Adie's syndrome
Adie's Syndrome is a term whose meaning is the same as Adie's Pupil and Tonic Pupil.
It is also known as:
- Adie's Tonic Pupil and
- Holmes-Adie's Syndrome, among other names.
Adie's Syndrome refers to a neurological condition affecting the pupil of an eye and the autonomic nervous system, and named after British Physician William John Adie (1886-1935). and, in the case of the name "Holmes-Adie's Syndrome" also British Neurologist Sir G.M. Holmes (1876-1965).
Affected pupilsare "dilated", that is the dark (black) central "pupil" is larger than normal, due to damage to the nerves to the ciliary muscle (of the eye) and the iris (of the eye).
Pupils affected by Adie's Syndrome react abnormally poorly to changes in light level.
Adie's Syndrome is also characterized by high sensitivity to dilute 0.1% pilocarpine drops - which hardly affects normal pupils but causes marked constriction (reduction in size / diameter) in the pupil of an eye affected by Adie's Syndrome.
This condition usually affects only women and is not considered life-threatening.
Both eyes may be affected (bilateral) but in most cases only one eye is affected (unilateral).
More about Ophthalmology:
This section includes short definitions
of many diseases, disorders, and conditions of the eyes and visual system.
For definitions of other terms in this category, choose from the list
to the left (but note that this is not a complete/exhaustive list).
Other related pages include
- A diagram of the eye
- Definitions and descriptions of the parts of the eye
- A concise description of the human retina
- Definitions of parts of the retina
- Clinical and surgical procedures re. eyes and human visual system
For further information see also our pages of books about ophthalmology.
The following books may also be of interest:
