Thank you for your letter and commentary. Indeed, we did not clearly define the fact
that the hallucinations were in the area of visual field loss. The patient did not
perceive hallucinations as occurring in the areas of vision loss but described the
hallucinations as peoples' faces that appeared on the edges of objects that he did
see. The hallucinations were in fact on the side of visual loss. He also said that
they often started small and grew larger. Our mention that elementary hallucinations
may occur was based on our review of the literature. Indeed, Charles Bonnet is most
often characterized by complex hallucination, but some sources relate that elementary
hallucinations may occur. In one reference, some hallucinations have been described
as a solitary constant solid object in the central visual field, most commonly a flash,
but often a complex grid or a branching structure [
[1]
]. In addition, a series on Charles Bonnet in patients who received photodynamic therapy
as treatment for choroidal neovascularization, 15% reported seeing flashing lights,
and only 5% described complex hallucinations [
[2]
].To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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References
- Complex visual hallucinations in the visually impaired: the Charles Bonnet Syndrome.Surv Ophthalmol. 2003; 48: 58-72
- Visual hallucinations and Charles Bonnet syndrome after photodynamic therapy for age related macular degeneration.Br J Ophthalmol. 2003; 87: 977-979
Article Info
Publication History
Published online: February 04, 2013
Accepted:
November 28,
2012
Received:
November 27,
2012
Identification
Copyright
© 2013 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
