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. 2017 Feb 15;41(3):154-158.
doi: 10.1080/01658107.2016.1278556. eCollection 2017 Jun.

Homonymous Hemianopsia Due to Posterior Cortical Atrophy

Affiliations

Homonymous Hemianopsia Due to Posterior Cortical Atrophy

Francesco Pellegrini et al. Neuroophthalmology. .

Abstract

A 63-year-old woman presented to her ophthalmologist complaining of reading difficulties for two years. Ophthalmological examination revealed a homonymous hemianopsia. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan was interpreted as normal, but positron emission tomography (PET) showed areas of posterior brain hypometabolism. This case highlights the high diagnostic suspicion that ophthalmologists should have regarding posterior cortical atrophy (including the visual variant of Alzheimer disease) in patients complaining of reading difficulties in the setting of a normal ophthalmic examination.

Keywords: Brain PET; homonymous hemianopsia; posterior cortical atrophy; visual variant of Alzheimer disease.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Top left: Automated static perimetry shows left homonymous hemianopsia, denser inferiorly, with 10° central sparing in the right visual field. Top center: Brain MRI image of the patient. Top right and bottom: Patient’s brain PET shows hypometabolism of the occipital, temporal, and posterior parietal cortex, more on the right.

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