Neuro-Ophthalmology

Neuro-ophthalmologic disorders impact your brain, the orbit (your eye socket) and the optic nerve that connects your eyes to your brain. This group of conditions can include central nervous system disorders, ocular motility dysfunction (abnormal eye alignment or difficulty controlling eye movements), optic nerve diseases and abnormalities of your pupil.

Many neuro-ophthalmologic conditions can impact and reduce your vision. Some may be life-threatening. That’s why you need expert, specialized care.

It’s possible to have a neuro-ophthalmologic condition and not experience any symptoms. However, many of these disorders produce the same signs. Contact one of our specialists if you notice any of these problems:

• Blurry vision with pain
• Bright or dark spots in your vision
• Bulging eyes
• Color vision reduction
• Depth perception problems
• Difficulty moving your eye
• Dizziness
• Double vision
• Eyelid changes
• Headache
• Nausea
• Pain with eye movement
• Pupil changes
• Sudden eye shaking
• Vision loss

Our neuro-ophthalmology experts treat a wide range of conditions that can affect your eyes and brain. Our specialists are trained to address:

• Anterior ischemic optic neuropathy: Low blood supply destroys retinal tissue that connects to your optic nerve.
• Blepharospasm: Abnormal, involuntary blinking and eyelid spasms are blepharospasms.
• Brain disorders related to vision: Multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and progressive supranuclear palsy (a brain disorder that causes severe balance, eye movement and walking problems) can cause vision issues.
• Cerebrovascular disorders related to vision: Conditions (like stroke) cut off blood supply and oxygen to brain cells that control sight, potentially reducing or eliminating vision.
• Compressive optic neuropathy: Tumors or orbital inflammatory conditions like thyroid eye disease damage the optic nerve.
• Cranial nerve palsy: A malfunctioning eye nerve causes abnormal eye movements, abnormally dilated pupils, double vision or droopy eyelids.
• Giant cell arteritis: Inflammation of the arteries around the eyes causes pain, blurred or double vision or irreversible vision loss.
• Hemifacial spasm: Involuntary, painless twitching happens on one side of the face.
• Hereditary optic neuropathies: Genetic defects cause vision loss, such as dominant optic atrophy and Leber hereditary optic neuropathy.
• Idiopathic intracranial hypertension: Pressure inside the head causes swelling of the optic nerve, potentially leading to permanent vision loss.
• Inflammatory and infectious optic neuropathies: Bacteria or a virus damages the optic nerve.
• Myasthenia gravis: A communication problem between your muscles and nerves causes weakness in the muscles you can control in your arms, eyes, face, legs, neck and throat.
• Nutritional and toxic optic neuropathies: Lifestyle behaviors (such as drinking alcohol or smoking) or medication exposures cause optic nerve damage that leads to vision loss.
• Optic neuritis: Inflammation of the optic nerve is often linked to multiple sclerosis or other autoimmune diseases like lupus.
• Papilledema: Increased pressure in and around your brain causes optic nerve swelling.
• Paraneoplastic disorders: Nervous system conditions develop when cancer-fighting parts of your immune system attack your brain, muscles, nerves or spinal cord.
• Pupillary abnormalities: Problems with your pupil cause double vision, drooping eyelids, non-responsiveness to light, permanent dilation or unequal pupil sizes.
• Tumors related to vision: Cancerous tumors develop in the retina or spread from other parts of your body, including your bowel, breast or lung.

Our neuro-ophthalmology specialists can provide the full range of therapy options to treat your unique condition. These interventions include:

• Lifestyle behavior modifications, such as nutritional counseling, smoking cessation and weight loss
• Medication, including antibiotics, Botox injections, cholinesterase inhibitors, corticosteroids, immunosuppressants, infusions and tissue plasminogen activator
• Microvascular decompression
• Visual aids, including eye drops, large-print devices, magnifiers, specialty glasses, sunglasses and talking watches