SQUINTS AND DIPLOPIA SEEN AFTER BRAIN-DAMAGE

The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of squint after brain damage. We performed an observational study on 239 consecutive patients admitted to a specialist neurological rehabilitation unit: 12 9 with stroke, 84 with head injury and 26 with other conditions. Stand ard orthoptic measures, including visual acuity, cover test, eye movem ent recording and tests of binocular function were performed. Of all t he patients, 89 (37%), were found to have squints, but only 32 of thes e (36%) experienced double vision. Brain stem lesions causing peripher al ocular motor impairment were found in a high proportion of patients after head injury (56%). Squints were found in 27 of 95 (28%) patient s with cortical strokes, many with no other signs of brain stem involv ement. Left was just as likely as right hemisphere damage to be associ ated with squint, but right-sided lesions seemed to protect against di plopia. We conclude that squint is common after brain damage, even if the brain stem is not obviously affected, but only a minority of these patients with acquired squint suffer diplopia.