What's Hot in Neuro-Ophthalmology

Beau B. Bruce, MD, PhD

One of the things that I love most about Neuro-Ophthalmology is that it can be viewed as a specialized approach to general neurology where we use the extensive, but exquisitely localizing, anatomy of the visual system to address the full spectrum of neurologic disease.

My overarching goal when putting together this issue was to bring practical pearls from recent developments in neuro-ophthalmology to our readers that will inform their day-to-day general neurologic practice. I have had the pleasure of assembling and working with a spectacular group of authors who share these important advances in neuro-ophthalmology from deep knowledge with great finesse.

The first part of this issue will consider how the eyes are literally a window to the brain, where one can directly visualize central nervous system tissue and its accompanying microvasculature in the ocular fundus. Looking into this window by examining the ocular fundus provides the neurologist with a wealth of information for diagnosis and prognosis. Unfortunately, examination of the ocular fundus is too often neglected; we discuss how clinical use of and education on nonmydriatic ocular fundus photography may lead to a restoration of this important part of the physical examination. Next, we turn to another area where improved physical examination, potentially augmented by new technologies, has great potential: the examination of the dizzy patient.

In the second part of the issue, we provide updates on the diagnosis and treatment of several neuro-ophthalmic diseases commonly encountered in general neurology (nystagmus, idiopathic intracranial hypertension, cranial nerve palsies, visual field defects, and nonorganic visual loss), followed by a consideration of areas of emerging importance in neuro-ophthalmology with practical consequences to neurology (ocular coherence tomography, treatments for hereditary optic neuropathies including gene therapy, the effects of visual impairment in children with brain tumors, and the role vision has to play in evaluating concussion and traumatic brain injury).

I hope you enjoy this issue of Seminars in Neurology and that you find it not only intellectually stimulating, but that within its pages you also discover neuro-ophthalmological insights that you can apply directly to your day-to-day clinical practice.