Schliisselworter: Sakkaden (Iangsame), Wachheitszustand, Physostigmin, Elektronystagmographie (ENG). Summary: The conditions in which slow saccadic eye movements can be found in normal subjects and neurological patients are discussed. The gauge procedure in electronystagmography (ENG) is a simple method to examine saccades. Some registrations in neurological patients are shown. The slow saccades are particularly present in neurological conditions with more or less diffuse ana­ tomical or functional cell loss of the brainstem. The slow saccades in these conditions seem to result from a lowered state of arousal caused by loss of neurons in the reticular formation. Activation of the patient and sometimes injections of physostigmine improves the saccades, probably by activations of the reticular formation. Zusammenfassung: Es werden die Bedingungen dargestellt, unter denen eine Verlangsamung der Sakkaden bei Normalpersonen und bei Patienten mit Erkrankungen des Nervensystems vorkommen. Mit Hilfe der Elektronystagmographie kann die Geschwindigkeit der Sakkaden leicht gepriift werden. Besonders haufig kommen verlangsamte Sakkaden bei Erkrankungen vor, die zu einem diffusen Funk­ tionsverlust von Zellen des Hirnstamms fiihren. Eine Schadigung von Neuronen der Formatio reticularis scheint die Ursache zu sein. Eine allgemeine Aktivierung des Patienten und damit der Formatio reticularis kann die Sakkaden verbessern. In manchen Fallen sieht man auch eine entsprechende giinstige Wirkung durch Injektion von Physostigmin. Slow saccadic eye movements are described in different neurological diseases. The conditions in which these saccades can be found will be mentioned shortly. Progressive supranuclear palsy is a steadily progressive degenerative disorder of the brainstem and basal ganglia. Besides other symptoms such as dystonic rigidity of neck and trunk, mild dementia and pseudobulbar palsy, the eye movement disturbances are the most obvious symptoms in this syndrome. The first sign in this disease is usually a slowing down of the saccade velocities, while later on all fast eye movements can disappear. Subsequently, voluntary pursuit movements also deteriorate. Finally all voluntary eye movements disappear and only leave slow vestibular-induced eye movements. These eye movement disturbances are first seen in the vertical and later on in the horizontal direction (Steel et aI., 1964; Dix et aI., 1971; Pfaffenbach et aI., 1971). Also in Wernicke encephalopathy the eye movement disorders are one of the most obvious symptoms, and slow saccadic eye movements can be found in the majori­ ty of these patients. It is a subacute neurological disease caused by thiamine deficiency with metabolic disturbances particularly of brainstem neurons. After thiamine therapy

A new form of heredo-familial spinocerebellar degeneration with slow eye movements (nine families)

Langsame sakkadische Augenbewegungen bei neurologischen Erkrankungen

Organ that controls the nervous system in vertebrates and most invertebrates

A new form of heredo-familial spinocerebellar degeneration with slow eye movements (nine families)

Citations

Langsame sakkadische Augenbewegungen bei neurologischen Erkrankungen

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