerve palsy can be a localizing sign of an unruptured vertebrobasilar circulation aneurysm. Aneurysms involving Anterior Inferior Cerebellar Artery (AICA) and Posterior Inferior Cerebellar Artery (PICA) have been reported to be associated with abducens nerve palsy. The symptoms in unruptured aneurysms are due to the mass effect on adjacent neurovascular structures. Most of the abducens nerve palsy resolves following microsurgical clipping. Here, we present a rare case of an unruptured Posterior Cerebral Artery (PCA) aneurysm presenting with abducens nerve palsy and diplopia associated with contralateral hemianopsia which markedly improved following endovascular coil embolization.

Temporal Changes in Cerebral Blood Flow during Migraine with Aura of Alternating Left and Right Homonymous Hemianopsia.

A 16-year-old boy presented with sudden left homonymous hemianopsia followed by right ocular and occipital pain. Arterial spin labeling (ASL), a non-contrast magnetic resonance imaging technique used to evaluate perfusion, showed a decrease in cerebral blood flow in the right occipital lobe. Three hours after admission, the patient experienced right homonymous hemianopsia and ocular-to-occipital pain on the contralateral side. ASL revealed a decreased cerebral blood flow in the left occipital lobe. We ultimately diagnosed the patient with first-time migraine with aura, in which cortical spreading depression was visualized as decreased cerebral blood flow using ASL.

Incomplete homonymous hemianopsia progressing to junctional scotoma due to a large internal carotid artery aneurysm: A case report.

Visual field disorders caused by cerebral aneurysms are diverse, nonspecific, and vary in their degree of compression. They should be distinguished from those caused by other common diseases, such as glaucoma.

Case report: An EEG captured case of migralepsy/migraine aura-triggered seizures.

Introduction: Migraine and epilepsy are common chronic neurological disorders presenting with paroxysmal attacks of transient cerebral dysfunction, followed by subsequent return to baseline between episodes. The term "migralepsy" has been proposed to define migraine-triggered epileptic seizures classified by the ICHD-III as a complication of migraine with an aura. Case: A 55-year-old man with a 30-year history of migraine without aura presented with a new onset left parietal pain accompanied by visual disturbances occurring up to 20 times per day. His visual distortions included kaleidoscopic vision, flashes of shadows, and a right superior quadrantanopia lasting 20 min. He described discrete 2-min episodes of scintillating scotomas in his right visual field. Ictal EEG demonstrated a left occipital onset focal aware seizure with his clinical symptoms. The patient was started on valproic Acid and has remained asymptomatic. Discussion: The diagnostic criteria as set out by the ICHD-III for migralepsy and other syndromes with migrainous and ictal features remain confusing for practitioners as there is much overlap in clinical manifestations of these entities. EEG should be obtained when ictal features are noted among patients presenting with headache.

SCOTOMAS IN THE VISUAL FIELD AS THE FIRST SIGN OF INTRACRANIAL EXPANSION. CASE REPORT.

The most common cause of visual field loss in ophthalmology is glaucoma. Other causes of visual field damage include local damage to the eye itself in intrabulbar or retrobulbar neuritis or injuries. However, they can also be caused by general diseases, e.g. in endocrine orbitopathy, toxic and nutritional neuropathy, or in diseases that are localized intracranially. Each of these findings in itself suggests the nature of the lesion, its intracranial location, lateral occurrence, as well as in which part of the visual pathway the lesion is located. The use of perimeter has therefore become the primary examination method, which is available, is not demanding and will quickly allow a diagnosis to be made. When found on a perimetric examination, it is necessary to indicate targeted imaging examinations, such as computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. The article describes a patient who was primarily examined at the Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University and the University hospital of Bratislava. The patient reported visual field outages, and after subsequent computed tomography, she was interdisciplinary managed and surgery was done on at the Neurosurgical Department. After the operation, there was a significant improvement without a pathological finding on the perimeter.

Ophthalmological symptoms in a patient with reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome is characterized by severe headache with reversible segmental constriction of the cerebral arteries. We present details on a patient with reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome who initially visited an ophthalmologist because of visual symptoms. CASE PRESENTATION: A 34-year-old Japanese woman complained of sustained headache and insomnia starting 2 days after her first childbirth. In addition to the severe headache, a visual field defect was also observed 10 days later. Best corrected visual acuity at the initial visit was 20/20 and 20/25 for the right and left eye, respectively. Exudative retinal detachment was noted surrounding both optic heads. Visual field testing revealed left homonymous hemianopsia, while magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated the presence of edema and infarction of the bilateral basal nuclei and right occipital lobe. The homonymous hemianopsia and exudative retinal detachment recovered immediately after treatment with a free-radical scavenger and anticoagulant. There has been no recurrence of symptoms during the 4 years of follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: We report a case of reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome with ophthalmological symptoms that were reversible, including serous retinal detachment and homonymous hemianopsia.

