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Flashcards in Nystagmus Deck (11)
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1
Q

What does a cerebellar nystagmus look like?

A

Coarse, horizontal nystagmus. Fast component towards the side of the lesion

2
Q

What are the other cerebellar eye signs to look for other than nystagmus? (advanced q)

A

Broken pursuit, ocular dysmetria- hypo- or hypermetric saccades.

3
Q

What does a peripheral vestibular nystagmus look like?

A

Mixed horixontal-rotatory or purely horizontal. Never vertical.

Always uni-directional, with the fast component away from the side of the lesion.

4
Q

What does a central vestibular nystagmus look like?

A

Horizontal, vertical, rotatory or mixed. Usually bi-directional, may be uni-direction

5
Q

What is a unidirectional nystagmus?

A

Nystagmus only increases on looking to one side

6
Q

What is a bidirectional nystagmus?

A

Nystagmus increases on looking to both sides i.e. fast component to the left on left gaze and fast component to the right on right gaze.

7
Q

What does Alexander’s law state?

A

Peripheral vestibular nystagmus: The nystagmus increases towards the direction of the fast component

Central vestibular nystagmus: The fast component chages with the direction of gaze, i.e. left on left gaze, right on right gaze and up on upward gaze.

8
Q

What symptoms may be associated with peripheral vestibular nystagmus?

A

Vertigo, tinnitus and deafness (not present in central causes)

9
Q

What are some causes of a peripheral vestibular nystagmus?

A
Labyrinthitis
Meniere's disease
Acoustic neuroma
Degenerative middle ear disease
BPPV
10
Q

What are some causes of a central vestibular nystagmus?

A
Vascular: Brainstem infarction
Neoplastic: Brainstem tumours
Infective: Meningoencephalitis
Toxins: ETOH
Demyelination
Syringobulbia
11
Q

What is a physiological nystagmus?

A

“End point nystagmus”- occurs when a person looks beyond 40 degrees. Low amplitutde, horizontal nystagmus with rapid component directed laterally. No other ocular abnormalities are found