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Arch Ophthalmol. 1998;116:817-819.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Anticonvulsants are known to cause different kinds of visual disturbances.¹ Recently, vigabatrin has received attention because of considerable bilateral concentric field defects observed in a few patients receiving this drug as add-on therapy.² These field constrictions appear to be irreversible in most cases. Surprisingly, only subtle changes of retinal function have been reported, most often alterations of the oscillatory potentials in the electroretinogram (ERG). Findings from histopathological studies in rats, mice, and dogs but not in monkeys and humans show a microvacuolation in myelin sheaths of the white matter when exposed to vigabatrin.³ However, all these alterations cannot sufficiently explain a severe concentric visual field constriction.

Report of a Case

A 17-year-old boy suffered from focal epilepsy of unknown origin since the age of 13. Following unsuccessful treatment with carbamazepine and valproate as monotherapy and polytherapy, he was put on a combination regimen of valproate and vigabatrin 18 months prior to our first examination . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Comment
Corresponding author: Klaus Ruether, MD, Charité-Virchow Augenklinik, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany (e-mail: ruether@ukrv.de).

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