title: Hiding in plain sight: a closer look at posterior cortical atrophy.
abstract: Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) is a neurodegenerative syndrome dominated by deterioration of higher visual function (particularly visuospatial and visuoperceptual abilities). It is most commonly due to Alzheimer's disease pathology, but may also be caused by dementia with Lewy bodies, corticobasal degeneration or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Patients often present to optometrists, ophthalmologists and/or neurologists with non-specific visual complaints, and unless clinicians seek the specific symptoms and signs of PCA (beyond that of the 'standard' neurological examination), this infrequent disorder is easily missed, delaying its diagnosis and treatment. We review the clinical features of PCA, focusing on its visual manifestations, to help neurologists recognise this important syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, USA Department of Neurology and Neurotherapeutics, UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Shin C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Beh
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins University Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Brinda
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Muthusamy
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Calabresi
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Neurotherapeutics, UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, Texas, USA School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, UT Dallas, Dallas, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hart
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zee
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Neurotherapeutics, UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Vivek
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins University Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, USA Department of Ophthalmology, UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Elliot
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Frohman
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D001284:Atrophy; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D057210:Delayed Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged
keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Balint's syndrome; Neuro-ophthalmology; Posterior Cortical Atrophy; Simultanagnosia