INVESTIGATION OF VISUAL ASSESSMENT OF ALTERNATING LUMINOUS AREAS IN NEUROOPHTHALMOLOGICAL DIAGNOSIS OF PATIENTS WITH INTRA - AND PARASELLAR TUMORS

Abstract

The method for investigation of visual assessment of alternating luminous areas (VAALA) enables to establish visual disorders in different diffusive and local brain lesions including brain tumours. In this study the applicability of VAALA in the complex neuroophtalmological investigations in patients with intra- and pa nisei I ar tumours was analyzed. VAALA, peripheral vision, and visual acuity were assessed in 9 patients with extrasellar tumours and in 5 patients with intrasellar ones. VAALA showed changes in all the patients without any significant difference between both patients' groups. Routine neuroophthalmological examination even in patients with extrasellar tumours indicated some typical abnormalities in a part of the cases only while in single cases of intrasellar tumours only initial changes could be detected. Perimetria and especially visual acuity and VEP possessed a lower diagnostic value in perichiasmatic lesions than contemporary psychophysical tests, VAALA inclusive. The high sensitivity of VAALA concerning the visual disturbances in pathological processes in these areas enables its integration into the complex neuroophthalmological examination.