Abstract
Visual field deficits are common in neurologic disease conditions such as cerebrovascular
disease, traumatic brain injury, and brain tumors. Loss of visual fields may lead
to impairment of reading skills (hemianopic dyslexia) and limitations of daily activities
such as driving, which can have a significant impact on an individual's socioeconomic
status and quality of life. Moreover, patients with motor deficits from neurologic
diseases have a 20% decreased likelihood of achieving independence in ambulation and
self-care activities with coexisting hemianopia. Studies on the natural history of
homonymous hemianopia have shown that spontaneous improvement of visual fields may
occur in less than 40% of individuals early in the disease process. Improvement is
usually incomplete, which implies that a significant number of individuals will be
left with a disabling visual deficit. Although several methods of rehabilitation (optical,
compensatory, and restitution therapy) are used in practice, none, unfortunately,
have shown consistent and significant benefits. In this review, the authors focus
on the natural history, impact, prognosis, and treatment modalities for neurologic
field defects.
Keywords
visual field defect - hemianopia - driving - rehabilitation - quality of life - reading
