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Biomedical subjects

M C Brodsky

Publications and source records attributed to M C Brodsky.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Intermittent exotropia increasing with near fixation: a "soft" sign of neurological disease.

AIM: To examine the association of distance-near disparity with neurological disease in children with intermittent exotropia. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed of the medical records of all children with intermittent exotropia examined at the Arkansas Children's Hospital between 1989 and 2002. The study group consisted of children with intermittent exotropia who had a near deviation that exceeded the deviation at distance by at least 10 prism dioptres. The control group consisted of children with intermittent exotropia who had a distance deviation greater than or equal to the deviation at near. The main outcome measure was the prevalence of neurological abnormalities in the study and control groups. RESULTS: Among the 29 patients in the study group, 19 (66%) had a history of concurrent neurological abnormalities. Associated neurological conditions included developmental delay (10 patients), attention deficit disorder (four patients), cerebral palsy (four patients), history of intracranial haemorrhage (four patients), periventricular leucomalacia (three patients), seizures (two patients), cortical visual impairment (two patients), hydrocephalus (one patient), history of anoxic brain damage (one patient), history of encephalitis (one patient), and autism (one patient). Among the 37 patients in the control group, seven (19%) had a history of concurrent neurological abnormalities. The difference in the prevalence of neurological disease between the study group and the control group was significant (p=0.0002). CONCLUSION: Intermittent exotropia increasing with near fixation is associated with neurological disease in children.

Adolescent↗

Unexplained head tilt following surgical treatment of congenital esotropia: a postural manifestation of dissociated vertical divergence.

BACKGROUND: Strabismus surgery for congenital esotropia can be complicated by the development of a postoperative head tilt. PURPOSE: To determine the pathophysiology of acquired head tilting following horizontal realignment of the eyes in children with congenital esotropia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective analysis of nine children with congenital esotropia who developed unexplained head tilts following horizontal realignment of the eyes. RESULTS: Shortly after strabismus surgery, each child developed a head tilt in association with asymmetrical dissociated vertical divergence (DVD). Five children maintained a head tilt toward the side of the fixing eye (group 1), which did not serve to control the DVD. Four children maintained a head tilt toward the side of the hyperdeviating eye, which served to control the DVD (group 2). Children in group 2 had earlier horizontal muscle surgery and developed better stereopsis than those in group 1, suggesting that the higher degree of single binocular vision and stereopsis in these children may have led to a compensatory torticollis to control an asymmetrical DVD. CONCLUSIONS: The onset of an unexpected head tilt after congenital esotropia surgery is usually a postural manifestation of asymmetrical DVD. In this setting, a head tilt toward the side of the fixing eye corresponds with a postural manifestation of the underlying central vestibular imbalance that produces DVD, while a head tilt toward the side of the hyperdeviating eye serves to counteract the hyperdeviation and stabilise binocular vision.

Child, Preschool↗

Retinal neovascular markers in retinopathy of prematurity: aetiological implications.

AIM: (1) To determine if expression of the blood-tissue barrier associated glucose transporter GLUT1 is preserved by the neovasculature of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), in contrast with the reported loss of GLUT1 expression in preretinal vessels of proliferative diabetic retinopathy. (2) To compare the vascular immunophenotype of ROP to juvenile haemangioma, another perinatal neovascular disorder that has recently been shown to express placental type vascular antigens, including GLUT1 and Lewis Y antigen. METHODS: A retrospective case report was carried out. Immunoreactivities for GLUT1 and Lewis Y antigen were assessed in a human eye with stage 3 ROP and compared with those in a control (paediatric) eye. The presence or absence of endothelial GLUT1 and Lewis Y immunoreactivity was determined in preretinal and intraretinal vessels. RESULTS: Immunoreactivity was positive for GLUT1 and negative for Lewis Y in the intraretinal and preretinal neovasculature of the ROP affected eye and in the normal retinal vessels of the control eye. CONCLUSIONS: Retention of immunoreactivity for GLUT1 distinguishes ROP from proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Furthermore, absence of Lewis Y antigen co-expression distinguishes ROP from juvenile haemangioma, a perinatal form of GLUT1 positive neovascularisation that has recently been linked to placental vasculature.

Biomarkers↗

Primary oblique muscle overaction: the brain throws a wild pitch.

