Abstract

Transient blurring of near vision can be due to a variety of causes. We report the case of a 35-year-old man with a 10-year history of blurring of near vision that begins 30 to 45 seconds after he starts to eat and that lasts until 10 to 15 minutes after he stops eating. Magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography of the brain and orbits did not reveal any abnormality, and stimulation of individual cranial nerves did not result in a loss of near vision. Retinoscopic refraction revealed the loss of 1.5 dioptres of accommodative power in each eye one minute after he began to eat. To the best of our knowledge such blurring of vision at near, immediately after initiating a meal, has not been previously reported. The neuroanatomy of the accommodation and of the gustatory pathways are discussed, as they may relate to this patient's visual complaint.