A rare case of simultaneous occurrence of non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy and corpus callosum ischemia.

PURPOSE: To report a case of non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) in an elderly patient with ischemia of the left splenium of the corpus callosum, providing details of the diagnostic work-up and subsequent follow-up.

METHODS SECTION: Case report.

RESULTS

A pseudophakic 80 years-old woman referred complaining sudden visual impairment in the left eye (LE) in concomitance with episode of hypertensive crisis. Fundus examination showed diffuse swelling of optic disc associated with flame peripapillary hemorrhages in LE and small crowded disc in right eye (RE). A superior altitudinal defect with arcuate defect including the blind spot were detected at the visual field in the LE. The patient was diagnosed with NAION. Five days later the patient complained a further vision loss and a pathological area within the left splenium of corpus callosum, consistent ischemia, was depicted at magnetic resonance imaging of brain. Corpus callosum infarction was completely asymptomatic and neurological evaluation was normal. At 45 days follow-up fundus examination showed white ischemic nerve while visual field was irreversibly constricted with tubular defect in LE.

CONCLUSION

In case of NAION linked with corpus callosum ischemia multimodal imaging and systemic work-up play a pivotal role for an early diagnosis.