Cortical blindness following ictal nystagmus.

Both ictal nystagmus and cortical blindness may occur transiently in acute cerebral disorders and therefore escape clinical detection, particularly in confused, agitated patients. The following case report describes a young woman with chronic myelogenous leukemia who became progressively ill following bone marrow transplantation. During the course of her illness, acute ictal nystagmus developed from focal right occipital ischemia; postictally she remained cortically blind with possible visual hallucinations for 48 hours.