Argyla-Robertson Syndrome: causes, signs, treatment

What is Argyle-Robertson Syndrome? How does this pathology manifest itself and what causes it? The answers to all these questions you will receive from the materials of our article. Also in it you will find information about whether this disease is treated and how it is done.

Basics of

What is the Argyle-Robertson Syndrome is known only to those people who have directly experienced this pathology. In modern medicine, the term is used to refer to a symptom in which the pupils' response to light is absent or greatly weakened. At the same time, reactions to accommodation and convergence are completely preserved( that is, to aim at an object that is near).

Main Symptoms of

Argyl-Robertson Syndrome manifests itself not only with the aforementioned symptom. In addition, patients with the described disease often have anisocoria( different sizes in the pupils of the left and right eyes), miosis( constriction) and pupillary deformation. Also, occasionally, in the presence of this syndrome, they can respond to light in a paradoxical way, that is, slightly widening. In this case, the ciliospinal reflex may also be completely absent, that is, the pupils may not expand with painful irritation of the skin of the neck.

In some cases, patients have atrophy and depigmentation of the iris. In this situation, it is said that the pathological process is localized in the region of the anterior dorsal colliculus.

Causes of the development of the syndrome

Most often, Argyll-Robertson syndrome is observed in late syphilis. This pathology is most typical for the reduced form of this disease. By the way, it can be observed in the early stages of the venereal disease.

It is impossible not to say that the Argyle-Robertson symptom is also observed in a paralytic syndrome.

Specialists say that the development of the phenomenon in question is primarily due to the defeat of the neuron( intercalary) visual reflex to light. Also, this pathology can develop because of the increased sensitivity of the papillary fibers to treponemal toxin.

In addition, Argyla-Robertson syndrome is often found in other diseases:

• multiple sclerosis;
• stem encephalitis;
• syringobulbium;
• diphtheria polyneuropathy;
• alcoholism;
• as well as after suffering ophthalmic or herpes zoster.

This symptom can be differentiated from the illness of Adi.

Why does the inverse Argyll-Robertson syndrome occur, which is characterized by a complete lack of pupillary response to accommodation and convergence, as well as maintaining a response to light? With regular persistence, the pathology under consideration occurs in a disease such as epidemic encephalitis.

Treatment of the syndrome

Therapy of the Argyll-Robertson syndrome is not performed due to the fact that this is just a symptom of an internal disease. Therefore, all the forces to eliminate this pathology should be directed to treatment of the underlying disease, in which this symptom is observed.

Thus, it is necessary to carry out therapy of late or early syphilis, paralytic syndrome, multiple sclerosis, stem encephalitis, diphtheria polyneuropathy, syringobulbia, alcoholism and other listed diseases.