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Question answered:01/07/07 Warning! this question is over two years old.
We were unable to find a definitive answer. A recent article in JNNP [1] reports on concussion and minor head injuries. This discusses visual disturbances in a number of places:
“Structural changes might explain, for instance, vestibular and visual symptoms, but it is likely that functional changes (for example, in biochemical, synaptic, and neuronal membrane processes) are involved in persistent symptom complexes, particularly those with a more psychological flavour.”
“Minor visual complaints are common—blurred vision or difficulties with focusing as a result accommodation dysfunction. Diplopia which is non-comitant (that is, it changes with gaze direction) suggests an oculomotor palsy from orbital fracture. Fleeting diplopia is more common and can result from temporary impairment of vergence mechanisms. Intrusive but comitant diplopia may be due to decompensation of congenital strabismus. These complaints almost always recover spontaneously but may require the assistance of an orthoptist or ophthalmologist.”
An earlier article (2002) in JNNP [2] “Head injury for neurologists” reports:
“Visual symptoms are common after TBI (traumatic brain injury) and mainly result from oculomotor dysfunction, refractive error shifts, damage to the cornea and intraocular structures, visual field loss caused by anterior and posterior visual pathway damage, and visual perceptual deficits.”
References
1) http://pn.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/6/6/342
2) http://jnnp.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/73/suppl_1/i8
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