title: Charles Bonnet syndrome: characteristics of its visual hallucinations and differential diagnosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To present an eight-case serie of patients with Charles Bonnet syndrome (CBS).
  
  
  METHODS
  All patients were initially evaluated by an ophthalmologist and then submitted to a neurologic evaluation with exclusion of alternative psychiatric and neurologic diagnoses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Five patients were male (62.5%) and the mean age was 52.3+16.0 years. Two patients suffered from severe myopia and glaucoma, three had retinitis pigmentosa, one had anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, one had age-related macular degeneration and one had toxoplasmic retinochoroiditis. Mean visual acuity in the right eye was 1,12 logMAR and in the left eye 0.57 logMAR. A mean delay of 41.7 months occurred until diagnosis. All hallucinations were complexes and mostly ocurred on a weekly-basis (62.5%) and lasted for seconds (87.5%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Physicians who care for low vision patients should be aware of CBS and appropriately diagnose its hallucinations after exclusion of psychiatric and neurologic diseases.
authors.affiliation: Serviço de Neurologia, Hospital Universitário, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Thiago Cardoso
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Vale
authors.affiliation: Hospital São Geraldo, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luciene Chaves
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Clínica Médica, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Paulo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Caramelli
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D013577:Syndrome; D013997:Time Factors; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D014792:Visual Acuity