digitoxin and Color-Vision-Defects

Topics: Anorexia Nervosa; Color Vision Defects; Digitalis Glycosides; Digitoxin; Digoxin; Eye Manifestations; Fatigue; Humans; Medication Errors; Mental Disorders; Muscular Diseases; Nausea; Neurologic Manifestations; Poisoning; Vision Disorders

In a prospective, randomized, double-blind study with 10 healthy probands, changes in colour discrimination and in the pattern electroretinogram (P-ERG) and visually evoked cortical potentials (P-VECP) were monitored at therapeutic and subtherapeutic digitoxin serum levels. There was a slight increase in the total error score in the Farnsworth-Munsell 100-hue test at 0.1 mg digitoxin per day in comparison with the placebo. P-ERG and P-VECP did not show any significant changes.

Topics: Adult; Color Perception; Color Vision Defects; Digitoxin; Double-Blind Method; Electroretinography; Evoked Potentials, Visual; Humans; Male; Prospective Studies; Radioimmunoassay; Retina

A survey of van Gogh's work from 1886 to 1890 indicated that paintings with a yellow dominance were numerous, episodic, and multi-regional. His underlying illness, by his own admission, affected his life and work; furthermore, episodes of malnutrition, substance abuse, environmental exposure, and drug experimentation (all evident from correspondence) exacerbated his condition. Accordingly, we reviewed plausible agents that might have modified the artist's colour perception. Xanthopsia due to overdosage of digitalis or santonin is well documented elsewhere, but evidence of useage of either drug by van Gogh cannot be substantiated. It is unlikely that ageing of the human lens was an influence because of the artist's youth. Sunstroke is too restrictive to fit the multiplicity of regions and motifs. Hallucinations induced by absinthe, the popular liqueur of the period, may explain particular canvases but not the majority of 'high yellow' paintings. Van Gogh's proclivity for exaggerated colours and his embrance of yellow in particular are clear from his letters and, in contradistinction to chemical or physical insults modifying perception, artistic preference is the best working hypothesis to explain the yellow dominance in his palette.

Topics: Adult; Aging; Alcoholic Beverages; Color Vision Defects; Digitalis; Famous Persons; History, 19th Century; Humans; Male; Medicine in the Arts; Netherlands; Paintings; Plants, Medicinal; Plants, Toxic; Santonin; Sunstroke

Topics: Aged; Color Perception Tests; Color Vision Defects; Digitoxin; Digoxin; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged

Topics: Aged; Color Vision Defects; Digitalis Glycosides; Digitoxin; Digoxin; Female; Glycosides; Humans; Middle Aged

In the Federal Republic of Germany nearly 4 million patients receive cardiac glycosides. Intoxication rates of up to 20% have been reported. About 80% of digoxin-intoxicated patients show generalized color vision deficiencies. Ophthalmologists should pay more attention to color vision disturbances due to digitalis.

Topics: Color Vision Defects; Digitalis Glycosides; Digitoxin; Digoxin; Humans; Intraocular Pressure; Retina; Vision Disorders

Acquired colour-vision deficiencies are an early indicator for drug-induced retinopathy as well as drug-induced retrobulbar neuritis. Koellner's rule, which says, that damage of the retina induces a tritan-defect, and damage of the optic nerve induce a red-green-defect is also valid for defects secondary to drug-toxicity. Pseudoisochromatic plates, anomaloscope and other tests (Panel D-15-test) have to be selected correspondingly to use them as screening-methods.

Topics: Antipsychotic Agents; Chloramphenicol; Chloroquine; Chlorpropamide; Color Vision Defects; Contraceptives, Oral; Digitoxin; Ethambutol; Humans; Indomethacin; Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors; Optic Neuritis; Phenothiazines; Retinal Diseases; Sparsomycin

Topics: Color Vision; Color Vision Defects; Digitalis; Humans; Vision Disorders