Definition:

Adie's Pupil, or Adie Syndrome is a rare neurological disorder affecting the pupil of the eye. It is a condition in which the pupil does not react normally to bright light due to impaired nerve function. Adie's Pupil usually does not interfere substantially with normal vision.

Who can get it?

It occurs mostly in middle age women. The cause is unknown, but it is thought to be a form of neuropathy, which means the nerves that control the pupils and the reflexes selectively degenerate.

Some people think this is due to an attack by a virus, while other medical opinions believe it is an auto-immune disorder, meaning that the immune system makes antibodies that attack these specific nerves. Other causes may include giant cell arteritis, neurosyphillis, alcoholism, diabetes, and herpes zoster, .

What are the symptoms?

In most patients the pupil is dilated (larger than normal) and slow to react to light on nearby objects. In some patients, however, the pupil may be constricted rather than dilated. There may be light sensitivity in the affected eye due to the pupil's impaired function in helping to reduce light intensity by constricting in bright light.

The pupil also helps to focus light in the eye, and sometimes the nerves that control the lens in the eye may also be involved, so as a result the vision from the affected eye is often blurry. The patient adapts to the large pupil over time.

Absent or poor reflexes are also associated with this disorder.

What is the treatment?

Adie Syndrome is neither progressive nor life threatening, nor is it disabling.

Add'l keywords/misspellings:

addie's addy's ady adie ady's Adie's Pupil Adie's Syndrome Adie's Tonic Pupil Holmes-Adie Syndrome Papillotonic Psuedotabes Tonic Pupil Syndrome