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Clinical characteristics and risk factors for bilateral lateral geniculate body pathology: a systematic review of the literature

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A Correction to this article was published on 17 May 2024

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Abstract

Background

Case presentation of acute onset bilateral painless vision loss caused by bilateral infarction of the lateral geniculate bodies (LGB) and a systematic review of the literature.

Methods

A descriptive case report is presented on a 17-year-old female diagnosed with acute pancreatitis who developed acute onset bilateral painless vision loss. A systematic literature review of cases with bilateral LGB lesions was conducted across three electronic databases (PubMed/PubMed Central/MEDLINE, Scopus, and ScienceDirect). The review was conducted in concordance with PRISMA guidelines and prospectively registered on PROSPERO (CRD42022362491).

Results

The reported 17-year-old female was found to have MRI findings consistent with bilateral hemorrhagic infarction of the LGB and Purtscher-like retinopathy. A systematic literature review of bilateral LGB infarction yielded 23 records for analysis. 19/23 (82.6%) of reported cases occurred in women. Bilateral vision loss was noted in all cases. The average reported age was 27 years old with a range from 2–50. Gastrointestinal pathology (e.g., pancreatitis, gastroenteritis) was present in 8/23 (34.7%) of cases. 8/23 (34.7%) cases had neuroimaging or pathological evidence of hemorrhagic transformation of the infarct. Most cases experienced partial recovery of visual loss; only one case (4.7%) had complete visual recovery. 9/23 (39.1%) cases were reported from the United States and 4/23 (17.3%) from India.

Conclusions

Bilateral LGB lesion is a rare cause of vision loss, typically caused by systemic diseases and with female preponderance. Purported pathophysiology relates to increased vulnerability of the LGB to ischemic and metabolic stress.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 55 Lake Ave N, Worcester, MA, 01655, U.S.A.

    Bahadar S. Srichawla, Raymond M. Catton, Alexander A. Lichtenberg & Nils Henninger

  2. Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 55 Lake Ave N, Worcester, MA, 01655, U.S.A.

    Alexander A. Lichtenberg & Nils Henninger

Authors
  1. Bahadar S. Srichawla
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  2. Raymond M. Catton
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Contributions

Concept, design, drafting of manuscript: Srichawla, Henninger. Analysis or interpretation of data: Srichawla, Catton, Lichtenberg. Funding and study supervision: Henninger. All authors critically reviewed the report and approved the final version.

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Correspondence to Bahadar S. Srichawla.

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Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for the publication of this manuscript.

Conflict of interest

Dr. Henninger serves as consultant to GentiBio, Inc and reports research support from the Department of Defense, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Angel Fund for ALS Research.

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The original online version of this article was revised: The original article contains a reference citation error. Cheng et al. (2020) should be replaced to “Cheng and Pang (2020)” in Table 1 continued and Table 2. In Reference 16, Cheng MFP, H (2020) should be corrected to “Cheng MF, Pang H (2020)”.

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Srichawla, B.S., Catton, R.M., Lichtenberg, A.A. et al. Clinical characteristics and risk factors for bilateral lateral geniculate body pathology: a systematic review of the literature. Neurol Sci 44, 3481–3493 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-023-06818-5

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