Sudden visual loss and headache: important symptoms of pituitary disease.
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Pituitary apoplexy is a rare clinical syndrome caused by sudden haemorrhaging or infarction of the pituitary gland, generally within a pituitary adenoma. Headache of sudden and severe onset is the main symptom, associated with visual disturbances or ocular palsy. Signs of meningeal irritation or altered consciousness may complicate the diagnosis. Corticotropic deficiency (secondary adrenal failure) may be life-threatening if untreated. Computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) confirm the diagnosis by revealing a pituitary tumour with haemorrhagic and/or necrotic components: CT is most useful in the acute setting (24 - 48 h), MRI is useful for identifying blood components in the subacute setting (4 days to 1 month). Owing to the highly variable course of this syndrome and the limited individual experience, the optimal management of acute pituitary apoplexy is controversial. Some authors advocate early transphenoidal surgical decompression for all patients, whereas others adopt a more conservative approach for selected patients (those without visual acuity or field defects and with normal consciousness). Glucocorticoid treatment must always be initiated immediately, at a dose of hydrocortisone 50 mg every 6 h.
The clinical, neuroradiologic, and endocrine features in 16 patients with septo-optic dysplasia are reviewed. All of the patients had clinical optic nerve hypoplasia with varying degrees of nystagmus and visual impairment. Only one-half of the patients had absence of the septum pellucidum. Fourteen children were growth hormone deficient, 9 were adrenocorticotrophic hormone deficient, 3 were thyroid-stimulating hormone deficient, and 4 had diabetes insipidus. In most instances, the diagnosis of septo-optic dysplasia can be established by physical examination and neuroradiologic findings, at which point a thorough evaluation of the hypothalamic-pituitary endocrine function is indicated because of the high incidence of hypopituitarism with this syndrome.
This preliminary study was undertaken to investigate the efficacy of high-dose iv methylprednisolone pulse therapy in 5 patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy. One gram of methylprednisolone sodium succinate was given iv daily for 3 successive days. The 3-day infusion was repeated 3 to 7 times at intervals of 1 week; total duration of pulse therapy was 3 to 7 weeks. The clinical improvement of eye involvements by pulse therapy was assessed immediately after the last pulse therapy. The clinical assessment of the effect of pulse therapy for Graves' ophthalmopathy showed a good response in 3 patients, a fair response in one, and no response in one. However, in one patient, who was judged to show no response, complete improvement of the enlarged extraocular muscle was observed on orbital computed tomography. Moreover, two patients, who have been followed without any other therapies, showed no relapse of eye involvements for 32 and 10 months, respectively. Although it is impossible to determine whether pulse therapy is more effective than other immunosuppressive therapies, the results of this preliminary study suggest that pulse therapy may be a good immunosuppressive therapy for Graves' ophthalmopathy too. Controlled studies are desired.
OBJECTIVE: To present a 17-year-old adolescent patient with lost right eye visual field and intermittent headache since the age of 14 years. The cranium was prominent at the right frontal region. The patient had no history of head trauma or infection and his past medical story was unremarkable. His mental status was normal. Computed tomography scanning revealed an abnormal occurrence of a common cavity deformity of the frontal, ethmoid, and sphenoid sinuses. No other lesions or deformities were present. Such common cavity deformity of these paranasal sinuses has not previously been reported in the English literature.
Macular hole is a specific disease of the central retina that affects central visual acuity and central visual field. The purpose of this study is to investigate the alteration of visual processing in patients with macular hole who had small central scotoma. Six patients with macular hole participated in this study. We used positron emission tomography (PET) to measure task-related changes in regional cerebral blood flow to identify regions of the brain activated during visual stimulation. Three tasks were performed in each eye: control task, checkerboard task, shape-discrimination task. Checkerboard stimuli caused a greater blood flow activation response in normal eyes than in affected eyes at the occipital cortex. The area involved in the macular hole appeared to be 20 mm or more anteriorly from the occipital pole. The Shape-discrimination task in affected eyes activated angular gyrus, inferoparietal lobule, and middle frontal gyrus. Our findings demonstrated greater confidence in Horton's new retinotopic map than in Holmes' retinotopic map in cortical areas involved in macular function. The dorsal pathway of the visual system was activated more than the ventral pathway in patients with macular hole.
A 67-year old man with prostate cancer showed Balint's syndrome, memory disturbance, anosognosia and hallucinations after having been comatose. Radiological findings indicated bilateral dural arteriovenous malformation (DAVM) and thrombosis at the bilateral transverse sinuses and superior sagittal sinus. Pathological findings showed abnormally dilated veins, diffuse neuron loss and gliosis in the parieto-occipital lobe. The chlormadinone and prostate cancer are speculated to have caused the dural sinus thrombosis which probably induced the DAVM.
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A 73-year-old female presented with a large empty sella with herniation of an elongated third ventricle concomitant with herniation of the surrounding subarachnoid space into the sella, manifesting as visual impairment and amenorrhea without galactorrhea. Magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography cisternography clearly showed the large empty sella, without evidence of either hydrocephalus or benign intracranial hypertension, which is extremely rare.
