Cortical Blindness - Causes

Causes

The most common cause of cortical blindness is ischemia (oxygen deprivation) to the occipital lobes caused by blockage to one or both of the posterior cerebral arteries. However, other conditions have also been known to cause acquired and transient cortical blindness, including:

• Bilateral lesions of the primary visual cortex
• Side effect of some anti-epilepsy drugs (AEDs)
• Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, in association with a rapid onset of dementia
• Infection
• Head trauma to the occipital lobe of the brain
• Congenital abnormalities of the occipital lobe
• Eclampsia and, rarely, pre-eclampsia
• Hyperammonemia

The most common causes of congenital cortical blindness are:

• Traumatic brain injury (TBI) to the occipital lobe of the brain
• Congenital abnormalities of the occipital lobe
• Perinatal ischemia
• Encephalitis
• Meningitis