Optic neuritis

Medical Textbooks Online about Optic neuritis

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Diagnostic Tests for Optic neuritis

• Ophthalmoscopy

Read more about tests for Optic neuritis

Wrongly Diagnosed with Optic neuritis?

• Misdiagnosis of Optic neuritis
• Underlying causes of Optic neuritis (possibly wrongly diagnosed)

Causes of Optic neuritis

• Nerve damage
• Demyelinating disorders
• Multiple sclerosis - about 50% of cases of optic neuritis later develop MS [Seller, 2000¹].
• Viral illness
• Temporal arteritis

See full list of 10 causes of Optic neuritis

More information about causes of Optic neuritis:

• Medications, drugs, or substances causing Optic neuritis (11 listings)
• Underlying causes of Optic neuritis
• Optic neuritis as a complication caused by other conditions
• Optic neuritis as a symptom

Treatments for Optic neuritis

• Urgent treatment
• Corticosteroids
• Treatment of any underlying cause

Read more about treatments for Optic neuritis

Videos for Optic neuritis

Patient Surveys for Optic neuritis

• Patient Profile Survey
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• Survey about the symptoms of your Optic neuritis
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Reseach about Optic neuritis

Visit our research pages for current research about Optic neuritis treatments.

Clinical Trials for Optic neuritis

The US based website ClinicalTrials.gov lists information on both federally and privately supported clinical trials using human volunteers.

Some of the clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for Optic neuritis include:

• Induction Therapy With a Single High Dose Bolus of Intravenous Methotrexate With Leucovorin Rescue, Prior to Initiation of AVONEX Treatment, in Patients Presenting With a First Acute Demyelinating Event. - This study is not yet open for patient recruitment (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - interferon beta 1a,methotrexate,methylprednisolone
• Long Term Study of Avonex Therapy Following a First Attack of Multiple Sclerosis - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - interferon beta 1a 30 ug IM once weekly
• Simvastatin Treatment of Patients With Acute Optic Neuritis. - This study is not yet open for patient recruitment (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - simvastatin
• Intravenous Immunoglobulin Therapy in Optic Neuritis - This study has been completed (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Immunoglobulin
• Longitudinal Optic Neuritis Study (LONS) - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Methylprednisolone,Prednisone

See full list of 11 Clinical Trials for Optic neuritis

Statistics for Optic neuritis

• Medical statistics for Optic neuritis
• Prevalence and incidence statistics for Optic neuritis
• Death and Mortality statistics for Optic neuritis
• Society statistics for Optic neuritis

Medical Guidebooks and Ebooks for Optic neuritis

• Icon Health Sourcebook for Optic neuritis

See all guides and ebooks for Optic neuritis

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User Interactive Forums

Read about other experiences, ask a question about Optic neuritis, or answer someone else's question, on our message boards:

• I can not get a diagnosis. Please help.
• Tell us your medical story.
• Share your misdiagnosis story.
• What is the best treatment for this?
• See all the forums.

Definitions of Optic neuritis:

WHAT: Optic neuritis. Optic Neuritis: the inflammation, degeneration, or demyelination of the optic nerve. WHY: Optic neuritis may be present in patients with sarcoidosis or Reiter's syndrome (rarely). HOW: Clinically, patients with optic neuritis present with sudden loss of central vision and pain on moving the eye. Opthalmoscopically there may be hyperemia of the optic disc and distention of the large retinal veins. At later stages the disk margins are blurred and may be slightly elevated simulating papilledema. REFS: Vaugn, D and Asbury, T: General Ophthamology, 8th edition, 1977. - (Source - Diseases Database)

Optic neuritis is listed as a "rare disease" by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This means that Optic neuritis, or a subtype of Optic neuritis, affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.
Source - National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Footnotes:
1. Robert E. Seller, Differential Diagnosis of Common Complaints, 2000