THE EFFECT OF COLOR ON LIGHT-INDUCED SEIZURES - A CASE-REPORT

Background. Two to four percent of epileptics have their seizures trig gered by flickering light, an effect which may be wavelength-dependent . We evaluated a patient with a long-standing history of light-induced petit mal seizures to determine if the seizures were triggered more e ffectively by a particular range of wavelengths and to determine wheth er this information could be used in the optometric management of such patients. Methods. Flickering lights of different wavelengths but equ al luminance were presented while the patient's electroencephalogram ( EEG) and subjective reports were monitored. Results. The EEG results w ere not significantly different for different wavelengths, but the pat ient reported that longer wavelength light induced stronger seizures m ore consistently. Based on these results we concluded that the patient might benefit from spectacles tinted to exclude transmission of red l ight. The patient was given 4 pairs of 85% transmission spectacles, wh ich differed only in lens tint (red, yellow, green, and blue), to try over a period of time. The patient felt that the tinted lenses were no t dark enough to decrease his seizures effectively and he has opted to wear standard sunglasses. Conclusions. We feel this case shows that p atients with light-induced seizures can benefit from optometric consul tation. Because the patient's subjective report identified the cleares t wavelength effect, we feel that it is reasonable for the general pra ctitioner to suggest deeply tinted lenses to reduce the frequency of s eizures in these patients.