Recovery of vision after ischemic lesions: positron emission tomography.
We used [18F]fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) to study serial changes in the local cerebral metabolic rate of glucose in 5 patients with ischemic lesions of the posterior afferent visual system causing homonymous visual field defects. All 5 patients had striking impairment of glucose metabolism in the striate cortex shortly after ictus. In 2 patients, visual field defects abated, and repeat PET scans showed reduced size of the metabolic lesion and improvement of striate metabolism. Three patients did not recover vision, and repeat PET scans did not show improvement. Patients who recovered vision had ischemic lesions outside the occipital lobe, while those who did not experience improvement had primary damage to the occipital lobe itself.
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003847:Deoxyglucose / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006423:Hemianopsia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed; D014794:Visual Fields; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*
D001786:Blood Glucose; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D003847:Deoxyglucose