Ocular motility of aging and dementia.
Visual complaints in patients with dementia are varied and attributable to both visual sensory (afferent) and ocular motor (efferent) dysfunction. This review focuses exclusively on the efferent visual dysfunction associated with dementia and aging. It provides a brief overview of the most common ocular motility disturbances associated with dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, diffuse Lewy body disease, corticobasal syndrome, progressive supranuclear palsy, frontotemporal lobar degeneration, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and others. An introduction to the six eye movement systems and the terminology associated with the evaluation of each system are reviewed. Assessment of efferent visual function in patients with dementia may be challenging, but familiarity with the potential pathologic eye movement findings in patients with dementia will allow for a focused assessment, diagnosis, and treatment when possible.
Pelak
Victoria S
VS
Department of Neurology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA. victoria.pelak@ucdenver.edu
D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D003704:Dementia / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005133:Eye Movements / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D015835:Ocular Motility Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*