Neuro-Ophthalmology

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Neuro-ophthalmology is a subspeciality, which deals with the relationship of eye with the brain and disorders associated with it.

Eye is referred to as the extension of the brain. The optic nerve carries impulses from the eye to brain, where it is finally processed in the vision centres in the brain. Mulitple diseases may affect at any point in this pathway leading to visual impairment.

The common neuro-ophthalmological diseases are:

Optic neuritis:

This is secondary to inflammation/infection in the optic nerve. The most common cause for which is Multiple Sclerosis which is a systemic neurological disease.

Ischemic Optic Neuropathy:

The blood supply to the optic nerve can be compromised due to systemic diseases such as Hypertension or Giant cell arteritis leading to swelling in the optic nerve and reduction in vision.

Papilledema:

There is bilateral swelling of the optic nerve, due to rise in intracranial pressure. Common causes for papilledema are Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension, brain tumours, head injury etc.

Cranial Nerve Palsies:

Diseases like diabetes, head trauma, stroke etc can damage nerves which are responsible for eye movements. Lack of coordination in eye movements can lead to double vision.

Symptoms of neuro-ophthalmological diseases:

  • Blurred vision
  • Defective field of vision
  • Double vision
  • Headache
  • Transient blurring of vision
  • Defective colour vision

Treatment

The mainstay of treatment is to treat the underlying disease. The management requires a multimodal approach with imaging and a Neurologist review.

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