Hyperactivity of the medial thalamus in patients with photophobia-associated migraine.

Objective: To examine cerebral functional alterations associated with sensory processing in patients with migraine and constant photophobia.

Background: Migraine is a common headache disorder that presents with photophobia in many patients during attacks. Furthermore, some patients with migraine experience constant photophobia, even during headache-free intervals, leading to a compromised quality of life.

Measurement of Cerebral Glucose Metabolism in the Visual Cortex Predicts the Prognosis of Hemianopia.

Background And Objective: Homonymous hemianopia caused by cerebrovascular disease may improve over time. This study investigated whether functional neuroimaging can predict the prognosis of hemianopia due to cerebral infarction.

Methods: We studied 19 patients (10 men and 9 women) with homonymous hemianopia and compared them with 34 healthy subjects (20 men and 14 women).

Relationship between Diabetic Nephropathy and Development of Diabetic Macular Edema in Addition to Diabetic Retinopathy.

This study aimed to examine the relationship between diabetic retinopathy (DR) and systemic factors. We evaluated 261 patients (143 men, 118 women, aged 70.1 ± 10.

Cardiac Hypertrophy May Be a Risk Factor for the Development and Severity of Glaucoma.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between glaucoma and cardiac abnormalities. We evaluated 581 patients with open-angle glaucoma (285 men and 296 women) and 595 individuals without glaucoma (273 men and 322 women). All of the participants underwent visual field testing using a Humphrey Visual Field Analyzer (30-2 program), an electrocardiogram (ECG), and blood pressure measurement.

Visual Acuity in Glaucomatous Eyes Correlates Better with Visual Field Parameters than with OCT Parameters.

The visual acuity is very important for glaucoma patients in their lives. The purpose of this study was to examine about the correlation of visual acuity and visual field (VF) parameters or optical coherence tomography (OCT) parameters in patients with glaucoma. We evaluated 210 eyes of 210 patients (110 men and 100 women; mean age, 69.

Optic perineuritis with anti-myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody.

A 25-year-old male presented with blurred peripheral vision and movement pain in his right eye. Fundus examination revealed unilateral disc swelling in his right eye with normal intracranial pressure. MRI showed remarkably high intensity in the optic nerve sheath and slightly high intensity in the optic nerve, indicating optic perineuritis (OPN).

Glucose hypometabolism in the visual cortex proportional to disease severity in patients with essential blepharospasm.

Essential blepharospasm (EB) causes difficulty in eyelid opening because of involuntary movements of the orbicularis oculi muscle. Patients with EB have functional visual loss due to sustained eyelid closure. We examined cerebral glucose metabolism in 39 patients with EB (12 men and 27 women; mean age, 52.

Cerebral Functional Response during Eyelid Opening/Closing with Bell's Phenomenon and Volitional Vertical Eye Movements in Humans.

Bell's phenomenon is a physiological phenomenon wherein the eye ball involuntarily rolls upward during eyelid closing. Although this phenomenon occurs in healthy individuals, the neural mechanism related to Bell's phenomenon has not yet been identified. We aimed to investigate the brain regions relevant to Bell's phenomenon and volitional eye movement using [O] HO and positron emission tomography (PET).

Improvement of Glucose Metabolism in the Visual Cortex Accompanies Visual Field Recovery in a Patient with Hemianopia.

Damage to the visual cortex or the geniculostriatal pathways could cause homonymous visual field (VF) defects at the contralateral side of the lesion. In clinical practice, it is known that the VF defects are gradually recovered over months on the cases. We report a case with recovered homonymous hemianopia following an infarction in the visual cortex by positron emission tomography (PET) with (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) and (11)C-flumazenil (FMZ).

Cerebral glucose metabolism in the striate cortex positively correlates with fractional anisotropy values of the optic radiation in patients with glaucoma.

Background: It has recently become clear that glaucoma is not only an ocular disease, but involves central visual pathways as well. The purpose of this study was to examine functional and structural alterations in the brains of glaucoma patients.

Design: Case-control study in a hospital.

Alteration of the optic radiations using diffusion-tensor MRI in patients with retinitis pigmentosa.

Purpose: To evaluate alteration of the optic radiation (OR) in patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) using fractional anisotropy (FA) measured by diffusion tensor MRI.

Methods: We performed MRI and evaluated alteration of the ORs in 17 patients with RP and 27 healthy controls. Regions of interest were placed over the bilateral anterior and posterior areas of the ORs, and we measured the FA value of each region.

Positive correlation between the degree of visual field defect and optic radiation damage in glaucoma patients.

Purpose: We evaluated optic radiation (OR) damage in patients with glaucoma by using fractional anisotropy (FA) of diffusion-tensor magnetic resonance imaging.

Methods: We studied 29 patients with glaucoma and 19 healthy controls. Regions of interest were placed over the bilateral anterior and posterior ORs on the FA maps, and the FA value of each region was measured.