BACKGROUND: Sensorimotor and orbital anatomical mechanisms have been invoked to explain primary oblique muscle overaction. METHODS: Review of primitive visuo-vestibular reflexes and neuroanatomical pathways corresponding to vestibulo-ocular reflexes, and correlation with known clinical abnormalities in patients with primary oblique muscle overaction. RESULTS: Bilateral superior oblique muscle overaction, which corresponds to a backward pitch in lateral-eyed animals, can occur when structural lesions involving the brainstem or cerebellum increase central otolithic input to the extraocular muscle subnuclei that modulate downward extraocular muscle tonus. Bilateral inferior oblique overaction, which corresponds to a forward pitch in lateral-eyed animals, may result from visual disinhibition of central vestibular pathways to the extraocular muscle subnuclei that modulate upward extraocular muscle tonus. CONCLUSIONS: Primary oblique muscle overaction recapitulates the torsional eye movements that occur in lateral-eyed animals during body movements or directional luminance shifts in the pitch plane. These primitive ocular motor reflexes become manifest in humans when early-onset strabismus or structural lesions within the posterior fossa alter central vestibular tone in the pitch plane.

Animals↗

Accommodative esotropia: an unrecognized cause of hemifacial spasm in children.

Pediatric hemifacial spasm can be a sign of an intracranial tumor. We examined two females, ages 2 and 6 years, who presented with hemifacial spasm as an early sign of accommodative esotropia. Initial ophthalmologic examination disclosed high hyperopia without detectable esotropia. Both children developed an intermittent esotropia over the following month. In the first child, the hemifacial spasm resolved concurrent with the onset of amblyopia. In the second child, spectacle correction produced immediate cessation of the spasms. In both children, squinting to avoid diplopia produced an overflow facial movement that manifested as hemifacial spasm. Accommodative esotropia should be considered in the differential diagnosis of pediatric hemifacial spasm.

Amblyopia↗

Magnetic resonance diagnosis of congenital hypopituitarism in children with optic nerve hypoplasia.

PURPOSE: To determine whether structural abnormalities of the neurohypophysis, as detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), can be used to diagnose hypopituitarism in children with optic nerve hypoplasia. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of 67 children with optic nerve hypoplasia who had MRI and pediatric endocrinologic evaluation at Arkansas Children's Hospital from 1989 to 1999. RESULTS: A total of 26 children with optic nerve hypoplasia had pituitary hormone deficiency. MRI disclosed posterior pituitary ectopia in 16 of these cases, absence of the pituitary infundibulum and posterior pituitary bright spot in 7 of these cases, and a normal neurohypophysis in 3 of these cases. All 41 children with optic nerve hypoplasia and normal endocrinologic function had a normal neurohypophysis. CONCLUSION: MRI of the neurohypophysis can predict when congenital hypopituitarism will be associated with optic nerve hypoplasia.

Child, Preschool↗

Congenital ocular motor apraxia with autosomal dominant inheritance.

PURPOSE: To document congenital ocular motor apraxia in five first-degree relatives. METHODS: Case series. Five family members with a history of horizontal head thrusting had neuro-ophthalmologic evaluation. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain was obtained in the proband. RESULTS: Four siblings (one boy and three girls) had congenital ocular motor apraxia. The father had head thrusting as a child and displayed residual signs of the disorder. Magnetic resonance imaging disclosed no central nervous system abnormalities in the father. CONCLUSION: Congenital ocular motor apraxia can be inherited as an autosomal dominant trait.

Adult↗

Ocular motor signs in an infant with carbohydrate-deficient glycoprotein syndrome type Ia.

PURPOSE: To document the evolution of ocular motor abnormalities in an infant with carbohydrate-deficient glycoprotein syndrome. METHODS: Case report. An infant with carbohydrate-deficient glycoprotein syndrome type 1a underwent magnetic resonance imaging and infrared eye movement recording. RESULTS: A 10-month-old male with carbohydrate-deficient glycoprotein syndrome type Ia had rapid horizontal oscillations of the eyes when startled or awakened from sleep. Clinical examination confirmed this finding and disclosed congenital ocular motor apraxia with a reduced vestibulo-ocular reflex. Infrared eye movement recording showed ocular flutter and square wave jerks superimposed on a horizontal pendular nystagmus. Magnetic resonance imaging showed diffuse cerebellar hypoplasia. CONCLUSION: Carbohydrate-deficient glycoprotein syndrome type Ia can be associated with multiple cerebellar eye signs including ocular flutter, square-wave jerks, and congenital ocular motor apraxia.

Apraxias↗