2022 Volume 39 Issue 1 Pages 34-39
Uhthoff’s phenomenon is characterized by visual impairment as body temperature increases. However, there has been no report regarding the association of Uhthoff’s phenomenon with ocular blood flow. Thus, we report the measurement of optic nerve blood flow before and after treadmill loading in a suspected case of optic neuritis using laser speckle flowgraphy（LSFG）.
A 25-year-old woman noticed temporary impairment of her right eye after exercising and bathing, 1 month ago. Her visual acuity, visual field, visual evoked potential（VEP）, and optic disc blood flow were measured before and after treadmill loading, considering Uhthoff’s phenomenon. The above parameters were measured again at the time of phenomenon disappearance, 1 year later. While Uhthoff’s phenomenon, visual field abnormalities, and VEP delay were observed, there was no change in the optic disc blood flow before and after exercise. In addition, no change was observed in her visual field, VEP, and optic disc blood flow, before and after a vigorous exercise stress at the time of disappearance of subjective symptoms. In this case, optic disc blood flow was not associated with changes in visual acuity or visual field during the acute phase, suggesting that there is no clear association between Uhthoff’s phenomenon and blood flow.
