Infantile nystagmus syndrome (INS), formerly referred to as congenital nystagmus, typically presents in early infancy. We report a rare case in which nystagmus consistent with INS became clinically apparent after a vertigo attack during adolescence. A 17-year-old female developed acute rotational vertigo. Although the vertigo gradually subsided, she continued to perceive rightward visual motion....
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
Clinicians encountering new-onset nystagmus following a vertigo episode should consider infantile nystagmus syndrome as a differential diagnosis even in adults — but this is a single case report and cannot drive protocol changes.
This rare delayed presentation challenges a long-held clinical assumption about the timing of infantile nystagmus syndrome onset, which could broaden differential diagnoses in neuro-otology.
- 01Case report of infantile nystagmus syndrome (INS) first manifesting after a vertigo episode — not in infancy.
- 02Published in Auris Nasus Larynx; single-patient case report limits generalizability.
- 03INS is characterized by involuntary, rhythmic eye movements typically identified at or near birth.
- 04The case suggests INS may remain subclinical until provoked by a vestibular event.
- 05Raises questions about how many 'adult-onset' nystagmus cases may have an undetected infantile origin.
Infantile nystagmus syndrome can manifest for the first time following a vertigo attack in a patient not previously diagnosed in infancy.
studypartially supported- PMID
- 42887434
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.anl.2026.09.002.
- Journal
- Auris Nasus Larynx
- Publication type
- case_report
- Evidence level
- 4
- Sample size
- 1
- Population
- Individual patient presenting with delayed-onset infantile nystagmus syndrome following a vertigo attack
- Intervention
- Clinical observation and workup of delayed infantile nystagmus presentation
Primary outcomes
Description of delayed INS manifestation following vestibular event