Brain Functional Connectivity Changes in Patients with Acute Eye Pain: A Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Study.

BACKGROUND By using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we aimed to study the changes in potential brain function network activity in patients with acute eye pain. Also, by using the voxel-wise degree centrality (DC) method, we aimed to explore the relationship between spontaneous brain activity and the clinical features of patients with acute eye pain. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 15 patients with acute eye pain (5 women and 10 men; EP group) and 15 healthy controls (5 women and 10 men; HC group), were scanned by fMRI. The DC method was used to evaluate changes in spontaneous brain activity. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were analyzed, and Pearson correlation analysis was used to study the relationship between DC values and clinical manifestations in different regions of brain. RESULTS The area of the left limbic lobe showed a reduction in DC value in patients in the EP group. DC values were elevated in the left cerebellum posterior lobe, left inferior parietal lobule, left inferior temporal gyrus, left precuneus, and right cerebellum posterior lobe in the EP group. The visual analog scale value of the eyes in the EP group was negatively correlated with the left limbic lobe signal value and positively correlated with the left inferior parietal lobule signal value. Further, the scores of the hospital anxiety and depression scale and DC value of the left limbic lobe were negatively correlated. CONCLUSIONS Compared with the HC group, patients with acute eye pain had abnormal patterns of intrinsic brain activity in different brain regions, which may help reveal the potential neural mechanisms involved in eye pain.

Blue light activates pulvinar nuclei in longstanding idiopathic photophobia: A case report.

Numerous pathologies can contribute to photophobia. When considering light transduction alone, photophobia may be triggered through melanopsin pathways (non-image forming), rod and cone pathways (image-forming), or some combination of the two. We evaluated a 39 year old female patient with longstanding idiopathic photophobia that was exacerbated by blue light, and tested her by presenting visual stimuli in an event-related fMRI experiment. Analysis showed significantly greater activation in bilateral pulvinar nuclei, associated with the melanopsin intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cell (ipRGC) visual pathway, and their activation is consistent with the patient's report that blue light differentially evoked photophobia. This appears to be the first demonstration of functional activation of the ipRGC pathway during photophobia in a patient.

XCalibur aneurysm occlusion device for the treatment of direct carotid cavernous fistula: expansion of armamentarium.

We report the first case of a post-traumatic direct carotid cavernous fistula (CCF) treated with the XCalibur aneurysm occlusion device, which is a balloon mounted stent with flow diversion effect. Two devices were deployed across the fistula in an overlapping manner, resulting in complete occlusion of the fistula. Flow diversion with this device can provide a safe and alternative treatment option in direct CCF.

Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment in a patient with choroidal melanoma simulating choroidal detachment: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Ophthalmologists and retina specialists may consider choroidal detachment if patients with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment present with choroidal elevation. That misdiagnosis may lead to inappropriate treatments, development of tumor cell dissemination, and eventual promotion of patient death. We report a case of a patient with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment associated with choroidal melanoma simulating choroidal detachment according to fundus findings. CASE PRESENTATION: A 78-year-old Japanese woman with blurred vision in her right eye was referred to our hospital because of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment with complicated atypical choroidal detachment. Her intraocular pressure was normal with clear anterior chamber. Retinal detachment involving the inferior and nasal retina was observed, and a retinal hole was noted in the same quadrant. A small yellowish choroidal elevation was located in the inferonasal site. Gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging revealed enhancement corresponding to the elevation, leading to the identification of a choroidal tumor. Enucleation of the patient's right eye was eventually performed. The enucleated eye histologically demonstrated malignant melanoma. CONCLUSIONS: If hypotony or an inflammatory sign is absent, ophthalmologists should pay attention to the differential diagnosis of choroidal elevations observed in such patients.

Painful ophthalmoplegia: a case report and literature review.

Painful ophthalmoplegia consists of periorbital or hemicranial pain with ipsilateral ocular motor nerve palsies. There are many etiologies of painful ophthalmoplegia. Tolosa-Hunt syndrome (THS) is an uncommon disease caused by non-specific inflammation of the cavernous sinus, superior orbital fissure and the apex of the orbit. A 45-year-old female reported episodes of reversible left eye pain and diplopia. Examination showed periorbital oedema and left palpebral semiptosis, paresis of the partial left third nerve palsy with normal pupillary reactions, fourth and sixth left cranial nerves, and hypoesthesia over the first and second division of the left trigeminal nerve. Blood analysis, postcontrast cranial and orbital magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, cranial MR angiography and CSF analysis demonstrated no abnormalities. The clinical diagnosis satisfies the criteria for THS. After steroid therapy her symptoms and clinical signs dramatically reverses. Painful ophthalmoplegia with inflammatory conditions such as THS is highly responsive to corticosteroids but should be diagnoses of exclusion. The THS diagnosis should be used rarely and with great caution.

Tolosa-Hunt syndrome with reversible dissection aneurysm.

A 49-year-old female presented with recurrent intolerable right retro-orbital pain, ptosis and diplopia for 4 months. Neurological evaluation revealed right oculomotor nerve and abducent nerve injuries. Neuroimaging found enlarged right cavernous sinus, right intracavernous carotid dissection aneurysm and a stenosis proximal to it. Tolosa-Hunt syndrome (THS) was suggested and treated with steroid. The clinical symptoms were alleviated after the treatment. After 3 months of follow-up cerebral angiography showed the lesions of the right intracavernous carotid stenosis and the dissection almost disappeared. Therefore, we proposed that the dissection and the stenosis are directly induced by the inflammation of THS.