Simultanagnosia as the presenting symptom in neuro-ophthalmology.

Simultanagnosia is a well-known neurologic symptom characterized by the inability to conceptualize the whole picture despite being able to see individual elements within a visual scene. The pathophysiology involves a lesion to the bilateral parieto-occipital lobe. We report two unusual cases of simultanagnosia and juxtaposed homonymous visual field loss involving aqueductal stenosis-related obstructive hydrocephalus and cardiac arrest due to Brugada syndrome. Clinicians should be aware that simultanagnosia can be the presenting symptom of neuro-ophthalmic disease.

A case of paroxysmal homonymous hemianopsia: Uncommon presentation of nonconvulsive status epilepticus.

Paroxysmal homonymous hemianopsia (HH) is uncommon presentation of epilepsy. We demonstrate a rare case of paroxysmal HH that was diagnosed by magnetic resonance (MR) arterial spin-labeling (ASL). A 82-year-old woman presented with abrupt onset of isolated visual field abnormality without convulsive epilepsy at 16 days after a traumatic head injury. Diffusion weighted and MR-ASL obtained on admission revealed hyperintensity and hyperperfusion in the right temporo-occipital cortex. Nonconvulsive status epilepticus was suspected. The patient was treated with oral levetiracetam and the symptoms resolved in 3 days. Paroxysmal HH should be considered in patients who present with simple partial epilepsy, and MR-ASL imaging may assist in the differential diagnosis of these patients.

Statokinetic Dissociation (Riddoch Phenomenon) in a Patient with Homonymous Hemianopsia as the First Sign of Posterior Cortical Atrophy.

We report a 60-year-old woman with posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) who presented with left homonymous hemianopsia persisting for 5 years; the patient's condition was observed using static, but not kinetic, perimetry. This statokinetic dissociation of hemianopsia, which is often called Riddoch syndrome, might have been caused by a dysfunction of the right primary visual and visual association cortices, representing a functional imbalance within a disturbed visual cortex. In patients with PCA and visual field defects, both static and kinetic perimetry may be useful for understanding the extent of degeneration in the visual cortex, in addition to examinations of unilateral neglect.

Visual Deficit From Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy for Temporal Lobe Epilepsy: Anatomical Considerations.

BACKGROUND: Laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) is quickly emerging as an effective surgical therapy for temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). One of the most frequent complications of the procedure is postoperative visual field cuts, but the physiopathology of these deficits is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate potential causes of visual deficits after LITT for TLE in an attempt to minimize this complication. METHODS: This retrospective chart review compares the case of a 24-year-old male who developed homonymous hemianopsia following LITT for TLE to 17 prior patients who underwent the procedure and suffered no visual deficit. We examined both features of the surgical approach (trajectory, laser energy, ablation size) and of preoperative surgical anatomy, derived from volumetric tracings of mesiotemporal structures. RESULTS: For the patient with postoperative homonymous hemianopsia imaging suggested inadvertent ablation of the lateral geniculate nucleus, although the laser was positioned entirely within the hippocampus. This patient's laser trajectory, ablation number, energy delivered, and ablation size were not significantly different from the prior patients. However, the subject with the visual deficit did have significantly smaller choroidal fissure cerebrospinal fluid volume. CONCLUSION: Visual deficits are the most common complication of LITT for mesiotemporal epilepsy and patients at most risk may have small cerebrospinal fluid volume in the choroidal fissure, allowing heat to spread from the hippocampal body to the lateral geniculate nucleus. When such anatomy is identified on preoperative magnetic resonance imaging, we recommend lowering laser trajectory, decreasing ablation power through the hippocampal body, and using temperature safety markers at the lower thalamic border.

Recognized homonymous hemianopsia and delirium during the admission examination leading to diagnosis and appropriate treatment of a new stroke.

This case report describes the detection of homonymous hemianopsia and delirium during the admission physical examination of a patient with esophageal adenocarcinoma, resulting in the new diagnosis of subacute hemorrhagic stroke. The poststroke visual field defect can result in significant disability and reduction in quality of life. Patients with visual field cut show a severely reduced quality of life and require additional neuropsychological and visual rehabilitation. Only thorough physical examination is able to challenge prior negative positron emission tomography scan, leading to the diagnosis of subacute stroke and, following appropriate treatment, secondary stroke prophylaxis and rehabilitation, instead of brain radiation and chemotherapy.

What's in a name?

