scholarly journals When ‘glaucomatous fields’ are not glaucoma: bilateral calcarine fissure strokes masquerading as glaucoma in a normal tension glaucoma suspect

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. e227803
Author(s):  
Nayomi Perera ◽  
Melissa Shields ◽  
Marlon Perera ◽  
Paul A Adler

A 78-year-old man with vascular risk factors and a family history of glaucoma presents with bilateral superior arcuate visual field loss. MRI brain was reported normal. Intraocular pressure (IOP) and optical coherence tomography of the retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) were within normal limits. A tentative diagnosis of normal tension glaucoma was made. Over the next 5 years, IOP remained stable without treatment, serial visual fields noted repeatable bilateral superior depressions with normal RNFL. Referral to a glaucoma subspecialist and subsequently neuro-ophthalmologist prompted repeat MRIs, which demonstrated mild small vessel ischaemia. Standard visual evoked potentials (VEPs) were normal. Multifocal VEPs identified poor response across the entire visual field in both eyes. The combination of visual defects, unremarkable RNFL and reduced multifocal VEPs raised suspicion of bilateral inferior calcarine fissure change. Retrospective review of MRI’s in a multidisciplinary meeting confirmed extensive microvascular changes with bilateral inferior calcarine fissure ischaemia.

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (103) ◽  
pp. 20141118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Elze ◽  
Louis R. Pasquale ◽  
Lucy Q. Shen ◽  
Teresa C. Chen ◽  
Janey L. Wiggs ◽  
...  

Glaucoma is an optic neuropathy accompanied by vision loss which can be mapped by visual field (VF) testing revealing characteristic patterns related to the retinal nerve fibre layer anatomy. While detailed knowledge about these patterns is important to understand the anatomic and genetic aspects of glaucoma, current classification schemes are typically predominantly derived qualitatively. Here, we classify glaucomatous vision loss quantitatively by statistically learning prototypical patterns on the convex hull of the data space. In contrast to component-based approaches, this method emphasizes distinct aspects of the data and provides patterns that are easier to interpret for clinicians. Based on 13 231 reliable Humphrey VFs from a large clinical glaucoma practice, we identify an optimal solution with 17 glaucomatous vision loss prototypes which fit well with previously described qualitative patterns from a large clinical study. We illustrate relations of our patterns to retinal structure by a previously developed mathematical model. In contrast to the qualitative clinical approaches, our results can serve as a framework to quantify the various subtypes of glaucomatous visual field loss.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele Iester ◽  
Fabio De Feo ◽  
Gordon R. Douglas

Purpose. To determine whether the patterns of visual field damage between high-tension glaucoma (HTG) and normal-tension glaucoma (NTG) are equivalent.Methods. In this retrospective cross-sectional study, fifty-one NTG and 57 HTG patients were recruited. For each recruited patient only the left eye was chosen. Glaucomatous patients had abnormal visual fields and/or glaucomatous changes at the optic nerve head. They were classified as HTG or NTG on the basis of intraocular pressure (IOP) measurements. Patients' visual fields were analyzed by using Humphrey Field Analyzer (HFA), program 30-2, full threshold. The visual field sensitivity values and the pattern deviation map values of the 72 tested points were considered. Then a pointwise analysis and an area analysis, based on the Glaucoma Hemifield test criteria, were performed, and a comparison between the two subgroups was made by Student’sttest.Results. Between NTG and HTG, no significant difference was found pointwise for almost all the visual field points, except for two locations. One was under the blind spot, and the other was in the inferior hemifield around the twenty-degree position. When area analysis was considered, three areas showed a significantly different sensitivity between HTG and NTG.Conclusions. These data suggested that there was no relevant difference in the pointwise analysis between NTG and HTG; however, when visual field areas were compared, no difference in paracentral areas was found between NTG and HTG, but superior nasal step and inferior and superior scotomata showed to be deeper in HTG than in NTG.


2012 ◽  
Vol 117 (2) ◽  
pp. 295-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juri Kivelev ◽  
Elina Koskela ◽  
Kirsi Setälä ◽  
Mika Niemelä ◽  
Juha Hernesniemi

Object Cavernomas in the occipital lobe are relatively rare. Because of the proximity to the visual cortex and incoming subcortical tracts, microsurgical removal of occipital cavernomas may be associated with a risk of visual field defects. The goal of the study was to analyze long-term outcome after operative treatment of occipital cavernomas with special emphasis on visual outcome. Methods Of the 390 consecutive patients with cavernomas who were treated at Helsinki University Central Hospital between 1980 and 2011, 19 (5%) had occipital cavernomas. Sixteen patients (4%) were surgically treated and are included in this study. The median age was 39 years (range 3–59 years). Seven patients (56%) suffered from hemorrhage preoperatively, 5 (31%) presented with visual field deficits, 11 (69%) suffered from seizures, and 4 (25%) had multiple cavernomas. Surgery was indicated for progressive neurological deterioration. The median follow-up after surgery was 5.25 years (range 0.5–14 years). Results All patients underwent thorough neuroophthalmological assessment to determine visual outcome after surgery. Visual fields were classified as normal, mild homonymous visual field loss (not disturbing the patient, driving allowed), moderate homonymous visual field loss (disturbing the patient, driving prohibited), and severe visual field loss (total homonymous hemianopia or total homonymous quadrantanopia). At the last follow-up, 4 patients (25%) had normal visual fields, 6 (38%) had a mild visual field deficit, 1 (6%) complained of moderate visual field impairment, and 5 (31%) had severe homonymous visual field loss. Cavernomas seated deeper than 2 cm from the pial surface carried a 4.4-fold risk of postoperative visual field deficit relative to superficial ones (p = 0.034). Six (55%) of the 11 patients presenting with seizures were seizure-free postoperatively. Eleven (69%) of 16 patients had no disability during the long-term follow-up. Conclusions Surgical removal of occipital cavernomas may carry a significant risk of postoperative visual field deficit, and the risk is even higher for deeper lesions. Seizure outcome after removal of these cavernomas appeared to be worse than that after removal in other supratentorial locations. This should be taken into account during preoperative planning.


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