Optic neuritis denotes an eye inflammation that affects the optic nerve. It is one of the reasons for acute or partial vison loss which is usually accompanied with pain. Patients with optic neuritis may finally develop multiple sclerosis. Optic neuritis is diagnosed clinically. MRI is reserved only for atypical cases for direct imaging of the optic nerves. Optic nerve inflammation occurs mainly due to demyelination. It can be isolated and idiopathic.
Causes of Optic Neuritis
When the optic nerve is inflamed, it causes vision loss mainly due to destruction and swelling of the myelin sheath. This myelin sheath covers the optic nerve. Optic neuritis is strongly associated with multiple sclerosis. 38-50% of patients with multiple sclerosis develop optic neuritis and 15-20% of multiple sclerosis may lead to optic neuritis. Occurrence of demyelinating white matter lesions is a strong indicator for multiple sclerosis. White matter lesions associated with multiple sclerosis affects almost half of the patients who have optic neuritis.
Symptoms of Optic Neuritis
The major symptoms of optic neuritis include:
- Experience pain while moving the affected eye
- “Foggy” or blurred vision
- Complete or partial vision loss
Few patients may experience color vision loss in the affected eye. They have trouble in recognizing the color red. According to a study, 92.2% of patients with optic neuritis experienced pain. The head of the optic nerve may appear swollen in some patients and it can be medically examined by an ophthalmoscope.
Treatment of Optic Neuritis
Within 8-10 weeks, the visual functions may return to normalcy but they may also lead to acute vision loss. Hence, systemic intravenous treatment along with corticosteroids is recommended for a quick recovery of the optic nerve. In rare cases, the nerve sheath surrounding the optic nerve may be cut to limit the pressure if there is an increase in intracranial pressure.
