From the Research
Anton syndrome, also known as visual anosognosia, is primarily caused by bilateral occipital lobe damage, often resulting from cerebrovascular incidents such as stroke, as evident in the most recent and highest quality study 1. The etiologies of Anton syndrome are diverse and include:
- Ischemic stroke in the posterior cerebral artery territory, which supplies the occipital lobes
- Hemorrhagic stroke
- Cerebral venous thrombosis
- Traumatic brain injury affecting the occipital region
- Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES)
- Central nervous system infections like encephalitis
- Brain tumors (primary or metastatic) in the occipital region
- Demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis
- Neurodegenerative conditions
- Carbon monoxide poisoning, which causes hypoxic brain injury These causes can lead to bilateral occipital lobe damage, resulting in cortical blindness and visual anosognosia, characterized by denial of blindness and visual confabulation, as reported in cases 2, 3. The unique feature of Anton syndrome is that patients are cortically blind yet deny their blindness, often confabulating about what they "see," due to damage to visual association areas and the primary visual cortex, as discussed in 1. Treatment of Anton syndrome focuses on addressing the underlying cause while providing supportive care and rehabilitation, with a nuanced approach to anticoagulation therapy, as suggested by the findings of 1.