Medical College of Wisconsin Neuro-Ophthalmology Program

Drs. Bernd Remler and Ryan Walsh have joint appointments in Neurology and Ophthalmology and serve a large volume of patients with a wide range of visual disturbances. Dr. Remler has clinical research interests in recovery from stroke and multiple sclerosis.

A Neuro-Ophthalmologist is a physician who makes neurological diagnoses based on the ophthalmological examination. Thus, our patients undergo detailed visual sensory, ocular motor and eye examinations to localize the site of dysfunction and narrow the differential diagnosis. The Department of Neurology has a fully equipped ophthalmological examination room, but the majority of our patients are seen at the Eye Institute. Aside from the clinical examination, advanced electrophysiologic techniques, such as electroretinography and visual evoked potential studies are utilized.

Neuro-Ophthalmological patients have varied presentations due to the multitude of anatomical structures supporting vision. These include the eye itself, orbital tissues, the intracranial visual pathway, cortical visual areas in the parietal, temporal and occipital lobes, as well as ocular motor structures in the brainstem. Because of the wide distribution of relevant anatomical areas, we often collaborate with clinicians in the fields of ophthalmology, neurosurgery and otolaryngology. In conjunction with researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin, we investigate a number of clinical and basic science questions, for instance, the visual consequences of Chiari malformation and the functional anatomy of vision based on functional MR imaging.

Learn more about the Eye Institute Neuro-Ophthalmology Service