Eye test detects stroke

A quick, inexpensive eye movement test was better than magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at identifying patients with strokes, a U.S. study found.

The one-minute eye exam reveals eye movement changes associated with stroke damage in various areas of the brain, United Press International reported.

"The idea that a bedside exam could outperform a modern neuroimaging test such as MRI is something that most people had given up for dead, but we've shown it's possible," Dr. David E. Newman-Toker, of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said in a news release.

Some stroke patients can't immediately adjust their eye position if they turn their heads quickly to the side, while others may have jerky eye movements when trying to focus on a doctor's finger positioned on either side of their head, UPI reported.

The study was published in the journal Stroke. - (HealthDay News, September 2009)

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