Anopsia - Signs, Treatment, Causes, Forms, Diagnosis

2024 Author: Rachel Wainwright | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 07:39

Anopsia

The content of the article:

1. Causes
2. Kinds
3. Signs
4. Diagnostics
5. Treatment
6. Consequences and complications

Anopsia (or anopia) - literally "lack of vision" (Greek anopsis, from an - a particle with the meaning of negation and opsis - vision).

This term is widely interpreted in various reference books. In some sources, anopsy is understood not only as a lack of vision, but also its various defects (for example, deformations of the visual fields, various color anomalies, color blindness).

More often the concept of "anopsia" ("anopia") is used not in isolation, but as a part of complex word forms (hemianopsia, deuteranopia, tritanopia, etc.).

Anopsia - visual field defect

Causes

The main reasons leading to the development of anopsia are:

• changes in the structures of the eyeball, hemostasis of its internal environments;
• age-related degenerative processes;
• acute or chronic inflammation of the membranes of the eyeball;
• damage to the optic chiasm (chiasm), optic tracts, visual pathways or visual centers in the cortex of the inner surface of the occipital lobes of the brain.

Most often, anopsy develops with the following diseases and pathological conditions:

• glaucoma;
• cataract;
• malignant and benign volumetric neoplasms of the tissues of the brain, pituitary gland, skull bones;
• hydrocephalus;
• aneurysms of the vessels of the base of the brain;
• inflammation of the meninges with the involvement of the central structures of the visual analyzer in the process;
• traumatic brain injury;
• circulatory disorders in the system of the posterior and middle cerebral arteries;
• congenital pathology;
• severe chronic diseases complicated by damage to the structures of the eye (for example, diabetes mellitus);
• intoxication;
• exposure to ionizing radiation.

Most often, anopsia develops against the background of eye diseases: glaucoma, cataracts, etc.

Kinds

Anopsia can be absolute (blindness) or manifest as a partial defect.

Types of partial anopsia:

• hemianopsia - blindness in half of the visual fields (homonymous, heteronymous, horizontal upper or lower);
• quadrantanopsia - blindness in a quarter of the visual field.

A homonymous lesion is characterized by a symmetrical loss of the left or right visual field in both eyes, respectively, there are:

• right-sided homonymous hemianopsia;
• left-sided homonymous hemianopsia.

In a heteronymous process, the patient complains of blindness in the nasal or temporal regions, and the following hemianopsia is diagnosed:

• temporal (temporal) heteronymous;
• nasal (nasal) heteronymous.

Bilateral horizontal upper or lower hemianopsia and bilateral partial anopsia with preservation of central vision are much less common. A combination of complete and partial anopsia on different eyes is possible.

In addition, in some cases there is no perception of any one color:

• with deuteranopia - green;
• with protanopia - red;
• with tritanopia - blue.

A separate type of anopsia is scotoma - a dark blind spot against the background of an unchanged visible image. Scotoma can be of different shapes (round, oval, annular, arcuate or sectoral) and form in any part of the visual field without connection with the peripheral borders.

Signs

The main sign of anopsia (depending on its type) is recurrent or permanent blindness, which significantly worsens the quality of life (the patient does not see objects and people that are next to him, cannot fully orient himself in space).

Sometimes, if the loss of visual fields occurs against the background of an acute vascular catastrophe in the tissues of the brain, transient short-term visual hallucinations are noted: lights, geometric shapes, shapes, images of recognizable objects.

Some patients complain about the reflection of the visible fields of vision in the blind areas, as the visual analyzer adapts to the developed disorders, these phenomena disappear.

Diagnostics

Laboratory research methods for the diagnosis of visual impairment are not used and can be prescribed in the future, in order to identify the underlying disease that caused the anopsy.

To confirm anopsy, the following instrumental research methods are recommended:

• computer perimetry;
• campimetry;
• ophthalmoscopy;
• CT scan;
• Magnetic resonance imaging.

Instrumental diagnostics of anopsy

In addition to instrumental examination, it is necessary to consult a neurologist, and if a neoplasm is suspected, an oncologist.

Treatment

Since visual impairment is not an independent disease, but a symptom indicating the presence of a pathological process, treatment is aimed at arresting the underlying disease.

Taking into account the fact that only a part of the diseases, the manifestation of which is anopsy, is amenable to therapy, a significant role is assigned to the rehabilitation of patients in order to facilitate their interaction with the environment.

The rehabilitation therapist helps the patient to select certain techniques to improve the quality of life (training of visual search in the process of reading or tracking moving objects, which can help to increase the amplitude and accuracy of eyeball movements towards the lesion).

With the help of optical therapy, using prisms, mirrored lenses and telescopic devices, it is possible to increase the area of the preserved visual field. The most commonly used prisms are built into one or both lenses of the glasses, reflecting the image that should be projected onto the anopsy area. Thus, the patient can see the image on the side of the lost visual field.

Consequences and complications

Full restoration of vision depends on the success of the treatment of the pathology that provoked its impairment.

The most formidable complication of partial anopsy is the complete loss of vision as the underlying disease progresses.

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Olesya Smolnyakova Therapy, clinical pharmacology and pharmacotherapy About the author

Education: higher, 2004 (GOU VPO "Kursk State Medical University"), specialty "General Medicine", qualification "Doctor". 2008-2012 - Postgraduate student of the Department of Clinical Pharmacology, KSMU, Candidate of Medical Sciences (2013, specialty "Pharmacology, Clinical Pharmacology"). 2014-2015 - professional retraining, specialty "Management in education", FSBEI HPE "KSU".

The information is generalized and provided for informational purposes only. At the first sign of illness, see your doctor. Self-medication is hazardous to health!