A 48-year-old male presented with complaints of severe headache of two-week duration. The headache was in the right parietal region accompanied by nausea and vomiting. There was neither any history of fever, photophobia, blurring of vision or diplopia, nor any significant past medical history. He was previously seen in another hospital; the brain Computed Tomography (CT) scan was reported to be normal.\nOn physical examination, the vital signs were within normal limits, and the patient was afebrile. Mental status examination did not reveal any abnormality. On clinical examination of the motor system, the tone and power in all the four limbs were normal with exaggerated (3+) reflexes. There was no neck stiffness, and Kernig’s sign was negative. Gait and coordination were normal. The sensory system and the cranial nerves were normal. Fundoscopy did not reveal any abnormality. No significant finding was revealed in other systemic examinations.\nRoutine full blood count and biochemistry did not show any abnormality. However, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) of the patient’s serum was positive for anti- herpes simplex virus (HSV) IgM antibody. Lumbar puncture was not carried out since the patient refused it. The electroencephalogram (EEG) did not reveal any abnormality. The Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) brain revealed bright T2/FLAIR cortical images at right parietal and temporal region ().\nA presumptive diagnosis of herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE) was made on the basis of serological and MRI findings; empirical treatment with intravenous acyclovir 750 mg eight hourly was initiated. He also received hydrocortisone 8 mg intravenous followed by oral prednisolone 40 mg daily. The headache was relieved, and the patient had no complaint while in the ward. A repeat brain MRI, which was done one week later, showed that the cortical enhancement has markedly reduced indicating response to treatment (). On discharge the patient was advised to repeat MRI and EEG after one week.\nThree weeks after the initial admission, the patient presented again with complaints of right retro-orbital pain of two days duration. The pain was accentuated with eye movements. The patient also noticed that he could not see clearly with the affected eye. Clinical examination revealed red colour desaturation and reduced visual acuity. Ophthalmoscopic examination showed a swollen right optic disc. Visual evoked potential (VEP) revealed small amplitude and delay in the right P100 latency (right: 122.40 ms, left: 113.10 ms). Right optic neuritis was diagnosed, which was treated with intravenous methylprednisolone 250 mg six hourly. The right eye pain was relieved, and the vision gradually improved. A diagnosis of post encephalitic right optic neuritis was made.
A 42-year-old obese woman presented to her optometrist after she noticed “after images” following bright light exposure in her left eye (OS). She also noticed transient blurred vision with position changes but denied any regular headaches or pulsatile tinnitus. She denied ever having a severe onset headache. She was referred to neuro-ophthalmology and was found to have a visual acuity of 20/20 in both eyes. Humphrey 24-2 SITA-Fast visual fields showed nonspecific depressed points right eye (OD; MD −6.18 dB) and showed an enlarged blind spot OS (MD −4.84 dB). Dilated fundus examination showed moderate optic disc edema in both eyes with preretinal, intraretinal, and subretinal hemorrhages around the left optic disc (shown in Fig. ). Her blood pressure measured 140/100 and her hemoglobin was normal. Magnetic resonance imaging/magnetic resonance venography was performed and showed signs of raised ICP without a secondary cause. Lumbar puncture showed an opening pressure of 32 cm of water and normal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) contents. She was started on acetazolamide 500 mg twice-daily (BID) and telmisartan 40 mg daily and the optic disc edema improved and resolved after 4 months with significant weight loss. She maintained normal visual function and the ODH resolved at 3 months. The final Humphrey mean deviation was −3.42 dB OD and −2.98 dB OS.