Giant Axonal Neuropathy: Visual and Oculomotor Deficits

Giant axonal neuropathy, a generalised disorder or neurofilaments, presents as a chronic, progressive peripheral neuropathy in childhood. Evidence for central nervous system involvement is demonstrated in this study of four male patients with giant axonal neuropathy who had defective visual function and abnormal ocular motility. The visual system was studied by electroretinography, which showed normal retinal function, and by visual evoked potentials, which showed disease of both optic nerves and retrochiasmal visual pathways. The ocular motility disorder, studied by electrooculography, comprised defective pursuit, inability to maintain eccentric gaze with gaze paretic and rebound nystagmus, abnormal optokinetic responses and failure of suppression of the vestibulo-ocular reflex by fixation. These findings suggested involvement by giant axonal neuropathy of the cerebellar and brain stem pathways important in the control of ocular motility.