What is Brown Syndrome?

When asked what Brown Syndrome is most individuals will be unable to provide an answer. Many will not even be able to identify the part of the body that the syndrome affects. Brown Syndrome, also known as Superior Oblique Tendon Sheath Syndrome, is a defect of the eye that varies in severity among individuals with the condition.

What is Brown Syndrome?

Brown Syndrome is a disorder of the eye in which an individual with the syndrome is unable to move one eye in an upward direction. It is noticed by eye doctors upon examination when one eye is able to move fully when looking up and the other moves very little, if at all. Brown Syndrome occurs when the superior oblique tendon is shorter or tighter in an eye of an individual than that in a normal eye. This makes it impossible for someone with the disorder to move the affected eye when looking upward, The unaffected eye continues to function normally

What Causes Brown Syndrome?

Brown Syndrome can be either congenital or acquired. There is no known reason why some affected individual's are born with the disorder. Those who acquire Brown Syndrome usually do so because an inflammation or scar tissue may have built up around the tendon limiting its mobility.

Symptoms of Brown Syndrome

Some individuals with Brown Syndrome, though not all, may experience Diplopia which simply means they will have double vision when looking upward. One eye of an individual with Brown Syndrome will move more than the other and the difference will be noticeable when the individual is looking up. Individuals with Brown Syndrome may tilt their head upward or to one side to compensate when looking up.

Treatment of Brown Syndrome

While surgical treatment is an option in severe cases of Brown Syndrome most individuals with the condition are only monitored by their eye doctor. Individuals with this disorder tend to be good at finding ways to adapt.

I was born with congenital Brown Syndrome and my eye doctor often refers to it as a birth defect. When I was an infant and toddler it was noted that my eyes would seem to cross on occasion but my pediatrician thought I might outgrow this trait. When I started having trouble on playground equipment and was noticed to be reaching for climbing bars in the spaces between bars I was sent to a specialist. At four years of age I was diagnosed with Brown Syndrome.

I am one of the affected individuals for whom double vision is a part of the defect. I have double vision every time I look up. Because of this I rarely look up with my eyes unless I am told to during an examination. It has become second nature to me to look up by raising my head rather than my eyes and I do not even think about it when I am doing it.

Most of the time I do not experience any noticeable symptoms of the defect. I was born with it and know no other way of looking at the world than through the adaptive measures I have taken to avoid seeing double, My eyes tend to tire easily and sometimes when I am overtired or have not slept enough at night I will have a spontaneous occurrence of constant double vision that occurs no matter which direction I look. These attacks occur much less as an adult than they did when I was a child. When I was in my grade school years I would often wake up seeing double and my vision would not correct itself sometimes for up to an hour.

I am a mother of an infant and toddler and I noticed that my symptoms increased dramatically when I was pregnant. I experienced more double vision and greater eye fatigue. I was concerned at first but my eye doctor reassured me that hormones change vision in every pregnant woman and my symptoms would get better after I had the babies. He was right both times.

I was lucky and my Brown Syndrome was not severe enough to require surgical intervention. I see my eye doctor every other year for a full examination to make sure the restriction of eye movement has not changed for the worse.

I recently asked if there was a risk that my children could have been born with Brown Syndrome. My doctor stated that while it has not been scientifically proven that the disorder is genetic he has noticed that it can occasionally be seen in more than one person in a family. My children are both two young to test for Brown Syndrome as a definitive diagnosis cannot be made until a child is three or older. All I can do is watch for signs and symptoms at this point.

Brown Syndrome has affected my life in minor ways. I will never be able to go rock climbing because there is too much risk of seeing double and falling. I have to make sure that my eyes are not overtired when I drive and I have to try to get a decent amount of sleep to avoid double vision. These are manageable barriers and ones that I hardly even think about on a day to day basis.