Nystagmus (Bouncing Eyes)

Overview

Nystagmus involves the involuntary and uncontrolled movement of the eyes that affects your vision. The movements are rapid and can be up and down, side to side, or rotating. Nystagmus may occur when looking straight ahead or when moving the eyes. Sometimes nystagmus is referred to as dancing or bouncing eyes. Nystagmus may come and go or may be persistent. These movements often make reading, maintaining a clear image, watching television, or focusing extremely difficult and include depth perception problems.

Severe nystagmus can negatively affect your ability to drive safely and, in some cases, progress to the point you may be declared legally blind. In addition, fatigueOverview The brain plays a crucial role in regulating sleep ... or stress is known to cause eye movements to increase.

Additional Signs and Symptoms of Nystagmus

• sensitivity to light
• dizziness
• difficulty seeing in the dark
• vision problems
• holding the head in a turned or tilted position
• the feeling that the world is shaking

Treatment

Treatment for nystagmus is limited and may include the off-label use of medications in the most severe cases. However, you should be aware use of prescription medications in controlling nystagmus is just beginning to be studied in-depth and often is simply a form of suppressing all eye movement. Medication is a severe option that needs a long discussion with your healthcare professional since side effects may outway the benefits.

Recently Reported Clinical Trial Drug Treatments

• Gabapentin
• Scopolamine
• BaclofenIsoniazid
• Memantine
• Carbamazepine
• Clonazepam
• Canibis

Updated: October 22, 2021

Sources: Superficial siderosis is a rare neurologic disease characterized by progressive sensorineural hearing lossOverview In approximately 95% of superficial siderosis patie..., cerebellar ataxiaOverview Ataxia is considered a symptom of your superficial ..., pyramidal signs, and neuroimaging findings revealing hemosiderin deposits in the spinal and cranial leptomeninges and subpial layer. The disease progresses slowly, and patients may present with mild cognitive impairmentOverview Cognition is the range of high-level brain function..., nystagmus, dysmetria, spasticityOverview Spasticity is a condition in which individual muscl..., dysdiadochokinesiaOverview Dysdiadochokinesia (DDK) is the medical term used t..., dysarthriaOverview Cerebellar dysarthria is a distinct speech disorder..., hyperreflexiaOverview Autonomic Hyperreflexia is a condition in which you..., and Babinski signs. Additional features reported include dementiaOverview Dementia is the progressive decline of cognitive fu..., urinary incontinence, anosmia, ageusia, and anisocoriaOverview Anisocoria, a condition characterized by unequal pu.... Superficial siderosis MedGen UID: 831707 •Concept ID: CN226971 •Finding Orphanet: ORPHA247245

Koeppen AH, Michael SC, Li D, et al: The pathology of superficial siderosis of the central nervous system. Acta Neuropathol. 116:371–382. 2008

Miwa et al. BMC Ear, Nose and Throat Disorders 2013, 13:5 Vestibular function in superficial siderosis
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6815/13/5

Living With SuperficialSiderosis Website PubMed Reference Library