BACKGROUND: Baduanjin qigong is a traditional mind-body exercise used to support balance and physical health in older adults. Age-related changes in proprioception may make accurate self-directed performance difficult without external guidance. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to explore whether webcam-based real-time visual feedback delivered during supervised laboratory sessions was associated with differences in webcam-derived 2D pose discrepancy and movement consistency during Baduanjin practice in older adults. METHODS: A total of 31 older adults were enrolled, and 28 participants with complete analyzable records were included in this complete-case dataset (feedback group, n=14; nonfeedback group, n=14). All sessions were conducted face-to-face in a supervised motion-analysis laboratory. Weekly 2D pose-discrepancy values were analyzed using a linear mixed-effects model with fixed effects for group, categorical week, and the group-by-week interaction and a participant-specific random intercept. Joint- and movement-specific participant-level 6-week means were analyzed exploratorily using Welch independent-samples t tests. Holm correction was applied across 24 exploratory contrasts (6 week-specific, 8 joint-specific, and 10 movement-specific comparisons), and Hedges g and 95% CIs were reported. Participant-specific weekly slopes and within-participant variability were additionally examined to directly assess longitudinal error drift. RESULTS: The linear mixed-effects model showed no significant group-by-week interaction (Wald χ25=1.09; P=.96) and no significant overall week effect (Wald χ25=6.40; P=.27). Averaged across 6 weeks, the feedback group had an estimated mean 2D pose discrepancy 1.20° lower than the nonfeedback group (95% CI -2.38° to -0.02°; P=.046), although this marginal pilot finding was sensitive to an analytic approach. No week-specific contrast remained significant after Holm adjustment. Nominal right elbow, right shoulder, and right knee differences did not survive global Holm correction. Form 3 showed a lower mean discrepancy in the feedback group (mean difference -3.70°, 95% CI -5.86° to -1.54°; Hedges g=-1.30; unadjusted P=.002; Holm-adjusted P=.04). Direct analyses of participant-specific slopes and within-participant SDs did not support a significant between-group difference in longitudinal error drift. CONCLUSIONS: In this small exploratory pilot study conducted under supervised laboratory conditions, the 6-week trajectories did not differ significantly between groups. A marginally lower average 2D pose discrepancy was observed in the feedback group across the 6 weeks, but no individual week- or joint-specific comparison remained significant after multiplicity adjustment. Form 3 was the only exploratory contrast that remained significant after global Holm correction. Direct longitudinal analyses did not demonstrate prevention of error drift. Larger studies using validated reference measurements, prespecified outcomes, and adequately powered longitudinal designs are required.
Traumatic blindness is a well recognized entity with a guarded prognosis. Previous studies have variously reported the incidence of concomitant optic canal fractures and response to surgical therapy. With the advent of CT scanning, a new technique for study of these severely injured patients has become available. Over a period of 20 months, optic foramen fractures were demonstrated in 10 such patients using finely collimated, high-resolution CT scans. Fractures were easily classified by location, relation to the optic nerve assessed, and associated facial injuries imaged. The technique is easy, rapid, and superior to polytomography in this setting. Possible implications for therapy are discussed.
Four patients with localized lesions of the left frontal eye field as demonstrated at autopsy or MRI were studied. Their electronystagmography (ENG) recordings, which were induced by optokinetic stimulus, were analyzed by computer. Four factors were calculated by the ENG analyzing program. We conclude that the asymmetry of OKP in patients with localized lesions of the unilateral frontal eye fields is primarily caused by impaired S-VEL and F-VEL of the contralateral OKN compared with the side of the frontal eye field lesion.
The relation between visual impairment and regional cerebral metabolic rate of glucose (rCMRGl) was studied in 31 patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) by using positron emission tomography with 18F-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose. To exclude any precortical cause of visual dysfunction only patients were included who had amplitudes and latencies of visually evoked potentials (flash and pattern reversal) within the normal range. Visual information processing was evaluated psychometrically by a fragmented picture test (FPT), which is a combined perception (identification score) and memory (reidentification score) task and refers to Gollin's incomplete pictures. The identification and reidentification scores were significantly worse than in normals. Reductions of the rCMRGl in the primary visual fields, and in the secondary visual fields were found. A significant partial correlation with adjustment for age between the reidentification score of the FPT and the rCMRGl of the secondary visual fields (r = -.39, p < .05) in AD patients was found, indicating involvement of the secondary visual cortex in the pathological changes in AD.
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An intracranial mass lesion is a rare, but reported presenting sign in sarcoidosis. A 39-year-old woman presented with a frontal lobe lesion (pathologically a noncaseating granuloma) associated with chronic progressive visual loss and optic atrophy on the right side. High-resolution axial and coronal computerized tomography revealed a parachiasmal density compatible with the clinical course. Clinical suspicion of granulomatous processes and appropriate workup in all cases of optic neuropathy may allow for early medical therapy in such cases.