A 51-year-old man with rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes mellitus presented with new onset left-sided hemiparesis, left-sided neglect, and left-sided incongruous, denser inferiorly, homonymous hemianopsia. Magnetic resonance image of the brain showed prominent swelling of the right frontal, parietal, and occipital lobes greater than on the left with significant change in the fluid-attenuated inversion recovery signal in the gray matter. Perinuclear antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies titers were elevated, and skin biopsy demonstrating leukocytoclastic vasculitis. He showed marked clinical and radiographic improvement in association with recovery of vascular abnormalities after the initiation of prednisone, pulse therapy with methylprednisolone, and methotrexate. Clinicians should be aware of the possibility of neuro-ophthalmic manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis, including rheumatoid arthritis-related vasculitis causing homonymous hemianopsia.

Manifestaciones neuroftalmológicas en pacientes con enfermedad cerebrovascular isquémica / Neuro-ophthalmological manifestations in patients with ischemic cerebrovascular disease

La enfermedad cerebrovascular isquémica tiene una elevada incidencia y prevalencia en Cuba, y constituye la tercera causa de muerte en el país. Existen diferencias anatómicas y clínicas entre el infarto de la circulación anterior y la posterior. En ocasiones, los elementos distintivos que ayudan al diagnóstico topográfico de la enfermedad cerebrovascular isquémica son las manifestaciones neuroftalmológicas. Con el objetivo de profundizar en el conocimiento actual sobre las alteraciones neuroftalmológicas que se asocian a la enfermedad cerebrovascular isquémica, se realizó una revisión bibliográfica, donde se consultaron un total de 69 fuentes de información digital de los últimos 5 años. La circulación cerebral se divide de manera general en anterior y posterior. Los síntomas y signos principales del ictus que afecta la circulación anterior son la desviación conjugada de la mirada, la afectación de las sácadas, la hemianopsia homónima, la heminegligencia y la apraxia de la apertura ocular; mientras que las alteraciones asociadas a la afectación de la circulación posterior son el nistagmo, las anormalidades en la alineación y los movimientos oculares, así como la hemianopsia homónima con conservación macular. Se concluye que en la enfermedad cerebrovascular isquémica aparecen síntomas y signos como consecuencia de la afectación, tanto de la vía visual aferente, como de la eferente. La hemianopsia homónima es el signo más frecuente reportado(AU)

Ischemic cerebrovascular disease has a high incidence and prevalence in Cuba, and it is the third cause of death in the country. A number of anatomical and clinical differences distinguish anterior from posterior circulation infarction. On certain occasions the distinguishing elements that aid in the topographic diagnosis of ischemic cerebrovascular disease are its neuro-ophthalmological manifestations. With the purpose of gaining insight into the current knowledge about the neuro-ophthalmological alterations associated to ischemic cerebrovascular disease, a bibliographic review was conducted based on the analysis of 69 digital information sources from the last five years. Cerebral circulation is generally divided into anterior and posterior. The main symptoms and signs of the stroke that affects anterior circulation are conjugate gaze deviation, altered saccades, homonymous hemianopsia, heminegligence and eyelid opening apraxia, whereas the alterations associated to posterior circulation involvement are nystagmus, eye movement and alignment abnormalities, and homonymous hemianopsia with macular preservation. It is concluded that ischemic cerebrovascular disease presents symptoms and signs related to both the afferent and the efferent visual pathways. Homonymous hemianopsia is the most common sign reported(AU)

Retrograde degeneration of retinal ganglion cells in homonymous hemianopsia.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to demonstrate the relationship between topographic reduction in macular ganglion cell complex (GCC) thickness as detected with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography and visual field defects caused by ischemic occipital cortical injury. METHODS: This study was a retrospective review of all patients who presented to our eye institution between January 2012 and July 2014 with visual field defects secondary to ischemic cortical injury. The visual field defect pattern and mean deviation were analyzed. Retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and macular GCC were both assessed with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. Patients with any ocular pathology that could affect these measurements were excluded. The topographic relationship of visual field defect to reduction in GCC was specifically analyzed. RESULTS: Nine patients met the inclusion criteria. Their average age was 65 (57-73) years; eight were men and six had right hemianopsias. The laterality of the visual field defect was used to assign an affected and unaffected side of analysis for RNFL and GCC layer thickness. A right hemianopsia meant that the nasal fibers of the right eye and temporal fibers of the left eye were assigned as the "affected side", and the temporal fibers of the right eye and nasal fibers of the left eye were assigned as "unaffected". There was no statistically significant difference between affected and unaffected RNFL. However, there was a significant difference in GCC layer reduction between the affected and unaffected sides (P=0.029). CONCLUSION: There is evidence of retrograde trans-synaptic retinal ganglion cell loss in patients with homonymous hemianopsias from cortical visual impairment. This relationship is reflected in thinning of the GCC and maintains the topographic relationship of the visual field defect.