Dr. Digre and colleagues' illustration featured on cover of Journal of Neurosurgery

Salt Lake City, Utah
February 15, 2007

Dr. Kathleen Digre of the Division of Neuro-Ophthalmology, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Moran Eye Center and her colleagues in the Departments of Neurosurgery and Neurology at the University of Utah published a case report in the November 2006 Journal of Neurosurgery called Photophobia in a blind patient: an alternate visual pathway. In addition to the published report, the medical drawing that illustrates an alternate visual pathway described in the report was featured on the cover of the Journal.

Photophobia literally means, fear of light. It is a term used to describe an abnormal sensitivity to light. This can include a morbid dread, avoidance and fear of light, and discomfort from light. Often the patient is unable to tolerate light. The condition may be due to any number of causes, including ocular infections, corneal abrasion, migraine, blepharospasm, or cataract. It is also associated with meningitis and other central nervous system conditions. Photophobia is studied and treated by ophthalmologists, neurologists, and neurosurgeons.

The case study presented by Dr. Digre and her colleagues describes a blind patient with a history of pituitary adenoma and apoplexy who suffered from photophobia. The report reviews the literature for a possible alternate visual pathway that would mediate the photic signal that may induce photophobia even in blind patients.

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