{"id":9951,"date":"2024-08-26T15:28:44","date_gmt":"2024-08-26T19:28:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/ophth\/?p=9951"},"modified":"2024-08-27T12:14:39","modified_gmt":"2024-08-27T16:14:39","slug":"september-is-cortical-visual-impairment-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/ophth\/2024\/08\/september-is-cortical-visual-impairment-month\/","title":{"rendered":"September is Cortical Visual Impairment Awareness Month!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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September is dedicated to increasing awareness of Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI). As the leading cause of visual impairment in children in the U.S. and developed world, this lesser-known type of ocular impairment originates in the brain’s visual center (visual cortex), rather in the eye. CVI is caused by brain damage linked to congenital and childhood neurological problems, as well as structural and functional abnormalities in the visual cortex due to injuries and cerebral trauma. Some signs of CVI starting as early as infancy include: prematurity, decreased blood supply and oxygenation, brain malformation or infection, hydrocephalus, seizure, metabolic disease, infection, head trauma and other neurologic disorders.<\/p>\n

CVI is a trickier condition to diagnose in children. Comprehensive eye exams characteristically produce no signs of CVI in normal eyes with normal that show no functional issues or challenges with visual acuity and\/or contrast sensitivity. CVI is most commonly diagnosed when a child’s vision shows major signs of cerebral malfunction from damaged cerebral areas that cannot effectively process images received from\u00a0 unaffected eyes. Major signs of CVI include:<\/p>\n