Increased adenosine A1 receptor levels in hemianopia patients after cerebral injury: an application of PET using 11C-8-dicyclopropylmethyl-1-methyl-3-propylxanthine.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to apply positron emission tomography (PET) with C-8-dicyclopropylmethyl-1-methyl-3-propylxanthine (MPDX), a radioligand for adenosine A1 receptor (A1R), to patients with hemianopia caused by brain injury to study neurorepair mechanisms in the brain.

Patients And Methods: Four patients with homonymous hemianopia and 15 healthy subjects were examined using PET to measure cerebral glucose metabolism, C-flumazenil (FMZ) binding to the central benzodiazepine receptor, and MPDX binding to A1R. Left and right regions of interest (ROIs) were selected, and semiquantitative data on the 3 kinds of PET examinations were obtained.

Glucose hypermetabolism in the thalamus of patients with hemifacial spasm.

The purpose of this study was investigate functional alteration in the brains of patients with hemifacial spasm using positron emission tomography (PET). We studied cerebral glucose metabolism using PET with (18) F-fluorodeoxyglucose in 13 patients with right lateral hemifacial spasm and 13 with left lateral hemifacial spasm. All patients underwent 2 PET scans before treatment (active state) and after treatment (suppressive state) with the botulinum neurotoxin type A.

Positive Correlation between Severity of Blepharospasm and Thalamic Glucose Metabolism.

A 43-year-old woman with drug-related blepharospasm was followed up for 22 months. She had undergone etizolam treatment for 19 years for indefinite complaints. We examined her cerebral glucose metabolism 5 times (between days 149 and 688 since presentation), using positron emission tomography, and identified regions of interest in the thalamus, caudate nucleus, putamen, and primary somatosensory area on both sides.

Gray matter density increase in the primary sensorimotor cortex in long-term essential blepharospasm.

In this study, we investigated gray matter density in essential blepharospasm (EB) patients, focusing on the duration of disease and severity of symptoms. We studied 32 patients (10 males and 22 females; age, 55.0 ± 6.

The pre-supplementary and primary motor areas generate rhythm for voluntary eye opening and closing movements.

Blinking and opening/closing of the eyelid are considered to be different movements with independent control mechanisms. Apraxia of lid opening (ALO) is a clinical syndrome in which patients experience difficulty in opening their eyes voluntarily. Our previous study with fluorodeoxyglucose and positron emission tomography (PET) has suggested that functional impairments in the supplementary motor area (SMA) and the anterior cingulate gyrus may be involved in the pathophysiology of ALO.

Photophobia in essential blepharospasm--a positron emission tomographic study.

To localize regional alterations in cerebral glucose metabolism in essential blepharospasm (EB) patients with photophobia. We have studied 22 EB patients by performing positron emission tomography and [(18)F]-fluorodeoxyglucose analysis. The patients were classified into two subgroups, namely, EB with photophobia (P group) and EB without photophobia (NP group), and compared with a healthy control group (n = 44).

Functional and neuroreceptor imaging of the brain in bicuculline-induced dystonic rats.

Dystonia is an involuntary movement disorder dominated by sustained muscle contractions that frequently cause twisting, repetitive movements, and postural changes. The purpose of this study was to determine the mechanism causing dystonia. We therefore employed a rat model of dystonia, which was induced by injecting (-)-bicuculine methiodide (BM), a gamma-aminobutyric acid A (GABA(A)) receptor antagonist, stereotaxically into the ventrolateral thalamic nuclei.

Measurement of the 11C-flumazenil binding in the visual cortex predicts the prognosis of hemianopia.

In order to determine whether functional neuroimaging studies can predict the prognosis of hemianopia due to organic cerebral disorders, we studied 8 patients (6 men and 2 women; age, 56.0+/-8.6 years) with homonymous hemianopia and compared them with 15 normal subjects (6 men and 9 women; age, 54.

Nonlinear characteristics of visual evoked potential in glaucoma patients and their correlation with the visual responses on magnocellular and parvocellular pathways.

Purpose was to investigate the linear and nonlinear characteristics of VEPs, and their correlation with the visual parvocellular and magnocellular systems. The VEPs were elicited by pseudorandom luminance modulated stimulation from patients with primary open angle glaucoma and compared with normal subjects. VEPs were recorded from 26 eyes with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) and 10 eyes of age-matched normal volunteers.

Glucose hypermetabolism in the thalamus of patients with essential blepharospasm.

Essential blepharospasm (EB) is classified as a form of focal dystonia characterized by involuntary spasms of the musculature of the upper face. The basic neurological process causing EB is not known. The purpose of this study was to investigate cerebral glucose metabolism in patients with EB whose symptoms were suppressed by an injection of botulinum-A toxin.

Sensitivity and specificity of new eye check chart for neuro-ophthalmological diseases.

Purpose: To determine the sensitivity and specificity of a new Eye Check Chart (ECC) for screening neuro-ophthalmological patients with lesions in the visual pathways.

Methods: The Humphrey perimeter (HP) with the 30-2 SITA Fast program was used to confirm the visual field defects found in 65 eyes of 35 neuro-ophthalmological patients. Forty eyes had pregeniculate lesions, and 25 eyes had postgeniculate lesions.