Vision is the most important tool for human perception of the world. Any pathological deviations lead to discomfort and disorientation. Eyeballs in ordinary life move reflexively or arbitrarily, but certainly synchronously.
Ophthalmoplegia - what is this disease?
Muscles and nerves are responsible for the healthy movement of the eyeballs. So, for example, if a person looks to the right, then one eye moves to the temple, and the second to the nose. This action is ensured by the coordinated interaction of the direct lateral and medial muscles under the watchful eye of the optic motor nerve. Such a mechanism is regulated by the bridge center of the gaze.
Internuclear ophthalmoplegia is a disorder, a disease that causes paralysis of part or all of the eye muscles. The fiber of the bridge center is damaged, the connection is broken, and the movement of the eyeballs ceases to be synchronous.
Outwardly, such an eye pathology looks as if each eyeball lives on its own, as if they are moving apart. Most often, the pathology affects the horizontal movement of the eyes, but there are cases of vertical deviation, when the eyes are at different levels.
Main symptoms
The main sign of internuclear ophthalmoplegia is the impossibility of normal synchronous movement of the eyeballs. A standard lead to the temple of one eye does not provoke a subsequent lead to the nose of the other eye, which leads to uncontrolled twitching in a healthy apple.
Damage to nerve fibers provokes the appearance of the following characteristic signs:
- The patient has a feeling of a split picture.
- Vision becomes blurry, the picture is blurry.
- The patient has a prolapse (ptosis) of the eyelids.
- If internuclear ophthalmoplegia is provoked by another disease, then the patient experiences general weakness and difficulty in swallowing.
With this pathology, the ability to view objects close, which is accompanied by the reduction of eyeballs to the nose, is not completely lost, although it can be accompanied by blurred images.
Causes of the disease
The described pathology is divided into two types:
- Congenital
- Acquired.
Regardless of the nature of the disease, the causes of internuclear ophthalmoplegia syndrome lie in the disorder of the central nervous system of a person. Considering the issue in more detail, experts identify a number of factors that contribute to the congenital disease:
- Disorders of a psychogenic nature.
- Encephalitis.
- Meningitis.
- Damage to the orbit.
- Multiple sclerosis.
As medical statistics show, congenital ophthalmoplegia is most often accompanied by a number of other diseases that affect the eyeballs and the quality of human vision.
Acquired internuclear ophthalmoplegia syndrome is provoked by the following ailments:
- Serious damage to the central nervous system (stroke, multiple sclerosis).
- Infectious diseases (syphilis, tuberculosis, etc.).
- The development of a brain tumor.
- Pathological processes in the body affecting the vascular system.
In addition, internuclear ophthalmoplegia may be the result of poisoning, tetanus, diphtheria, and radiation exposure. Today, medicine has the means to combat the described pathology. So, in Moscow, the most popular clinic is Fedorova S. N., which deals exclusively with eye microsurgery.
How to diagnose a disease?
When the first signs of the disease appear, you should immediately consult a doctor in order to establish a diagnosis in a timely manner and prescribe treatment. Pathology is diagnosed visually when checking the movement of the eyeballs. However, experts prescribe a number of additional examinations to confirm or refute fears and identify the underlying cause of the disease.
The patient will have to undergo the following examinations:
- Computed tomography of the neck and head, which allows you to detect the presence of neoplasms.
- X-ray examination of the skull to detect signs of injury.
- Angiography of the blood vessels of the brain to identify possible problems with blood circulation.
- Magnetic resonance imaging, which is the main way to diagnose multiple sclerosis and stroke.
The whole complex allows not only to identify the causes of the disease, but also to correctly choose an effective treatment.
Treatment and prevention
The method of treatment directly depends on the cause of the pathology, and on the degree of eye damage. The main meaning of therapy is to eliminate the underlying causes of the disease, relieve symptoms and maximize recovery of the eye muscles.
Treatment using drugs may include the use of:
- anti-inflammatory drugs;
- medicines that fight dehydration;
- vitamins B and C;
- vasodilator;
- nootropic drugs to stabilize the nervous system;
- drugs to eliminate muscle weakness;
- stabilizing metabolic processes.
The complex of therapy will depend on the results of the examination and should be prescribed only by the attending physician.
Physiotherapy methods are also used:
- electrophoresis.
- phonophoresis.
- acupuncture.
In some cases, experts recommend resorting to surgical intervention, namely to the expansion of arteries and removal of blood clots. They successfully cope with this, for example, in the clinic of S. N. Fedorov, where highly qualified specialists work.
It is noted that children with congenital internuclear ophthalmoplegia quickly learn to compensate for muscle weakness and subsequently may not have vision problems. To prevent the disease, it is enough to regularly undergo a preventive examination in order to timely identify possible deviations. It is important to maintain the health of your own nervous system and avoid unwanted overloads.
Possible complications and predictions
Predicting in relation to any disease is quite problematic. With internuclear ophthalmoplegia, a lot depends on the degree of eye damage and on the underlying cause of the disease, and therefore, on the correct treatment.
So, in the case of multiple sclerosis, it is known that this pathology is incurable, but modern medicine can significantly slow down the development of the disease. With a stroke, it all depends on the timeliness and literacy of the treatment.
As already noted, ophthalmoplegia is often a symptom of a more serious disease, so you can not treat it inattentively. Any complications can be critical to the patient’s general health, which will also affect his life expectancy (in the case of cancer, stroke, or multiple sclerosis).
Summing up, we can safely say that the forecast is a subjective matter, and human health depends on many factors. The main thing is to pay attention to alarming signs in time.