Bilateral occipital lobe infarct neglect deficit (BLIND) syndrome

Abstract

Cortical blindness is characterized by loss of vision due to dysfunction of the visual cortices, most commonly secondary to bilateral ischemic infarcts of the occipital lobe. Other causes include surgery such as aortic valve replacement, laryngeal surgery, craniotomy, cerebral angiography, head trauma, and partial seizures. Visual anosognosia is a distinct feature of cortical blindness, wherein patients claim they can see and confabulate visual perceptions, despite loss of sight. We herewith present a rare phenomenon known as Anton Syndrome, an eponym named after the Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist, Gabriel Anton (1858-1933). There are a limited number of cases of Anton's Syndrome in the literature, with only 28 case reports published from 1965-2016. Although he was bestowed a neurologic eponym, Anton was an advocate of eugenics and racial hygiene. He publicly advocated for 'superior breeding' and 'selection' in order to 'build a brave and noble race.' We therefore propose replacing the eponym with Bilateral Occipital Lobe Infarct Neglect Deficit (BLIND) Syndrome, with intention of raising awareness of this unique presentation as well as of the widespread interest in eugenics in the early 1900s amongst physicians, notably Gabriel Anton.

Keywords: Anton syndrome; atrial tachyarrhythmia; blind syndrome; cortical blindness; visual anosognosia.

Figure 1.

EKG was remarkable for atrial flutter with 2 to 1 block and heart rate of 150 beats per minute

Figure 2.

CT brain without contrast revealed bilateral subacute parieto-occipital infarcts (left). MRI of the brain without contrast on FLAIR sequence showed acute to subacute bilateral PCA territory infarcts (right)