Acquired pendular nystagmus suppressed by alcohol

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Abstract
Two patients with acquired pendular nystagmus (PN) reported that their oscillopsia and visual acuity improved after alcohol consumption. The PN was due to brainstem/cerebellar disease (multiple sclerosis) in one of the patients and to visual (retinal) failure in the other. Clinical and electro-oculographic examination confirmed that the PN was largely suppressed with alcohol. Different drugs were tried in these patients, attempting to mimic the effect of alcohol, but to date none has been successful. Similarities in nystagmus waveform and alcohol responsiveness in these two patients suggest that PN arises from deafferentation and/or lack of visual input to a neural structure - possibly the inferior olive - capable of undergoing spontaneous oscillations.