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Neuro-ophthalmology is a subspecialty of ophthalmology that deals with the visual pathways from the eye to the visual cortex of the brain. The optic nerves carry the message of vision from the retina to the occipital cortex of the brain as an electrical current. This pathway, if damaged, results in visual loss. Many processes can affect this visual pathway.

If visual loss cannot be explained with a routine eye exam, it is often the job of the neuro-ophthalmologist to determine if there is a problem with the nerves and visual pathway behind the eye and within the brain. This is a challenging specialty and unique within the domain of ophthalmology.

Neuro-ophthalmologists also diagnose and treat the diseases that affect the nerves that control the eye muscles, eyelids and pupil. The University of Florida Eye Institute’s neuro-ophthalmology clinic offers patients the latest treatments by a fellowship-trained, board-certified neuro-ophthalmologist.

Common conditions treated by neuro-ophthalmologists include:

• Blepharospasm
• Double vision
• Eye movement disorders
• Eye-related migraines
• Myasthenia gravis
• Multiple sclerosis
• Optic neuritis (inflammation of the optic nerves)
• Papilledema (swollen optic nerves due to increased intracranial pressure)
• Pseudotumor cerebri
• Pupil abnormalities
• Thyroid eye disease
• Visual system neoplasia and tumors

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