Vlasveld L T, Cornelissen J J, Dellemijn P L, Joosse M V, van den Bent M J
Afd. Hematologie, Dr. Daniel den Hoed Kliniek, Rotterdam.
Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 1994 Oct 8;138(41):2057-61.
A 40-year-old man developed cortical blindness during cyclosporin treatment shortly after an allogeneic bone marrow transplantation for chronic myeloid leukaemia. At that time the patient had a therapeutic cyclosporin blood level (226 ng/ml), but a low serum magnesium level and a marginally decreased serum cholesterol level. In addition the patient had hypertension, headache and paraesthesia in the oral, palmar and plantar areas. Vision was fully recovered after discontinuation of the cyclosporin treatment and correction of the hypomagnesaemia. Eighteen cases of cortical blindness during cyclosporin treatment are now known in the literature. Hypomagnesaemia appears to be implicated in the pathogenesis.